Chronicle Editor
Fungai Muderere, Senior Sports Reporter
IN the wake of an unfortunate incident that saw South African DStv Premiership outfit Richards Bay Football Club midfielder Siphamandla “Spepe” Mtolo (29) die after collapsing during training on Tuesday morning, Namibia-based ex-Warriors and Highlanders team doctor Xolani Ndlovu has challenged the Zimbabwe Football Association to put a foot down on the issue of football medicine.
The healthcare practitioner underscored the need of having appropriately trained and qualified people working as medics in local football just the same way the country’s football mother body wants every Premier Soccer League coach to have Caf A licence.
Ndlovu opined Mtolo’s death was a sad and traumatic event which is inevitable when the basic requirements of sports medicine are not met hence his challenge to Zifa to up their game as local clubs are also in danger of losing players.
“Our local clubs are also at risk of losing players as very few, if any, employ doctors on a permanent basis. All the doctors I know who work for even our monied PSL clubs either do so pro bono or on a part-time basis, yet it is a requirement that a doctor be present on the pitch-side, with appropriate equipment, at all training sessions and games. Other clubs just engage a doctor just to sign the documents to register players for the league without even conducting pre-competition medical examinations which should be done every year. Even the purchasing of a medical kit comes as an afterthought and very few clubs set funds aside for serious injuries or even putting players on a proper medical aid,” said Ndlovu.
He added that as a bare minimum, every club should purchase what is called an automated external defibrillator (AED) which should be at the pitch side whenever there is training or a game.
“When I was at Highlanders I would always go to the ambulance crew before the game started to check they had one. If not, I would tell the referee who is not supposed to start a game until a defibrillator is available. If this was not available at the Euros, Christian Erikssen would be dead,” said Ndlovu.
Citing the Fifa first aid manual for first aiders and coaches he said: “Not all people who collapse in a cardiac arrest will have a shockable rhythm, so the AED will not shock everyone. However, the majority of initial arrhythmias are shockable which is why an AED is an essential part of your first aid equipment. AEDs are easily stored and have a long battery life, however, these should be checked on a regular basis. For example, prior to every match and training session.”
Ndlovu also acknowledges that it is not only in football where having appropriately trained and qualified people working as medics should be prioritised.
“The reason why I mention soccer specifically is because it is the one with the largest number of participants in Zimbabwe as the most popular sport, and relatively better-funded compared to other sports. In addition, it has a professional league whereas most of the other sports in Zimbabwe are amateur or semi-professional,” he said.
At the recently ended Fiba AfroBasket and AfroCan qualifiers that were hosted by Zimbabwe, it is reported that Zimbabwe’s Happiness Maroto suffered a near horrific injury after being hit by an opponent on his chest with an elbow.
With no first aider and first aid kit from Team Zimbabwe or any local skilled person on site to attend to Maroto, Zambian officials reportedly came to the rescue.
Ndlovu, who worked at Mpilo Central Hospital and at some stage held the position of acting clinical director, was with Bosso in 2006 before he left to further his education in South Africa. He returned to the Bulawayo football giants in 2009 up to 2013 when left to pursue his studies in South Africa again.
His last assignment with the senior national team was the Africa Cup of Nations qualification match versus Botswana that was played in Francistown in March 2021. — @FungaiMuderere
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