Who is David Beckham? You may wonder, who doesn’t know him. No, the L.A Galaxy football star is not just a player, if that’s what you’re thinking. He is the ambassador of Great Britain. Well, that’s what his role in 2012 London Olympics game suggest. When Beckham walk along the streets of London, people scream and run after him. You could see lots of children putting on Galaxy jersey with “Beckham” printed on it. My friend’s 14 years old son, Dale, always say, “I am Beckham.” He does his hair style and tries to dress exactly like him. So you see, Beckham is more than just a football player.
With the kind of attention football stars get, you cannot down play their role and influence in our global society. They are the ones the world follow to the stadium, on the social media, television, anywhere they go. They are the role models of our children; they are ambassadors of our country. They occupy a very vital position in our modern society.
Unfortunately, not many of them has gone through the requisite training to fit into the role. In fact, with the high standard of modern education, many players drop out of school to focus on their football career. Well, their position in our society today require that they go back to school to acquire more education, so they would be able to take up the responsibility of an ambassador and role model.
This may not happen unless the educational system encourage them to do so. For the sake of our global society, countries should put in place educational policies that will encourage football players to remain in school until they graduate. Some educational institutions in the United State has already put up some sports policies that encourage sportsmen and women towards their collegiate sports programs. Let us take a glance of four of them.
FOUR EDUCATIONAL GRANTS THAT ENCOURAGE FOOTBALL PLAYERS IN SCHOOL
1. Lower Entry Grades/ exemptions: Some institutions in the United State exempt football players with great talent or otherwise, lower the entry grade for them, so they could gain admission in the school. Especially for those that came to study courses like physical education, Public and international Relations, Sports management… It’s important that institutions use grading difference to encourage sports men.
2. Scholarships: Some institutions already grant scholarship to football players. Especially those that will be in the school team and participate in collegiate sports competitions. More institution should grant scholarship to football players because of their vital role in society.
3. Free Hostel Accommodation/Food: Football players in school team should enjoy such grants as free accommodation, food and medical care. Although, in some universities in the United States, such grants is open to other players in the school that has gone through all the screening processes and met some set standards.
4. Players Allowance: In addition to some of the grants mentioned above, football players should be paid some stipends (Allowance) to take care of their personal effect. Such bursary encourage them to remain in school and not drop out to go after money.
