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I borrowed the paragraph from an intriguing novel by Henri Charrie`re, Bancho, The further adventures of Papillon, a great story of escape and adventure that took the world by storm, published in the UK way back in 1973.
The feeling of the man in the jungle, well armed, well acquainted with his surroundings, is the same feeling that former footballers have today. Some call them legends, some call them former footballers. They all have a role to play in the development of football, only if they are given their space by football clubs and administrators at PSL and Zifa.
These guys know the landscape called football very well, like Papillon, they are well armed, but they still fear the only one enemy that matters, the beast of beasts, the most intelligent, the cruellest, the wickedest, the greediest, the vilest and also the most wonderful — man. And that man is holding office in clubs, PSL and Zifa.
That man is throwing spanners into their works, rubbishing their efforts to make a difference and trying to muzzle their voices. This is all in an effort to preserve the status quo where those who never kicked the ball reap huge rewards from it, while former footballers are viewed as troublesome, drunkards, uneducated and can only be considered for a coaching job, and nothing more.
Some have even gone on to ridicule why they call themselves legends. But if we all look at the positives of what they are trying to do, and forget about pointing a finger at them, when three other fingers are pointing at ourselves, we will understand that the word has just been used loosely as an umbrella to all former players, perhaps as an accolade for the little or much contribution to the game. But we know that for a fact, not all former players are legends, legends come from a generation of players and not from every team sheet! But that is not important really.
The reason why former players have grouped to demand their due respect and consideration is that they believe the game is being run by people who have no passion for it, people with no history in football,
people who are just out to build profiles and make some bit of cash.
And you tend to buy their story because how does a club official choose to ignore former players when they have come together and presented themselves in a most dignified manner?
The formation of the Zimbabwe Coaches Union led by former players like Moses Chunga is a noble idea, and so was the formation of Former Highlanders Players Association. The more we are, the merrier, so goes the saying and surely, we cannot avoid them any longer, any club official who does not realise that former players are a movement for the future in the administration of the game in the country will be digging and nailing his own grave and coffin respectively.
While those in office think they know nothing about administration, they have to take the initiative and do some sport and business administration courses, just like they do coaching courses, so that their adversaries will have nothing to use against them.
As associations, they can approach the likes of Kennedy Ndebele, a Fifa administration instructor for assistance and slowly, their members will be equipped with modern ways of running the game, which is now more of a business, a sharp contrast to the days when they used to play the game for the ‘love of the club and the game’, and not for financial rewards which is the cornerstone of football today.
In modern football, the language has been rewritten and the word ‘sponsors’ moved aside to make room for the more friendly ‘partners’, and our legends must grasp these simple but important things as they seek to negotiate their way to the top.
They have to do it differently from the men who are running the game now, who went to the top via other avenues, like their big boss, Joseph Sepp Blatter.
In case you didn’t know, Blatter joined Fifa in 1975 to manage their new Coca-Cola funded schemes to produce more coaches, referees and specialist sports doctors. He had made headlines four years earlier when he accepted the presidency of the World Society of Friends of Suspenders, a group of 120 men from 16 countries, who ‘regret women replacing suspender belts with pantyhose.’
The Fifa top man, now as important as statesmen worldwide, trained in business administration but his skills were in public relations. In 1964 he got his dream job in his favourite sport, general secretary of the Swiss ice hockey federation. For ever after, Blatter kept a souvenir hockey stick in pride of place in his office. Now you know, a hockey man is running the most beautiful game, but the good thing about him is that he understands that former players have a place in football.
Former players have formed associations the world over and they are being accorded the respect they deserve. Giancarlo Abete, president of the Italian Football Association, is the latest Honorary Member of the European Football Players Association, joining his Portuguese counterpart, Gilberto Madaíl, Uefa president, Michel Platini and football legends such as Alfredo di Stéfano.
EFPA’s invitation to Abete came within the framework of EFPA’s approach to European Football Associations which aims at raising the profile of former football professionals by bringing them closer to football institutions.
Platini, a legend in his own right, has always talked about the importance of the creation of a National Federation of Former Players in each European country and how it is important for the development of football. He also highlighted the role of former players in recovering football history, helping former colleagues and promoting the values of sport in cooperation with the country’s sports authoritites to help combat today’s ills.
The Spanish Federation of former players was created in 2005, with its 31 club members, it is supported by the Spanish Players Association and is officially recognised by the Spanish Ministry for Sports and the Football Federation. The Polish PSBP, led by former-international Dariusz Dziekanowski, was created in August 2007.
The British Alliance of Former Players Associations was created in Liverpool in August 2009 and it has already led to the creation of the Scottish arm, the Scottish Federation of Former Players Associations.
The former players associations are not a new animal really, but the hullabaloo around their emergence locally has been caused by that they have made some sitting executives uncomfortable, but that is good for the game as no one should feel comfortable in a chair such that they fall asleep. Leaders must be kept on their toes if they are to deliver, period.
The match this afternoon at Luveve Stadium featuring former players from the northern part of the country against their southern region counterparts should take people down memory lane as they have an opportunity to watch their former stars in action. We urge Zifa and the business community to support such initiatives as they keep the fire burning in the game that we all love.
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