Road crashes involving soccer players has become a scourge that has claimed the lives of too many talented stars in South Africa.
One of the most recent reports regarding this issue involves Sekhukhune United player Shaun Mogaila. The crash led to the death of a child and her mother seriously injured. eNCA spoke to some experts to understand some of the factors that might be contributing to this deadly trend.
POSSIBLE REASONS WHY SOCCER PLAYERS GET INVOLVED IN ROAD CRASHES
Alcohol and drug abuse have been said to be the main causes for these fatal accidents. Here are three possible reasons experts revealed.
SUBSTANCE ABUSE LEADING TO ADDICTION
Dr Bonginkosi Mafuze, a psychiatrist, spoke on substance abuse and said: “Athletes in general, they live on the ethos of work hard play hard. So the use of substances example alcohol is usually a mechanism of celebration. It could be coping with underlying stresses. It can lead to addictive disorders where like you can have alcohol addiction, which leads to misuse, and then they end up having such accidents.”
LACK OF ‘POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY’
Industrial psychologist Sabelo Gumede said clubs need to provide ‘positive psychology’ when onboarding players. Since most of them come from humble backgrounds, there will be certain things that will happen in their teams that will cause them to act in a certain way. So they need to learn to focus on the positive attributes that make a human being.
INABILITY TO MANAGE FINANCES
Kwenzakwakhwe Ngwenya, SAFA President in KZN, said soccer players need to be given assistance in managing their finances. He said: “Young men get money which they have never earned before… They will use it like never before. They seem to get more friends who are not good who come closer to them just because they know that they have money. So I think we need to assist them.”
AWARE.ORG CAMPAIGN
Road crashes have become a concern to many communities and the society as a whole. The Rising Sun reported on 4 December 2024 that Aware.org launched a road safety campaign to urge drivers to be safe on the road. The CEO Mokebe Thulo said:
“While we welcome the progress made in reducing road fatalities, we cannot afford to let irresponsible alcohol consumption undo this hard-won milestone. This campaign is a wake-up call to all South Africans. Drunk driving is not just a risk – it’s a choice with potentially devastating consequences – for you, your family, and society as a whole.”
The community community in Emmarentia have expressed their concern over reckless driving on their streets, the Northcliff Melville Times reported on 5 December 2024. They have sought the help of Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) to deal with the issue.
WHAT DO YOU THINK CAN BE DONE TO REDUCE ROAD CRASHES?
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