Footballers must plan for future

The tale of soccer players falling on hard times as a result of poor management of their finances is a common story that has bedevilled our game for decades.

This week, we ran some positive stories, which we hope inspire our players one way or another.

Advice doesn’t come bigger than larger-than-life Jomo Sono telling players to “plan while playing”.

Sono warmed our hearts when he honoured an invitation as guest speaker to address players – current and former – who belong to renowned player agent Jazzman Mahlakgane at their annual gettogether last weekend.

Mjomane’s words of wisdom included reminding players that they had a lot of time on their hands and must do small courses on the side to plan for life after football.

Sono gave an example of how, at the age of 22, he got into business with a fried chicken franchise that grew into a huge empire where he owned 16 outlets when he was 32.

This coming from Sono, a former player who doubles as a professional club owner-cumbusinessman, should serve as inspiration, especially in the modern-day football industry where some players take home sixfigure salaries, only to dry up once their playing days are over.

The Jomo Cosmos boss’s message was clear as he told players to “invest and not buy cars”. “A home is more important than a car,” he said.

Another piece of advice came from Polokwane City defender Thabiso Semenya who shared how being a former mineworker helped him to be financially responsible.

“Before I bought myself a car, I bought a house,” said the man who used to survive on a R3 000 salary as an underground worker.

We commend players like Semenya for declaring that he was not afraid to face life after football.

It was also encouraging to see Wits captain Thulani Hlatshwayo addressing young people in Soweto last weekend where the Bidvest Wits skipper reminded his audience that “you must not only captain your teams but you must also be captains at home and in your communities”.

We hope such positive messages will go a long way in educating people that life does not only revolve around a football pitch and the wild lifestyle off it, that often follows popular sports people and leads to their demise.