Footballers show heart
E all know the stereotype. Pampered. Lazy. Spoilt. Brats really. Overpaid and under-worked. Undeserving of the adulation upon which they’re bestowed. Not worth the money. Not appreciative of the position in which they find themselves.
And look some of that is probably true about a certain number of professional footballers. To apply it to everyone, as we often fall into the trap of doing, does a gross disservice to a lot of very good people, however. People who in this moment of peril have stepped up in a major way.
The captain of the Irish national side, Seamus Coleman, has led the way by making a substantial donation to the Feed the Heroes group, which is providing food to front line healthcare workers in the fight against COVID-19. His international colleague James McClean, meanwhile, was the driving force behind an emergency fund for League of Ireland players effected by the present crisis.
Between them McClean, Enda
Stevens, Kevin Long, Jack Byrne and Graham Burke contributed
€25,000 to kick start the effort.
And it’s not just Irish players, naturally enough. FC Bayern München star Robert Lewandowski and his wife Anna donated €1m to the global fight to combat coronavirus. “Today we’re playing on the same team,” he told Sport Bild. Liverpool’s Sadio Mané donated €45,000 to the Senegalese national committee fighting the disease. The two Manchester clubs have both made substantial donations to local food banks for people struggling to cope with the crisis. Up and down the Premier League and all over Europe and across different codes the world over sports people are doing what they can to help, reminding us of the essential goodness of people.
Yes there’s greed and selfishness and stupidity – look no further than the present occupant of the Oval Office – but now more than ever it’s good to be reminded of the ties that bind. We’re all in this together. Sometimes one does tend to despair for the future of humanity, but in this time of crisis we’re seeing the best of ourselves. Let’s not lose sight of that.