The other side of local sporting fame

St Vincent and the Grenadines has some form of sporting history, whether it is orally communicated or the sporadic documentation.

In the absence of a Hall of Fame, many persons who have served locally, regional or internationally, sometimes belated or not, get some form of recognition or honourable mention.{{more}}

Though not structured or mandatory, some efforts are made to pay homage to those who have given national service at least. But are we doing enough to really take care of our former national representatives, especially in their times of need?

We speak glowingly, and revere more than any other sporting team which has excelled at national representation, that of the 1979 Senior Men’s football outfit.

For some reason or reasons, other than their success then, of placing second in the Caribbean Football Union’s competition, they have found pride of place in the annals of St Vincent and the Grenadines’ history.

One would think it was the passion, the commitment, the stamina, the training regimen and the ethics, which that bunch of players possessed that has earned them the many superlatives. Even back then, players were the national toasts; received a heroes’

welcome. A motorcade, along with a special appearance at independence parade at the Victoria Park, heralded their accomplishments on the field of play.

But their stories, whilst not the same as others, bear some similarities, as after all the feteing and the likes in the moments; when these same players drift off into their twilight years, they are often forgotten.

A closer examination of the said football team which everyone speaks about, is that several of them are suffering from one ailment or the other. Was it a case of them pushing their bodies to the limit in ignorance, and now it is taking a toll on them? Were the training methods then contributing factors to the medical issues that most of the players are today battling?

How many of our past national players were afforded complimentary tickets to regional and international matches of the sport which they represented in their hey days?

Not isolated, others who have represented St Vincent and the Grenadines in other sporting disciplines are in a similar predicament, with no hearing ears for their bellowing calls for help.

We often encounter several pleas via media outlets for help for sports personalities — those here as well as those abroad — who are ailing.

Their challenges are compounded by the fact that most of our national sportsmen and women remained at amateur status, hence had to fend for themselves economically, while still required to give maximum output when they represented St Vincent and the Grenadines.

This is not to say that state agencies or other entities should be responsible for the former national players’ well-being after their active sporting lives have passed, but some mechanism should be in place to assist them in their times of need. Whilst no single method of compensation is possible, it should, therefore, suggest a collaborative national effort.

Stakeholders of sports, namely the national associations, National Sports Council, the Government through the Ministry of Sports as well as the National Olympic Committee, should knock heads together and devise a system of a trust/medical fund or a foundation to aid those trail blazers in sports.

Several other things can be implemented to cushion the effects of despair, which the national treasures sometimes have to bear before they depart this life for their eternal rest.