The slave Hamdaoui will not play

By Aziz Daouda

Morocco World News

Rabat, February 4, 2012

On Thursday morning we all finally learned that Moroccan international football player, Mounir El Hamdaoui, will not play with Fiorentina for the rest of the season

After passing a rigorous medical examination, El Hamdaoui seemed finally to have found a club. He could have killed two birds with one stone. He found a club to play with, because his current employer, Ajax, seemingly did not want to see him wear its jersey. In addition, he was going to play next to Moroccan national teammate, Houssaine Kharja, in the event the latter found a spot for himself in the starting line-up.

But then, in the last minute, Ajax who plays in this case an inhuman game, found a way to backstab again the young man, who just wants to play football. Ajax came out with a new condition to block the transfer.

The question now is whether El Hamdaoui is a football player? Or is the hostage and slave of Ajax?

By reviewing the progress of this soap opera and episodes for two years now, I would be rather inclined to conclude finally that El Hamdaoui, like all other football players in his case, is a modern slave.

This anomalous situation of players-hostage-slaves enjoys, unfortunately, the blessing of FIFA, whose unconscionable rules turn the club into the owner rather than the employer of the player. The club possesses the player who has no recourse against it as soon as he signs a contract.

FIFA acquiesces to an institutionalized slavery, without any discomfort. It seems not to bother anyone that a player who does not play in a club, by his coach’s decision, is not just free. The raison d’être of player is to be on the pitch. If he is not good here, he may be good elsewhere. That’s all just appalling and outrageous.

Aziz Daouda served three times as the technical director of the Royal Moroccan Federation of Athletics. He was also the manager of numerous renowned Moroccan and foreign track and field world champions with whom he won several titles and world records, including Said Aouita, Hicham El Guerrouj, Nezha Bidouane, Jawad Gharib, Hasna Benhassi, Salah Hissou. He blogs at azizdaouda.blogspot.com.