The return of the prodigal sons
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The intervention of the President was paramount and very significant. There were photographs with the President to signify how important they are and how dearly we miss them, at least that is how they may think.
I am talking about four footballers – Michael Essien, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Andre Ayew and Jordan Ayew – who one time or the other, decided not to feature for the Black Stars, our national football team.
The case of Michael Essien, to me, sounds quite rational and reasonable. He had been on the injured list for a whole season. He got injured while on national duty and for almost a year, his club, Chelsea of London, had to spend hard cash to restore him to good health and fit enough to go back into active football.
As a reciprocal gesture, he decided to devote his time to his club, at least for a period while testing his fitness. Very few will fault him for such a decision for obvious reasons. What will be his club’s reaction, should he get injured again while on national duty? Do not forget that the man is not growing younger. Moreover, our country has not got any good record of compensating those who suffer on its behalf on such assignments.
Essien did not snub us. He officially asked to be excused for national duty for some time. As stated earlier, it is only fair that considering his peculiar case, an accommodating ear was given to his plea.
Kevin-Prince Boateng was blunt. He will not play for the national team again, period. Every effort was made to convince him to rescind his decision. He was approached by his coaches, friends, playing colleagues and other important personalities, but he will not budge.
He had just been brought into the limelight by featuring for the Black Stars in the World Cup in South Africa and his market value had gone up, so it is only fair that he reciprocates that gesture. At first it was rumoured that his decision had something to do with travelling expenses and other monetary matters.
His official explanation was that he could not cope with club and national duty which was taking a heavy toll on him. His excuse is one of the most unreasonable ever heard. Every member of the national team is first and foremost a club footballer and to say you cannot cope with both is to say that he does not care about the national interest. His interest is clearly where his stomach is, no two ways about that.
When the management of the Black Stars changed hands, Coach Kwasi Appiah made fresh efforts to bring Kevin-Prince Boateng back into the fold, but like previous efforts, it was futile.
Kevin-Prince Boateng is not going to play for the Black Stars alone. He will still play club football. If he could not yesterday when he was much younger, I do not see how he could cope today when age will be telling on him.
Andre Ayew had a different case. He informed the management of the Black Stars that he was treating an injury with his personal physician. The coach agreed with him in part, but stressed that he still had to be with the team by a definite date or be counted out.
The rules were not made by Coach Appiah. They are standard rules that every footballer worth his salt should be aware of. Every tournament has a deadline by which participating teams are to submit the names of their players and Ghana could not be granted any special exemption. Under the circumstances, Coach Appiah did the most rational by submitting the names of those available.
To prove how important and indispensable he is, Andre Ayew announced publicly and wrote officially to the management of the national team that he is not available for national duty until further notice, whatever that means.
His younger brother, Jordan Ayew followed suit by dissociating himself from the Black Stars for the simple reason that he was not picked by the coach for CAN 2011 in South Africa.
Nobody can discount the fact that those who feature for the nation in sporting events do so purely as a sacrifice, sometimes without any monetary reward. When they succeed, we all share in the glory. When they fail, very often, we vilify and distance ourselves from them.
Of course it is not sacrifice all the way, especially when the job has been well-executed. National players become instant heroes and sometimes their bank accounts swell up by a few thousands of Ghana Cedis. The possibility of signing bigger and more lucrative contracts are also enhanced.
All said and done, an invitation to do anything including playing football on behalf of the nation is an honour which many will cherish. All the same, to be part of a national endeavour is still a matter of choice and no one could be forced to do anything contrary to his/her wish.
Again, it is within the right of Ghana as a sovereign state to determine who should be called to national duty anytime, provided that person(s) are prepared to do the national sacrifice. It is not within the might of any individual or group of individuals to hold the nation to ransom by determining its choice for any national assignment.
To declare that you will be available when you so wish amounts to rating oneself above all others. Nobody can claim that indispensability. Even the Sun which is the source of energy for Earth does not rise everyday all over the globe but the Earth survives. It tells you that there are alternatives which unknown to the ordinary person may be better than the known.
Those who are prepared to listen to their ego and abandon this country when it matters most have no business crawling back to paint a picture as if while they were away, the world had stood still. While we recognise and appreciate their sacrifice, those footballers who feel too big for this nation, should realise that there are many other Ghanaians who are making a lot of sacrifices sometimes at their peril so that this country can move on.
You can mention them. Teachers, doctors, nurses, straight politicians, sanitary engineers, farmers, traders, Even though it can be argued that they are earning their living from what they are doing, the fact remains that without those services, our world will not be the same.
Brazil has won the World Cup five unprecedented times. But those victories even though might have made Brazil popular in the world of football have not reflected positively on the lives of ordinary Brazilians.
As you read this piece, hundreds of thousands of Brazilians are demonstrating against what they describe as monstrous expenditure on the 2014 World Cup and the 2014 Olympiad while they cannot access good education, medical care, housing and transportation. Brazil is an economic giant in the so-called Third World. If their case is not good, ours cannot be better because we have won the World Cup.
Whether we win the World Cup in Brazil or not, those who will yield the direct benefits are the players. The rest of us will only shout our voices hoarse in support and go home to sleep in our small, dark and hot rooms and possibly on empty stomachs.
The little that we have will be used as bonuses for players and team leaders. They may even get brand new vehicles which many professionals cannot afford throughout their working lives. The bluff must, therefore, end.
In short, those who dedicated themselves to the national cause and took us through the qualifying rounds should take us to Brazil. If we win, we will celebrate. If we lose, we will not be alone and we will lick our wounds in dignity. Nobody should be given the opportunity to reap where they have not sown.The last thing we should do is not to make this proud nation, a victim of persons who behave as if without them, we shall not live to see another day.
By Kofi Akordor
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kofiakordor.blogspot.com