THE allegations and rebuttals that have surfaced in recent days concerning Lydia Shamalima, a football player for the Zambia Institute of Sustainable Development (ZISD), have revealed some inadequacies in the way football players, both male and female, should be cared for, particularly those who are underage.
In our opinion, it is regrettable that the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ), ZISD, and other stakeholders in the game only intervened after a video of a distraught Shamalima in tears went viral. We wonder how many more players are suffering in silence because they don’t want to be ridiculed for publicly asking for assistance like Shamalima did. This should not be the case.
We have also observed how quick FAZ general secretary Reuben Kamanga was to state that: “As people may already know, these players primarily belong to clubs and only come to the national team when there are games. We would only encourage our clubs to take care of their players as their employers.
“There are rules around remuneration for minors by FIFA, which standard is applied for players in junior setups,” Kamanga said.
We are fully aware that FIFA has placed restrictions on the remuneration of minors, but FAZ should come up with creative ways to make sure that players profit from the national team’s World Cup qualifications and the money earned from winning regional competitions like COSAFA.
While individual clubs are responsible for the players’ welfare, FAZ is also guilty of not paying players their allowances on time whenever they go on international assignments.
There are numerous instances of players from the Copper Queens and Chipolopolo complaining that they were owed huge sums of money in reimbursements for air tickets, with some of them being publicly reprimanded or demonised for raising this issue.
In our opinion, FAZ should give careful thought to regulating how clubs pay their players. In order for clubs to pay their players a living wage so they can cover their housing and food expenses, there should be a minimum wage.
On the part of ZISD, we have noted the club’s response that it has fully paid Shamalima’s salary, winning bonuses and accommodated her at the clubhouse. ZISD also argues that families should not put pressure on young players by turning them into breadwinners at a tender age.
In a nation like ours where poverty, illiteracy and a high mortality are prevalent, child-headed households are not uncommon. ZISD’s apparent ignorance of this harsh reality is strange.
We believe it is normal that Shamalima chose to leave the comfort of the ZISD clubhouse to care for her grandmother, who is 84 years old. That is what any grandchild would do in a close-knit society with a strong communal culture like ours.
ZISD said in a statement: “Her recent withdrawal from the clubhouse was a decision made by her family for reasons best known to them. We are shocked to see videos circulating on social media, especially since Lydia was with us during our midweek fixture against Nkwazi on Thursday.
“No grievances were raised with the relevant ZISD officials despite the existing channels available for such matters. Additionally, a few details in the circulating report need to be corrected,” the statement reads in part.
While we appreciate Kamanga’s commitment to engaging clubs and also player representative bodies like the Footballers and Allied Workers Union to find long-term solutions to such regularly occurring problems, FAZ should consider creating a platform where players can be airing their grievances.
We believe that such a platform would expose more cases of destitution and abuse of players both at club and national team levels. Due to the lack of a forum for them to discuss their personal problems and grievances, Shamalima chose to appeal for assistance on social media. It is time for FAZ to create a platform that guarantees player confidentiality to enable the young players to talk about their concerns without any fear of reprisals and public ridicule.
Shamalima’s case should be the starting point. We hope she will not be victimised.
