The world game playing on the micro and macro levels


Paul Cogger

Email: postscript@optusnet.com.au




The Macro Level
To most spectators, David Beckham is a soccer superstar. But to the rest of the world, he's pretty much an average professional footballer - at least in terms of salary.

David Beckham is one of the world's most well known soccer players but Beckham's nearly $6.5 million does not equate with that paid to the top 20 highest-paid soccer stars, and barely puts him onto the list of the top 50 earners in the sport.

Other top players and their earnings include:

Ronaldo
$23 million
Real Madrid
Zinedine Zidane
$19 million
Ronaldinho
$14 million
Barcelona
Francesco Totti
$13.5 million
AS Roma
Michael Owen
$13 million
Newcastle United
Frank Lampard
$12.5 million
Chelsea
Oliver Kahn
$11 million
Bayern Munich
Raul
$10.5 million
Alessandro Del Piero
$10.5 million
Juventus
Michael Ballack
$10 million
Bayern Munich
Thierry Henry
$10 million
Arsenal
John Terry
$10 million
Chelsea
Wayne Rooney
$10 million
Manchester United
Ruud van Nistelrooy
$9 million
Manchester United
Christian Vieri
$8 million
AS Monaco
Patrick Vieira
$8 million
Juventus

While these salaries represent the top line, they also inspire young men from all walks of life to see soccer as both a sporting outlet and one once they are proficient, that also provides an economic opportunity for advancement for those born with the skills.

The following scenario is just one example of how the world game can help communities on a micro level.

The Micro Level
As you know I am a small businessman, ok a business man who owns a small business, philanthropist and member of Yarra Plenty Church (YPC). Sixteen years ago I used my passion for football (soccer) to establish the Eltham Eagles Soccer Club (EESC) for my children and as a mission to local youth in the Greensborough and Eltham area.

Recently Yarra Plenty Church and the Eltham Eagles soccer club together have been working on some strategic community development projects which will benefit AIDS orphans, and the Mbale community of rural West Kenya. Since 2004 we have had a trusting relationship with Bishop Isaac Wawire of the Word of Faith (WOF) Church in Kenya, who himself has established a track record on a number projects.

Isaac Wawire has shown great leadership when he was instrumental in quelling the massive destruction of youth riots in Western Kenya a few years back during elections. Many of the projects have grown out of his desire to provide for local youth, most unemployed, most with poor schooling, and many with parents lost to AIDS.

Paul and the Eltham team

The Situation in Mbale
Mbale is a small hard-to-get-to town in the Vihiga District of western Kenya (population: 500,000).

Mbale faces many of the challenges including:
" 25% rates of HIV/AIDS - the highest rate of infection per capita in the world;
* 47% of the Vihiga population is 18 - 30 years old
" High rates of malaria;
" Poor education outcomes and attendance mainly due to economic factors (e.g. cost of uniforms) rather than access or aspiration;
" Poor access to satisfactory primary health care and health education initiatives;
" Low participation in the labour market - particularly for young people;
" Poor access to nutritional food sources;
" Boredom and lack of sports and recreation programs for young people.

Our Seven Key Measures

These are significant challenges and to addressing them (aiming for community transformation) we have put in place seven measures to track progress.

1. Halt and begin to reverse the incidence of HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases
2. Increase the number of boys and girls that complete a full course of primary school
3. Increase the opportunity for young people (male and female) to achieve full and productive employment
4. Decrease the maternal mortality ratio
5. Increase the number of children living in strong safe 'family' environments
6. Decrease levels of crime and violence
7. Empower young men and women to become leaders in their own communities

The Projects
We are currently working with Isaac Wawire on 6 innovative projects that will make a long-term difference in the lives of individual young people, with the potential to transform their whole community.

1. Schooling. Dunamis Primary School - Supporting under-privileged children through provision of primary education, while ensuring AIDS orphans are not ostracised and/or locked out of educational opportunities.
2. East African School of Mission Micro-enterprise. A micro-enterprise crop business to support the training and releasing of Africans for missionary service in local, national and international contexts - in areas of church planting, primary health care and linguistics.
3. Primary Health Care. Increase the resources, knowledge and training in community health care, supporting local government health care plan with a primary focus on HIV/AIDS, malaria, maternal, neonatal and child health.
4. Children at-risk. Water and Sanitation. Care Compassion Home. Providing safe and fresh water and a safe 'family environment' for local AIDS orphans.
5. Care Compassion Micro-enterprise. A maize mill to generate income and make the orphanage self-sustaining and provide employment for the youth.
6. Vihiga District 'Young Lions' Soccer Club. An outreach initiative to provide hope and ambition, structure and focus to local youth, largely un-parented due to AIDS. A partnership with EESC is helping build capacity into league managers and administrators.

I believe these are good strategic projects, leading to life-transformation for youth in communities that are worse off than ourselves, which already have some financial and volunteer support from members of YPC.

All these projects have been started, and in April we will be facilitating the beginning of the Vihiga District Youth Cup. All of the projects are useful but none will affect the Vihiga Community more than the Soccer competition that we are looking to set up.