Recently, what could have been a momentous time of joy and celebrations after the Spanish Women Football Team won the Women’s World Cup turned sour after Royal Spanish Football Federation President Luis Rubiales allegedly forcibly kissed winning-goal scorer Jennifer Hormoso during the medals’ award ceremony following Spain’s 1-0 victory over England.
The incident generated a crisis in Spanish soccer. It sparked condemnation in Spain and across the world, which led to the suspension of Rubiales by the football world governing body, Fifa. Following weeks of ferocious criticism, Rubiales had no choice but to relinquish the position as the country’s soccer governing body president in September.
He had held the position for over five years. On resigning, he admitted that based on the rest of allegations being levelled against him, it was clear that his post as a Royal Spanish Football Federation president was untenable.
Currently Rubiales, 46, who has since been banned by Fifa from all activities related to football for three years over this incident, is now under investigation for “the crimes of sexual assault and coercion” by Spanish prosecutors.
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On the other hand, Spain’s Women’s National Team coach Jorge Vilda, who should have been celebrating the victory, was unceremoniously fired for being sympathetic to Rubiales. Probably what was more touching was Vilda’s reaction to his dismissal. In an emotional interview with CNN, Vilda said: “After 17 years in women’s football, after everything we’ve accomplished, I have a clear conscience because I’ve given 100 percent effort every day during these 17 years, but I don’t understand the decision and I don’t think I deserved to be fired.”
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Coincidentally, back home, Malawi’s Women’s National Football Team, the Scorchers, beat defending champions, Copper Queens of Zambia [Shepolopolo] with a resounding 2-1 victory in a thrilling 2023 Cosafa Women’s Championship match which took place from October 4 to 15 in South Africa. This is not a mean achievement, especially considering that the team went there probably as underdogs. And, of course, victory can never be sweeter than beating a neighbour who ‘taunts’ you! Congratulations are, therefore, in order to the Scorchers.
The sweet news comes at a time news coming out of Malawi has not been all that positive. It is, therefore, heart-warming to see that amidst all the negativity, there are some sporting activities, like women’s football, that could bring an aura of optimism in this arguably pessimistic nation. Paradoxically, women’s football, unlike men’s football, has not enjoyed adequate financial support.
This is the time we witnessed individuals and politicians in all shades speaking with one voice. They all took turns in congratulating the Scorchers for wrestling the crown from the Shepolopolo. We all celebrated the victory. Typical of the adage “Success has so many fathers while failure is an orphan”, everyone, including those who were reluctant to spend a dime on the Scorchers, were eager to associate with them after the win as they all jostled for photo opportunities. Some businesses might be regretting their decision not to sponsor the team as the win could have elevated their brands.
However, in moments of excitement like these, there is always the likelihood that, in the course of celebrations, it is easy to go overboard. It was, therefore, pleasing to note that unlike in Spain, the celebrations in Malawi went on well without any incident of mischief.
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But why should I bother you with all this football stuff? It is an undeniable fact that football is a uniting factor. Besides, football is a highly emotive sport— if incidences that accompanied the Spanish women’s football team triumph over England are anything to go by. Therefore, as we are cherishing Malawi’s win over the Copper Queens, there are probably a number of lessons which could be drawn from the events in Spain. Suffice it to say that, in whatever capacity we are serving, it is important to be aware of our limits.
Judgement should be our guiding virtue. Unfortunately, judgement, or the voice of reason, tend to diminish over time as one gets too familiar with a position or becomes intoxicated with power. Probably, Rubiales would not have acted this way two years ago, when he was new to the position.
Furthermore, American business magnate and philanthropist Warren Buffett once said: “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you will do things differently.”
