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Nigerian musician Seun Kuti has raised an important question about why footballers make so much money compared to essential workers like doctors and nurses.
During a recent Instagram livestream, he expressed disbelief that athletes earn millions just to play a game while nurses, teachers, and other vital workers earn much less. He aired his stance that professional football players should play more often to warrant their hefty fees and salaries.
"They say footballers want to go on strike. They said they want to strike, where are the rich pan-Africans? The football they're playing is too much. Footballers are paid millions just to chase a ball around a field. For the amount of money they are paid, they should be playing every day. Personally, I know boys who aren't paid a dime yet they play on the field every day."
Kuti highlighted the importance of essential workers like nurses and doctors, who continued working during the COVID-19 pandemic. He stressed that in comparison to the essential workers, football players are not as relevant to be paid millions.
He explained, "During COVID, I asked a very question: how dare we play footballers more than we play nurses? How dare humanity create a system and give our allegiance to footballers. How can footballers earn more money than nurses?"
"During the pandemic there was no football. Did anything happen to anybody when we didn't watch football? It is not essential. If nurses in the world stop working now, as there is no COVID, do you think this world will continue? If all the doctors go on strike, do you think the world would continue? If all the teachers quit, how many of you can stay at home with your children? Can you teach them yourselves?" he added.
Kuti questioned why sports players earn so much and suggested that even they might feel their pay isn’t fair.
He continued, "The people doing the most important jobs are paid less. Paramedics and street cleaners couldn't stop working during COVID. that was when I realised that this world is mad! They had to work during COVID and many of them lost their lives because they were mixing with the crowd."
"But sports is entertainment so they earn millions yet they want to go on strike. I'm sure they know that what they're earning is not worth what they're earning. I refuse that they'd be paid that much, nobody can convince me that it's important or with it," he concluded.