Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Ramadan 17, 1445 H
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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Being a footballer is not easy

Nizar
Nizar
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Junior’s mother is so cynical against football so much so that she looks at balls the way she does with dead rats. Thus it is not surprising that our son has taken football to be of lesser importance especially on the pitch.


I’ve gotten used to the idea that I was deterred from becoming a star, but shouldn’t Junior be given a chance to join the world of football and prove himself.


I wouldn’t want to see him neglecting football and end up staying indoors reading comics and solving puzzles. This is somehow bothersome to me as a father and makes me feel that if he could be encouraged to practice and enjoy the game, it would bear some fruits.


In my early days of full energy and plenty of saliva, I used to play soccer from sun up to sun down. The talent, determination and vigour existed in full swing.


Although I didn’t make it to the national team, I had an abiding belief that Junior would take the straits further and become a star at least in the region.


The day he was born, I whispered to myself that in those legs lie the prosperity and glory for the future of football. I wrote small pieces of poems to celebrate the beloved new born. I gave him the name Junior because I wanted him to follow my foot steps and become a great footballer.


I know he is still far from being an adult but this young boy shows no great power and ability to one day be included in the nation’s first eleven. I don’t even see him sitting on that bench waiting as a substitute.


My dream of seeing a day when my country is restored to a historical glory by my son is growing thinner and thinner. I have all of a sudden discovered that football has become something of a thorny matter. I have now reasons to believe that Junior is enjoying being completely useless at soccer.


Perhaps he is lacking a role model. Maybe if he saw me playing football in our garden he would take an interest in it. But nowadays his father is too busy for football. Dropping the kids to their classes is not enough — you have to actually do the activity yourself in order to be a real role model.


My neighbour’s wife says that her husband couldn’t care more about football; she says her brothers are massively into it. Her kids are excellent footballers because they take the inspiration from their maternal uncles.


If Junior continues to show lack of interest in football and continues to struggle with the game, maybe I should leave him to grow in his great skill – IT. So that he can spend hours lost in the joy of his computer. What is the benefit of pulling him out of his world of information technology into a professional that involves men chasing an inflated piece of leather with an aim of kicking it through a goal post? One that will make him wear stubbed boots while running on green grass under the watchful eyes of a referee and a fanatical cheering crowd.


Nizar al Musalmy


nizar.nmh.musalmy@gmail.com


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