By Fredrick Nadulli,
Football and sport in general is a lucrative career yet very short.Its a career many consider to be built on quicksand.Unlike for example banking,engineering,medicine etc where one can work well into their octogenarian years,sportsmen are considered over the hill by the time they hit 40,and that is for a lucky select.
Age,form and injury are some of the major factors that force footballers to call time on their careers.Of the above,injury is a footballer’s worst nightmare.
In big leagues in developed and some developing nations the remunerations and perks are mouth watering,added to the fact that insurance is mandatory.The league in Kenya is growing steadily with sponsorship and television,but still is worlds apart with what we would consider good enough in terms of wages,bonuses and/or medical schemes.
SOFT UNDERBELLY:
The case of defender Solomon Nasio has exposed Gor Mahia’s soft underbelly and left them with egg on the face.It is a well known fact that the champions are hard-up financially and barely able to stay afloat,but the paltry sum needed for surgery on the defender can easily be raised,if the will is there that is.
For a loyal servant who has served the club with dedication and who sustained the injury while on club duty,surely ksh.150,000(USD 2,000)is a drop in the ocean.Lest we forget,he sustained the injury last year when Gor still had a sponsorship deal worth more than ksh.40,000,000.The insinuation playing around now that the club’s coffers are empty does therefore not wash.
SOLIDARITY FOR NOBLE CAUSE:
His fellow professionals,seeing that the club was in the red reportedly offered to forfeit their match bonuses to help raise the amount needed for surgery.The top honchos were having non of it,saying that it would be an embarassment to the club.Pray,who does Solomon Nasio turn to?
The news did eventually leak and found its way to social media.Keen football followers went ballistic with messages of sympathy and offers for support streaming in.Meanwhile at Gor Mahia,someone’s head was deeply buried in the proverbial sand.Sadly,the spillover effect may mean the player faces an exit from the club,even by Nasio’s own admission,but that is neither here nor there.
If he has to leave,let him do so a fully fit player who can showcase his skills elsewhere and earn his bread.It is interesting to note that clubs like Mathare United are struggling to pay salaries and bonuses,but when it comes to matters medical,there are no two ways about it.Health and fitness take precedence.
Champions Gor Mahia must address Solomon Nasio’s issue with the urgency it deserves.Its long overdue.
