A rare glimpse in the mind and thoughts of Zambian soccer Icon Kalusha Bwalya
…reads like a chapter in a great autobiography
“Nobody prepares you for what you will face in the Professional World of Football. Nobody warns you of the ugly side, the side that nobody in Africa cautioned me (Kalu) about.”
I started my professional football career in Belgium in late 1985. From the modest township of Mufulira in Zambia, to the sophisticated streets of Brugge, ‘the Venice of the North’.
I had achieved a lot in the Zambian League with my Team Mufulira Wanderers. I was awarded Zambian Footballer of the Year 1984 and my National Team career was blossoming. The offer to go to Europe to ply my trade was like a dream come true. I felt privileged to have been given a chance to prove myself on the European stage.
I was strong, self confident and determined to succeed.
*Back in those days, black people were rare in Brugge. In fact, there were only three black players coming out of two premier league teams Cercle Brugge and Club Brugge.*
There were times at training when one of my team mates would ‘swear’ they had seen me in town that day. When I told them that I had not left my ‘foster’ parents home the whole day, they would shrug it off by saying *“you all (black people) look alike”* At first, it used to get me upset, but later on I learnt to laugh about it.
To get to training I used to need to take 2 buses and then walk about 150 metres to the grounds, even in the harshest of weather conditions. Initially all the players driving to training would drive past without as much as a hoot. As I started to make more impact on the ‘training pitch’ and challenging for a starting place in the team, they would stop and offer me a lift. I never accepted a lift and continued walking until I bought my own car. I conquered these examples of belittlement by strengthening my determination to prove to all that I could rise above these minor obstacles and prove my worth as an equal to them.
When I was finally in the 1st team, I got the shock of my life when I was booed by the opposition fans during the warm-up session. This was something I had never ever experienced before. The opposition fans hostility sometimes continued the entire match.
Through concentration and sheer determination I started ignoring it.
The chants and slurs were part of the game in the late 80’s and as I began to make a name for myself in the League, I paid less and less attention to it. This, coupled with resolve and fortitude allowed my mind to shut all of it out. All I wanted was to be respected for my skill not insulted for the colour of my skin. It just made me more resolute to succeed.
It needs to be known that to make it as a professional footballer does not happen by luck and talent alone. It takes ongoing strenuous practice, extreme discipline, unflinching determination, untold sacrifice, laser sharp focus and dedicated commitment. Players deserve to be respected for this.
It has always been a sad state of affairs when a minority try to influence the majority. The racist slants in stands have always come from a small portion of the crowd. A small portion so intent on their team winning they would do anything to see the opposition losing, even to stoop so low as to try and degrade them. Find a difference they can pick at and take it to the extreme.
I am not sure if walking off the pitch as a reaction to this; as was the case with Prince Boateng of AC Milan recently; achieves anything but victory for the offending party.
Many Football players have been victims at one time or the other. Uncivilised gestures, monkey noises and booing sounds to mention but a few have been experienced, but players need to soldier on. We are all trying to make in life in our respective fields.
Most fans across the World attend football games to enjoy the match and encourage their teams. The love outweighs the hate.
FIFA have made their position very clear in article 3 of their statutes, ‘Discrimination of any kind against a country, private person or group of people on account of ethnic origin, gender, language, religion, politics or any other reason is strictly prohibited and punishable by suspension or expulsion’
My opinion is to try and eradicate this scourge, the authorities need to try and manage it better. The onus should be on the clubs and National football associations to empower their safety personnel to identify the offenders and act swiftly to remove them from the stadium. They need to be named and shamed and banned from ever attending another game. In so doing they would think twice before shouting obscenities. If this cannot be done then we need to resort to hitting where it hurts most, by deductinvg points. I will support such a cause.
Discrimination is alive in our society unfortunately, practiced by a minority of people convinced that they are superior by one virtue or another. However, it does not mean we have to tolerate it. We, as the majority need to kick it out. It is a rare disease that needs to be wiped out. As players we need to stand tall and be strong, be immune to such pettiness. As fans we need to expose the perpetrators and stop them from infecting others with this disease.
Football is meant to conquer discrimination and adhere to the notion of fair play. Here we are in 2013, 28 years after by European debut, still talking about this scourge. How can we still call it the beautiful game?
SOURCE: Kalusha Bwalya @March 2020
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