Ndaye Mulamba: Africa’s Forgotten Football Hero
An article appeared on a website a few days ago about one of the great forgotten African footballers. The footballer in question is Ndaye Mulamba; he was the prime striker for the Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) football team in the 1970s. He helped Zaire qualify for the 1974 World Cup and was the top scorer in the African Nations Cup. He now lives the life of an ordinary man in South Africa. His story is one of pain, suffering, betrayal and regret. It is also the story of how the world of football can so easily forget one of its own.
The article says that Ndaye was living a good life as a footballer playing for the Zaire team until war broke out in the country and he was shot in the leg by soldiers. He escaped to South Africa with only the clothes on his back, literally. It is a heartbreaking story of a great footballer becoming a refugee and not being able to play the game he loved. It shows the level of disparity between footballers in developed countries, as opposed to developing nations. Fortunate footballers like David Beckham or Zidane all live a life of luxury but a striker who was just as talented as them became a refugee and an outcast forgotten by the world of football. The highest earning footballer in the world is Lionel Messi who is paid a staggering, “annual earnings of €33 million, with Beckham left trailing on €30.4 million”
That is an annual salary of £33 million for Messi which equals a monthly salary of €2.75 million. When Ndaye first arrived as a refugee in South Africa he had no money with him at all. It is painful to think that one footballer gets more money than most people will make in their entire lives in one month and another footballer becomes a refugee with no money at all to his name.
It seems to be sheer luck of birth place, if Ndaye would have been born in a different country he would have been revered for his talents. He probably wouldn’t have been shot in the leg, which ended his career and he wouldn’t have become a refugee with no future. This story also shows the priorities that some countries place on their national heroes, because that is what all athletes of an international standard are; heroes. Athletes go abroad and promote the good side of their countries and try to remove stereotypes and racial barriers. They promote understanding and goodwill between different countries and cultures more than any delegation of politicians can.
They become ambassadors as very few other people from a country can. They have fans all over the world and help to showcase the softer side of the country they represent. This is especially true of developing countries that have a serious image problem. The Afghan cricket team did more for the country than any political delegation ever could. The more developing countries support and promote their athletes, the more the good images of their country will come to light. They also become role models for the children of their countries and help to nurture and develop future athletes.
For these reasons, among many others, athletes should be looked after and promoted and not left to starve in another country. There are certain things that every country holds dear in times of war or internal conflict, things which they feel are worth saving. Athletes should be one of those things. It is very sad that the country of Zaire didn’t think so at the time. Now living a life full of regret and anger towards his home country, the onetime great football player is still full of hope and is very happy that the football World Cup has finally come to African soil.
More developing countries around the world should realise the potential that their athletes possess, the potential that extends beyond the athletic realm and extends into the world stage. If more countries realised this fact and promoted their athletes much better than they do know, sports will become a true catalyst for worldwide change. It is too late for Ndaye now, but it is hoped that this type of a devastating situation won’t happen to any rising African football star in the future again.
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