{"id":31790,"date":"2024-12-19T06:32:13","date_gmt":"2024-12-19T06:32:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=31790"},"modified":"2024-12-19T10:16:11","modified_gmt":"2024-12-19T10:16:11","slug":"against-all-odds-young-footballers-balancing-football-and-survival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=31790","title":{"rendered":"Against All Odds: Young footballers balancing football and survival"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>1 Minute, 51 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>

On the outside, football is glamorous. Fast cars, high-earned fashion, mansions, and weekly salaries that others can only earn in a lifetime.<\/p>\n

On the real front, especially away from the glamour spectacle of Europe\u2019s top five leagues, it is far from that.<\/p>\n

It is a life soaked in low salaries, unpaid wages, and a space where side gigs are central to survival.<\/p>\n

Take the case of Issah Ibrahim and Saani Hafiz. They are footballers in the second tier of Ghana football in a city that loves its football, Takoradi.<\/p>\n

But they have had to find other multiple means of survival that give real meaning to the never-say-die spirit.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do this rubber business with my father in order to make money and buy basic football equipment like football boots, etc,\u201d Issah revealed.<\/p>\n

Both Issah and Hafiz play for Sekondi Hasaacas, but they do way more than that. When he is not in training or engaged in a match, Issah works for a local rubber firm.<\/p>\n

Saani Hafiz\u2019s side hustle is earning him an income from being the rider of a tricycle in the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the past three years, I have done this tricycle business as a side hustle to the football I play. The tricycle is for someone, so I only work for him and take my share of the money that comes out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their path highlights the sacrifices that playing football, not just in Ghana but in the lower division, requires, but both players see this as a means to a greater end.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is difficult combining the tricycle work and playing football because the times I have to go training sometimes is when I get a gig with the tricycle.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I find myself in a tight corner to decide on doing. Football is what I have decided on doing; the tricycle is just a side hustle and a means to survival,\u201d Saani indicated.<\/p>\n

Their story is a testament to the power of passion and determination in the face of adversity. Hopefully, one day, we will see them at the highest level soon.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

By Francis Hema<\/p>\n

The post Against All Odds: Young footballers balancing football and survival<\/a> first appeared on 3News<\/a>.<\/p>

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