Former Banyana star Veronica Phewa was the topic of discussion on our Facebook group this past weekend, after an article that said that she does piece jobs at Chinese shops was posted by one of our members.
The group is split on the article, some obviously feel for her and believe she deserves more “for what she has done for the country” and because she was after all one of the first real stars of the local ladies game.
Other members of the group saw the positive side of the piece, because “she at least has a job”.
Phewa was once on the books of Arsenal, at a time when they were one of the leading teams in women's football in the UK.
She has also played in the US and the Ukraine, so she has an impressive CV that even the current Banyana players might find hard to replicate.
But does this give her a special right to jobs within the industry? Some blame SAFA for her “struggles” and that of many former players.
This can't be fair, can it?
Pros get the unique opportunity to live the dream of playing the game at the highest level.
Meanwhile, regular folks who don’t make it, become students of the game and work as administrators, coaches and other roles to make sure there is an industry.
TRAINER: Portia Modise. PHOTO: MUZI NTOMBELA/BACKPAGEPIX
If former players should be getting opportunities after hanging their boots up, what must happen to all the people in those jobs?
Is everyone else supposed to roll over and make way for retired footballers?
Meanwhile, Phewa's good friend and ex-teammate Portia Modise is having a different experience of life after football currently, with her being announced as one of the beneficiaries of a new initiative called 12th Man, which aims to upskill former players.
It is an amazing initiative, which will no doubt add much needed value to former players who have not figured out life after football.
I do however fear that it may unintentionally feed the beast of former players being handed opportunities within football.
When will players be held accountable for waiting their good years of upskilling themselves while they were playing?
There are many regular people who work and study. There's also #TeamNoSleep, who are the streetwise entrepreneurs also known as hustlers, who will tell you stories of lack of sleep and sacrifices they make to succeed.
Nobody wants to see another person suffer, but jobs and opportunities to upskill are a scarcity for everyone.