Invest in your education

JESSE JACKSON KAURAISA



I know this topic has been brought up before but I am writing this as a reminder to sportspeople to invest in their education.

Many of our footballers, athletes and other sport personalities enjoy doing sport without considering education.

Yes, they sometimes make big money but it actually is never enough to last forever.

That is why you find former sport stars on the streets and struggling to make a decent living after retirement. It is very important that our athletes concentrate on education while pursuing a sport career.

The money they make from their sport must be invested in their education in order for them to plan a better future.

Some might argue that football players abroad make millions and are rich without having to go to school. There is some truth in that but we have to understand that those countries have professional set-ups.

The fact that Namibia has no professional sport set-up makes it difficult for sport personalities make the money that people abroad make.

The unfortunate truth is that our country is far from establishing professional sports and continues to drift further away from that.

Namibia's economy has been on its knees for years and the government has not been able to inject more money into the sport sector.

Sport in Namibia is not a priority funding sector and that is why it gets less from the national budget.

Some players and athletes are lucky to sign with foreign clubs and are able to earn much more than they could make here.

But at the end of the day these players will also return to Namibia and that is why it is important they make use of the opportunity to save money and to study while abroad.

I am not saying that all sport personalities neglect to invest in their education.

There are some former football players who became teachers, lawyers and accountants after their football careers ended.

These are the people that should serve as role models for the rest of the athletes that have not taken education into consideration.

These are the people that should encourage other sportsmen and -woman by publicly speaking about their journeys towards becoming successful lawyers, teachers or any other profession.

Schools have a big role to play in encouraging young aspiring athletes to do well academically before they can join the school teams.

Some schools have a rule that learners may only take part in school sports if their marks are satisfactory.

It is a system that can push those who are passionate about sports to do better in their studies in order to land a place in school teams.

Parents also have a role to play in helping their children succeed in both education and sport. Always make sure that your son or daughter makes education their first priority, and sport second.

People must realise that you cannot play competitive sport forever and a time will come when you will need to do something else.

It is therefore better to take your education seriously while also performing well in the sport category of your choice.

It is better to do something now than ending up with regrets when you sit at home without a job or some sort of tertiary education qualification.

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