Is dumsor having any effect on local footballers?

Midfielder, Owusu Jackson and Coach David Duncan.

It’s the most discussed issue in presently. No or erratic power supply crudely known as ‘dumsor’. It is no exaggeration to say that, most parts of Ghana currently run on power generators. The other day, when I visited the ‘Tiptoe Lane’ in Accra, I was at amazed at the sound of generators at work. They sounded like that of a massive industrial machine as they oozed copious fumes and noise into the air.

Dumsor is creating problems for almost everyone in the country. Businesses are suffering. Stories told by business owners on a Joy FM programme recently was touched my heart. Again, it’s no exaggeration. Dumsor is making us uncomfortable every day, everywhere. It’s been three years since what experts see as the worse power crisis in Ghana’s history started.

Pro-government communicators including H. E. President John Mahama say they are doing everything within their power to restore uninterrupted electricity supply. Opposition figures don’t share that opinion. Last week, there were two big demonstrations in Accra and Kumasi over the disturbing situation. Indeed, not many Ghanaians are convinced that, the government’s management of the crisis has been the best.

You’re free to believe anything you want perhaps on the basis of your understanding of the issue. This article isn’t about one’s beliefs. It is neither about whether the government is working hard to solve the problem nor is it about what opposition elements say or believe.

It’s about dumsor and whether or not it is affecting footballers on domestic scene.

I haven’t spoken to every Premier League player. However, in the last five weeks, I have engaged footballers from seven different Premier League clubs on what they make of the electricity situation and whether it is having any toil on their profession. I won’t mention the name of any footballer; that’s unnecessary but it is fair to stress that, the players I spoke to were from teams Kotoko have played since the 2014/15 season commenced in January.

The views they expressed were interesting although not at all different from what man Ghanaians have been sharing. “We all have family members who we sometimes depend on. They are losing money on daily basis because of dumsor. Their businesses are collapsing so directly or indirectly, it is affecting us” said one of my respondents.

I wasn’t expecting such a comment but I couldn’t overlook that when playing back the interviews. “We don’t use electricity like the way others use it. But you can’t say it’s not affecting us” said another player. “After training or matches, I return home very tired in the evening. I can’t even rest or sleep well. I don’t get electricity to listen to music, play games or watch movies to relax my mind. My room gets so hot; sleep becomes difficult” added another. 

Not surprisingly, that sentiment swept through all the comments I had from the players I interviewed. There was unanimity on this one too. “Lack of proper sleep affects my performance. My energy level drop. I struggle; I get tired easily because these days I don’t get good night rest. Some of my colleagues have been saying the same thing and our coaches are even aware of that” another player disclosed.

It is very easy to dismiss these sentiments. I will not on the premise that, a careful, scientific study of our players’ performance relative to whether or not they are getting good rest or night sleep as a result of dumsor could lead to conclusions that may not be negligible. I put this to a sports science professional who couldn’t disagree.

He first pleaded anonymity because of the politics surrounding the dumsor situation. “You see, findings of such a research may be disregarded because of the politics around dumsor thing but then, as a doctor and a scientist for that reason, such a research and its findings will be good. It will help advance scientific knowledge on our game, something we’re not doing here” he said.

So what’s the conclusion? Dumsor is affecting our footballers too except that, we haven’t actually measured the impact. Our players may not be losing in the business sense but in other areas of life, they are also experiencing difficulties we haven’t yet thoroughly investigated. Thus the impact of dumsor on our local footballers may not be well established in opinion articles like this but any proper research on that could lead to interesting findings or conclusions.