Football is a poor man’s game, period!

By ANIL BAKARI

Some people consider football a game for the poor and by the poor. They might be right. All indications are clear that most people who throng stadiums and blow vuvuzelas silly as they cheer Gor Mahia or AFC Leopards are the poor, some of whom after the matches, go home and sleep on hungry stomachs.

The middle-class keeps off stadiums because their cars will be vandalised, or stoned. On the other hand, the rich (politicians) attend matches to ‘connect’ with poor voters, but not because they love football.

Again, it is the rich who grab playing grounds in estates and build apartments, denying children of poor places to nurture their talents.

Certainly, the bank will accept a cheque written on it, ‘football is a poor man’s game’. It is, thus, disheartening to hear that a good number of football academies established to help the poor nurture their talents have become daycare centres for the wealthy.

Apparently, the centres are populated with children from wealthy families who go there to lose fat, instead of nurturing talent.

It is the reason why the centres, which charge exorbitant fees, have no graduates in the premier league, yet playing grounds in Muthurwa and Makongeni estates continue to produce players for the tournament.

Is it that we lost focus or are the centres minting money for a few?