Dr. Promise Etim, a senior lecturer in the Department of Agricultural Engineering, Akwa Ibom State University, talks about how injury cut short his football career, his love for former France defender Marcel Desailly, and more in this interview with EBENEZER BAJELA
Do you actively participate in sports aside from being one of the top sports analysts in the country?
Yes, aside from talking, I also participate in the game, and I play tennis. I am an active sportsman. I have played tennis for five years, but I am not yet a professional. At least I do it as a form of exercise.
Are there plans to go pro?
There are no plans to go pro for now. I have a lot to learn, and on top of the agenda, I’ve been a research-minded person, and because of my job at the university, I have very little time.
Which is your favourite sport?
Though I play tennis now, football is my favourite sport.
Which football club do you support?
On the local front, I support Akwa United, but I have a bias for Enyimba International as well. On the global stage, I am a fan of Chelsea Football Club.
Who do you support during games between Akwa United and Enyimba?
It is difficult when both sides clash. I always have a divided mind when they come up against each other, and whenever their games end in a draw, it is a bit of happiness for me.
What is your opinion on Chelsea’s performance so far this season?
I would say it has not been very exciting, to say the least. They had a poor start to the campaign, and the players are still trying to find their feet under the new coach, Enzo Maresca, but it has been an improved Chelsea team this season than the previous campaign. I think they will get better and probably meet the target of finishing in the top four by the end of the season because that is very paramount.
Did you play football growing up?
Yes, I played football until I had a knee ligament injury in 2011, and that was the end of my career as a footballer. After recovering from that injury, I got scared every time, and I didn’t attempt to get back onto the pitch. This informed my switch to tennis, which is not much of a contact sport.
Would you have considered football as a career if the injury didn’t occur?
I would have been a central midfielder, but unfortunately that injury was quite scary, and it defined what I had to do about a possible career in football, so I decided to focus on academics. It contributed greatly to my decision to switch.
How difficult was the recovery period?
I refused to have surgery and decided to depend on the locals to help and some medics, who were also very helpful, but it took almost nine months before I could recover fully. So, I can imagine what the players are going through when they suffer a similar injury or other very serious injuries that are career-threatening. It is difficult for them when they sustain injuries of this nature, and I am talking from experience. The process of recovery—to come back and even do much better than they did before the injury—could be very difficult, and that is why sometimes the performance drops for some of the players, and they are not optimal in terms of performance when they recover from an injury of this magnitude.
Would you encourage your children to do sports considering the injury experience?
Generally, sport is very lucrative now, and I would encourage parents to allow their children to venture into sports, but that should be done alongside academics. While they are pursuing their academic endeavours, we should also engage them in some sporting activities that could earn them a little, but academics should be the priority.
Who was your role model as a young football player?
I think it has to be Marcel Desailly, the former France and Chelsea defender, because of the energy he brought to the game. I also have a lot of passion and love for him for the way he played the holding midfield role and matched the tenacity of Edgar Davids and Claude Makelele, who were exciting footballers.
Do you think the scrapping of the Ministry of Sports Development for the National Sports Commission is a welcome development?
I think it is a welcome development that we now have a commission that is saddled with the responsibilities of handling sports in the country, and with all respect to everyone that has manned the Ministry of Sports, I think Shehu Dikko is a man that has the capacity and the experience that is required to man that office to transform sports in the country. I believe we will see some significant changes and improvements in terms of our participation and what we can achieve at international competitions because I trust his capacity.
Where were you involved in any form of civil disobedience as a child, playing football?
I think civil disobedience is just a misconception because back in the day when a child went to play football, you would see the father, mother, and even the relatives lash out at that child and beat up the child and discourage him from playing football in the guise that football would make such a child miserable and not have a productive future. That was the notion and what was obtainable previously, but in modern times we’ve seen what some top athletes have done. People like Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and even Victor Osimhen are earning a good amount of money. What some of these players earn is bigger than the budget of an entire country. It is a massive and lucrative business, but like I said earlier, there has to be a mix of engagement in sports with some degree of academic inclination; that is what I root for, and that should be the focus of football administrators in the country. Parents should also think of how they can engage their kids in sports and encourage them to have some level of education.
