Truant Proffesionalism:The Buck stops Where?

By Fredrick Nadulli,

Every morning as the sun rises,so too does the dream of many aspiring pro wannabe youngsters.From the dusty backstreets of Surulere in Lagos to the Copacabana beaches in Rio to the slums of Mathare in Nairobi,boys,and now girls,work their socks off with the ultimate target of turning professional.Professional in terms of skills and remuneration.As many who have made it will attest,it aint a walk in the park getting to the pinnacle.A host of factors come into play,key among them the role of club officials and/or agents.

West Africa and Ghana in particular is a good case study.

WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE

In search of greener pastures,promising Ghanaian youngsters have fallen prey to exploitation.Labelled as the latter day Pele,’orange kid’ Nii Lamptey Ordatey in his desperation to join the paid ranks overseas overlooked important clauses in his initial contracts that left him prone to massive manipulation by his crafty agent.He played for top European clubs including Anderlecht,PSV and Aston Villa before fading into oblivion and resurfacing in Indonesia toward s the end ofhis career.

For all his work,his agent pocketed over 75% of his earnings thanks to twisted clauses which the player ignored.He ended
up a broken man. Closer home,players in the TPL are falling over themselves to nail lucrative deals abroad and their manner of doing it leaves a lot to be desired.It leaves them vulnerable while at the same time exposing the soft underbelly of their parent clubs,which seem clueless on how to go about it.

AFC LEOPARDS

Playing continental football opens a window of opportunities for players to showcase their skills and hopefully hit the eye of a
potential scout.AFC represented Kenya in the CAF Confed Cup.In round 1 they were up against Defence of Ethiopia in Nairobi.International winger Paul Were dazzled the home crowd with speedy footworks and capped tha afternoon with two delightful assists to help hi side triumph 2-0.

Needless to say,he was key to their ambitions going forward.A week later however,he played the biblical prodigal son.While
his mates boarded the plane to book a destiny date in Addis Ababa,he left for trial in S.Africa.AFC did scrape through but it left a bitter taste in the mouth of their diehard faithful.Many questioned the timing of the move and fingers were directed at the club hierarchy..

Before the dust could settle,another key player Peter Opiyo pulled the plug on AFC.As the team headed to Pretoria to face Supersport Utd.in round 2,he was busy readying himself to attend trials in Finland.They missed his midfield influence and lost 2-0.Although he was available for the return clash,their goose was already cooked.His loyalty to the club has been a subject of discussion in local football circles,bearing in mind that he made a similar disappearing act mid last season to the Middle East in a deal that fell through.

Many concluded that Leopards engineered their failure in this campaign.

BUCK STOPS WHERE:

These incidences led soccer enthusiasts to ask where the buck stops as far as turning professional is concerned.The club,one of a few in the country with a full time Chief Executive was at pains to exonerate itself from blame.These,coupled with the visas fiasco left Kenyans wondering wether the people at the helm of Leopards are themselves professional.

Clubs own players and should have binding contracts with them clearly spelt out.It therefore defeats logic for a C.E.O to unashamedly point out that a key player(read Opiyo)was out of contract barely 3 months into the new season and in a team facing continental assignments to boot!Lest we forget,Opiyo cost the club an arm and leg only to leave as a free agent when their ship is rocking.

Pray,how do such clubs balance their books?On the player’s part,perish the thought that he sustains a career threatening injury at such a time.In typical Kenyan fashion he would be dropped like a hot potato with no fallback plan.

SHAPE UP OR SHIP OUT:

Admittedly,its a catch 22 situation.Players want to make the most of their short careers and invest enough for life off the pitch;who can blame them.Nevertheless they should be awake to certain important factors like following the right channels and exercising patience among others.Clubs on their part must be run by professionals who are capable of creating win-win situations for both parties.Until this is addressed,Kenyan football will only achieve stop-gap progress,if any.

NB: Fredrick Nadulli is a former Kenyan International and Mathare United player

Collins Okinyo

Ex- CAF Media Expert. An expert on African football with over 15 years experience ,always with an ear to the ground with indepth knowledge of the game. I have worked for top publications including 7 years at www.supersport.com until i founded www.soka25east.com to quench the thirst of football lovers across the continent. I have trained young upcoming journalists who are now a voice in African football.I have covered World Cup,AFCON,CHAN,Champions League,Confederations Cup,Cecafa,Cosafa,Wafu and many other football tournaments across the World. Founder Football Africa Arena(FAA),Founder www.afrisportdigital.com