What if Muamba was in Uganda?

By Charles Mutebi 

DEATH comes anywhere, anytime. But as was mercifully illustrated Saturday at White Hart Lane, North London, quality medical care has the ability to resist the often-feared call to the next life. 

Bolton FC midfielder Fabrice Muamba would be dead if it wasn’t for a group of medics who kept him alive when he suffered a cardiac arrest in the middle of his team’s FA Cup match with Tottenham Hotspur. 

Thoughts remain with the 23 year-old, who is still in critical condition, and there has been a flood of tributes from all over the football world towards the native of DRC. 

However, one can’t help but wonder what if… 

What if it wasn’t Muamba but a Super League player collapsing like that in the middle of a league match? Would he survive? Would a Super League player have the six medics that attended to Muamba, giving him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and using a defibrillator to revive his heart’s functionality? 

The answer is as obvious as it is sad. 

“We must admit our players play under the mercy of God,” conceded Super League spokesman James Sekandi. “It is up to the USL and FUFA to ensure that clubs meet the required medical standards before receiving the licence to play in the league.” 

Among the said requirements, each club should have a qualified doctor and an ambulance and all must be present at every team game. Only SC Villa players have any form medical insurance and there is an ambulance at each of the Jogoos’ games.