By Bhora Afrika
“Players are the value, they are the ones that sell tickets to matches, get you a transfer fee in the market, players are the heroes, put them first,” said the SuperSport United CEO Stan Matthews giving strong words of advice to local football teams recently.
He said this during a football workshop that was organised by ZIMPAPERS dubbed ‘Making Zim Football Exciting Again’ held in Harare on 19 June, 2023.
The veteran football administrator who was invited as the main speaker at the event, went on to emphasise on how clubs should prioritise and be concerned about the welfare of their players.
He believes players are ‘eating crumbs falling from the master’s table’ while they are clubs’ main source of revenue.
“Put players first. The understanding of putting players first is the most important thing.
But it’s often the thing we think about the least because we are managing budgets, we worry about kits, logistics, referees, and the football association.
“What’s left over, we now throw it to the players.
“There is so much going on that we make the cardinal mistake of pushing players to the bottom of the pile,” Matthews said.
The South African international who agreeably ‘spoke sense’ added: “That thinking has to change because players are the value, players are the heroes and players are the ones that are selling tickets to matches.
“Players are the ones that get you a transfer fee in the market when they are worth something.
“Players are the assets. But in African football, we often see players as the least important persons in the club. That thinking has to change, we want a professional and thriving environment for our players.”
Furthermore, the acclaimed broadcaster who was not short of words of advice, also urged clubs to “embrace new media technologies” to market and push their brands.
“Make use of social media platforms. The new media is dominating. We are past the times of buying newspapers.
“Open official Facebook pages, Twitter handles, Instagram accounts and club websites where you share information about your club. Please make use of Tik tok, create content, share on the platform and reach out to the world.
“That way, you will be marketing and pushing your brands all over the world.”