Why Hasule creates unease
May 02, 2004
I SAY SO<br><br>THE circumstances that surrounded football icon Paul Hasule’s death again underlined how Ugandans treat their sports heroes.
I SAY SO
By James Bakama
THE circumstances that surrounded football icon Paul Hasule’s death again underlined how Ugandans treat their sports heroes.
In Hasule’s death, all of us seemed to be suddenly awakened to the fact that amidst us there had once lived a legend.
Suddenly everyone seemed to be making up for what should have been done while Hasule lived. The eulogies were as usual in abundance.
Offers flooded in to an extent that there is even still a puzzle as to who exactly bought the coffin.
Was it the police force where Hasule was coach, or was it flamboyant minister Mike Mukula? Was some money misplaced?
The soccer fans should be commended for their solidarity in ensuring that their hero got a decent burial.
But, maybe Hasule would have lived much longer if a fraction of the emotion and money injected after his death had come earlier.
Or, am I being unfair with the fans given that there were closer people and institutions, which the general public assumed were taking care of the ailing coach?
It is a mind boggling debate that could however in future be simplified with a sports policy in place.
Crystallisation of the belated policy will be a major boost. It is through such a policy that the state would take care or plan the welfare of its sports heroes.
At the moment, there is nothing legally binding the state to its sportsmen in their hour of need. It is, as Thomas Hobbes would put it, everyone for himself.
So, while our stars send us into ecstatic celebration at their prime, they should always be mindful that at the end of the show, the big crowds fizzle out and the athletes are left alone.
Hasule is said to have tasted this bitter side of Ugandan sport in his last days. There are reports that he died a bitter man complaining of neglect by those he helped reach unprecedented heights.
But, why not avoid such emotions by putting in place medical or retirement schemes in clubs.
That Uganda has someone like state minister for health Mike Mukula, who has sports at heart, is an opportunity that our sports authorities should make use of.
The scheme can start
now.jbakama@newvision.co.ug
By James Bakama
THE circumstances that surrounded football icon Paul Hasule’s death again underlined how Ugandans treat their sports heroes.
In Hasule’s death, all of us seemed to be suddenly awakened to the fact that amidst us there had once lived a legend.
Suddenly everyone seemed to be making up for what should have been done while Hasule lived. The eulogies were as usual in abundance.
Offers flooded in to an extent that there is even still a puzzle as to who exactly bought the coffin.
Was it the police force where Hasule was coach, or was it flamboyant minister Mike Mukula? Was some money misplaced?
The soccer fans should be commended for their solidarity in ensuring that their hero got a decent burial.
But, maybe Hasule would have lived much longer if a fraction of the emotion and money injected after his death had come earlier.
Or, am I being unfair with the fans given that there were closer people and institutions, which the general public assumed were taking care of the ailing coach?
It is a mind boggling debate that could however in future be simplified with a sports policy in place.
Crystallisation of the belated policy will be a major boost. It is through such a policy that the state would take care or plan the welfare of its sports heroes.
At the moment, there is nothing legally binding the state to its sportsmen in their hour of need. It is, as Thomas Hobbes would put it, everyone for himself.
So, while our stars send us into ecstatic celebration at their prime, they should always be mindful that at the end of the show, the big crowds fizzle out and the athletes are left alone.
Hasule is said to have tasted this bitter side of Ugandan sport in his last days. There are reports that he died a bitter man complaining of neglect by those he helped reach unprecedented heights.
But, why not avoid such emotions by putting in place medical or retirement schemes in clubs.
That Uganda has someone like state minister for health Mike Mukula, who has sports at heart, is an opportunity that our sports authorities should make use of.
The scheme can start
now.jbakama@newvision.co.ug