The ManicaPost
Sport in general, and football in particular, has become a multi-billion dollar industry worldwide; with some of the planet’s richest personalities coming from the different sporting genres.
In Africa, just like in other parts of the globe, athletes and coaches have families to feed and that can only happen when sport is being played and attracting revenue.
The inactivity in sport during the past year has shown us how livelihoods can easily be affected.
We have seen footballers turning into illegal money traders, while some are now selling second hand clothes, among other illegal and legal activities.
It is against this background that we applaud moves by the Government to ensure that soccer players and their coaches make a safe return to different match venues across the country.
The excitement can never be felt greater than here in Manicaland, where for the first time in history football fans will witness the first ever Premiership derby in Mutare.
Elsewhere in this newspaper, we carry a story on the impending epic top-flight league Manicaland derby pitting Manica Diamonds and Tenax FC.
The match will finally get underway.
We hope the participation of the two clubs from this part of the country will culminate into more local youngsters taking their football talent seriously and ultimately changing their lives for the better.
Stars like Blessing Gumiso, Eddie Dube, Willard Katsande, Onsimor Bhasera and Joseph Kabwe are some of the names that quickly come to mind when we talk of the power of football in changing lives for the better.
However, so many talented youngsters have been denied well deserved opportunities to play at the highest level simply because football clubs were not so welcoming.
Therefore the increase in top-flight clubs based in Manicaland is a platform talented youths need not waste.
In Manicaland — from Chipinge to Nyanga — there are many talented young football players whose potential has never been exploited owing to dwindling numbers of clubs partaking in competitive leagues.
Therefore the historic participation of the two teams in the Premiership is no mean feat by any standards.
We sincerely hope that Manica Diamonds and Tenax FC will both be good ambassadors of the standards of the game in Manicaland.
At the end of the day, beyond the entertainment value we get from sport, its ability to positively impact on people’s lives matters most.
However, as we witness the return of football action, we implore authorities running the affairs of different sporting genres to be more cautious in fighting Covid-19.
Several countries are already grappling with the third wave of the pandemic and we do not want to go in the same route.
Therefore strict Covid-19 preventative measures should be observed for the safety of players, coaches, administrators, their families as well as the general public.
The fact that the Indian Covid-19 strain has now been confirmed in the country should inspire authorities to ensure that more stringent measures in combating the further spread of the disease are put in place.
Our stadia should not be super spreaders of the virus.
At least there won’t be any fans in the terraces.
But even those players, coaches, media practitioners and administrators who will be at the forefront need to take precautionary measures for their own safety.
After all, life has to prevail first for football to be played, hence the need to protect life.
