Footballers are only human

The news that a group of leading Premier League players have come together to form a charity organisation to help the NHS fight the coronavirus will not come as a major shock to any sane thinking person. The charity named ‘#PlayersTogether’ is reportedly fronted by England international trio Harry Kane, Jordan Henderson and Harry Maguire.

Footballers are easy targets

I have to say that the recent attack on footballers by British health secretary Matt Hancock was slightly hypercritical. Hancock called for the players to take a pay cut during the crisis. While to some that may have made sense, the fact is that they contribute a lot to the government through the amount of tax they pay.

Granted, their wages are ridiculous for what they do. However, it is supply and demand. They are lucky enough to be able to earn the wages they do. Some players put their wages to good use by making regular charity donations.

The big thing that Hancock missed out was the fact that he has not asked his cronies amongst the conservative party to take wage cuts. There are still people in big business making wages that may footballers wages seem like chicken feed. Are we going to see a charity called ‘Hedgefundmanagerstogether’ in the near future? I very much doubt it.

The majority of footballers are generous

Like any walk of life, football has its good and bad characters. However, in the main footballers tend to be generous individuals. Some use their fame and power their profile brings to make a difference.

The main reason they are generous is that footballers in the main tend to be from similar working-class backgrounds to their club’s fans. In the not so distant past, they may have been in similar situations to the ones that most fans find themselves in now.

Their families may work within the NHS or have had family and friends given care in the past by the incredible organisation. The likes of Jordan Henderson, Harry Maguire and Harry Kane may have money now, but they have not forgotten their roots.

One recent story bout Duncan Ferguson made me smile. The Scot is now assistant to Carlo Ancelotti at Everton. He is famous for his generosity. He bought a new TV for an 82-year-old Everton season ticket holder after somebody broke into his house and stole his old tv.

It is the sort of story that is often overlooked by the press, as they try to focus on the negative. For every story of silly behaviour like that of Kyle Walker or Jack Grealish, there is probably one of a player’s generosity that goes unreported.

NHS and medical staff worldwide are the heroes

The NHS has for so long been an organisation fighting against red tape and underfunding. The safe who work in the organisation are true heroes. At a time when people are attempting to avoid the deadly virus, these are the people going head-to-head with it, risking their own lives for the good of others.

They are the heroes, as are the medical staff worldwide, who are doing their best to deal with an unprecedented situation.

Footballers are often easy targets for criticism. However, some are regularly contributing to charitable organisations, but we never hear about it. It is certainly a positive move and hopefully, other wealthy sections of our society should now contribute. I will not hold my breath though.

Will other wealthy sections of the UK contribute to the fight against the coronavirus?