The social media platforms, mostly Twitter, were electrified by posts reading bad news about the demise of the ever-greatest football king of the 20th century, Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pele.
The king of football, aged 82, died on the 29th of December 2022, and according to the medical reports, he had been suffering from kidney and prostate problems.
Pele was a brilliant professional footballer who played as a forward and was regarded as one of the World’s greatest players, with FIFA crowning him as the greatest. He was among the most successful and popular sports figures of the 20th century.
Medics added that he had surgery to remove a tumor from his colon in September 2021 at the Albert Einstein Hospital and was readmitted to the hospital in late November 2022.
Following the forest of condolence messages, Pele is described as a hero who erected the new Brazil in the world of sports, and consequently, the Brazilian Government declared three days of national mourning in recognition of his eternal contribution to the country.
I am sure this kind of honor is a dream for anyone however, not everyone who does something good becomes a hero and is celebrated because heroism is defined by only two words: inspiration and love.
It’s impossible to imagine that the small things most people overlook are the very things that introduce people to the entire world. Pele’s love for football and inspiration created the heroic veins in his body, which made him work tirelessly to prove what he had become.
It’s without doubt that love and inspiration are very key to the success of anyone in any field, whether political, social, or economic.
Through his hard work, sacrifice, and strong adherence to what he loved most, Pele’s football skills touched the lives of many world stars and shall forever remain relevant in the game of football even after his demise.
Back home in Uganda, what lesson can we learn from the well-lived life of the world king of football? You don’t have to be a young person like Pele did to have a meaningful impact on the lives of young people.
Time check: 15:45 hours On December 31st, Saturday, as I watched the Premier League early kickoff match between Manchester United and Wolves from a nearby joint in Kireka, a heated debate about the late King of Football erupted between two youths. One person (Jackson) openly asked a friend if he knew if we could have another Pele back home in Uganda, of course not in football, but in political games.
Jackson, who looked reloaded and excited, softly laughed and immediately told his friend (Tony) that from the way Pele lived his life, he had realized that President Yoweri Museveni is another old person whose contributions in shaping and securing the lives of youths and the citizens of Uganda will forever be remembered and appreciated by Ugandans.
However, it is heartbreaking to see some of the alleged influencers of the young generation, like NUP, disregarding those (the old) who would shape, guide, and inspire them to touch clouds in the sky.
The National Unity Platform (NUP) leadership would have learned something from the recent 2022 FIFA World Cup in order to honor and submit to the successful political party legend, the National Resistance Movement (NRM), as they strive for victory.
No surprise that the world cup finals featured three magical players, Mbappe, Messi, and Ronaldo, who were shaped, inspired, and guided by successful football legend Pele.
It bothers me to see NUP ignorantly disrespecting and creating enmity between leaders of the ruling party NRM and themselves, which denies them the opportunity to learn from such experienced party leaders. The indomitable Messi, Mbappe, and Ronaldo worked closely with Pele to touch the clouds.
NUP lost credibility when it began cohabiting with political dwarf FDC and others claiming they can bring about change they haven’t seen in decades, and if it’s not a waste of time, which gas will FDC pump into NUP to seize power? Yet FDC has repeatedly registered failure with the same gas.
It is critical to be inspired to inspire, but the inspirer’s track record determines how far the one inspired can go. Anyway, birds of the same feather flock together.
The Brazilian football federation described Pele as eternal, France striker Kyalian Mbappe said Pele’s legacy will never be forgotten, and the Premier League praised Pele’s remarkable career, calling him an extraordinarily gifted footballer.
