The spate of the recent deaths in Nigerian football has been described as worrisome, but avoidable. This was the opinion expressed by the Football Intermediaries Association of Nigeria(FIAN), in a statement signed by its Public Relations Officer, Kelvin Irikefe.
According to the statement which came on the background of the unfortunate happenstances in Nigeria football, it rued the lack of proper insurance and welfare packages for Nigerian footballers.
It called on football authorities to compel all registered professional and amateur clubs to provide private injury insurance policies in their contracts with the players. Adding that states and local football bodies must also provide free medical treatment to players at the grassroots level.
It read further; “In foreign countries, issues of players’ minimum salaries and insurance schemes are integrated into national policy or labour laws and often with relevant specifics. Except for long-serving national team players on assignments which are leveraged by extra social nets, otherwise is garbage in garbage out system based on your playing duration and remunerations in line with labour laws and private sector codes.
” The structures and data base here are just inadequate to plan and implement a reasonable players insurance pension scheme. Especially given the lack of enforcement of even normal peanuts paid to our players, talk less of taking out a dime for pension savings in an environment where contractual obligations and jobs security are not guarranteed.
” A player first has to survive per day and game on a virtually expended monthly salary in Nigeria to even think about the future. Perhaps we can start by educating or enrolling our own players in any basic private savings and insurance scheme,” it added conclusively.
