On December 5 it will be exactly two years since Jermaine Craig died after he collapsed at the gym and was rushed to the Sandton Mediclinic where efforts to revive him failed.
Yesterday morning, I woke up in a hotel room in Madrid on a gloomy and rainy day and thought of him. Perhaps his memory came to my mind because at breakfast a young man shouted “Jermaine”, as he called for attention from one of the hotel colleagues wearing a Jermaine name tag.
Perhaps Craig’s spirit reconnected with me because the Barcelo Emperatriz hotel is located just a 15-minute walk from Santiago Bernabeu, the hallowed cathedral of La Madridista. Perhaps because Madrid is the city that Craig had invited me to come to watch what easily ranks as one of global football’s greatest games: the El Classico.
Sadly for me, I declined the invite in 2021 like a credit card whose overdrawn funds have dried out. I was lying pole-axed on a hospital bed, battling a lung infection which the doctor informed my wife would have sent me to reunion with my ancestors had she not rushed me to emergency.
“So sorry to hear that, Sbali. Get well, and we’ll do this again soon because there are many clashes between Barca and Real to come.”
December 5
Better I got. But soon never came. The man who worshiped at the altar of the fields of Anfield Road walked through the pearly gates on December 5.
I penned this column yesterday morning while on a bullet train from the Spanish capital to Barcelona to watch the Liga Femenino El Clasico, where Barca hosted Real later in the afternoon. The thought in my mind was, “I finally get to watch the Clasico, albeit not the titanic contest between teenage prodigy Lamine Yamal and Spain’s veteran gloveman Thibaut Courtio”.
I was to feast eyes on the version of the Spanish giants who collided at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium as a guest of the Daniel Bennett-led delegation whose trip was facilitated by the department of sports, arts & culture on a mission to explore a potential partnership with a company that runs VAR in women’s Liga F.
As December 5 fast approaches, it hit me that Craig will not be around to witness the draw for the 2026 Fifa World Cup to be jointly hosted by Canada, Mexico and the US. It will be the team’s first participation in the competition since South Africa hosted the 2010 edition.
A South Africa in which Craig played a pivotal role as a key member of the 2010 Local Organising Committee’s communications team and the preceding 2009 Confederations Cup.
Willingness to assist
With a ready smile. With a ready willingness to assist in promoting South Africa and pushing back against the barrage of pessimistic drivel spewing from the pens and mouths of some bandits of the European media who embarked on a mission of casting this country as a hell on earth.
As the calendar draws nearer to December 5, it hit me that Craig will be missing from the millions of his fellow countrymen who will cheer Bafana Bafana at the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco when Hugo Broos tries to lead them higher than the third-place finish achieved in Ivory Coast.
At least death is shielding Craig from the stinging jibes coming from opposing fans — who may or may not include long-suffering Manchester United supporter Patrick Bulger — who delight in the minor mishap of Liverpool riding rough seas with recent form out of sync with their status of six-time European champions and English Premier League holders.
Their latest jibe is that Slot, the surname of the Reds manager Arne, is Lost spelt incorrectly. Ouch.
Forgive me for using this space in memory of a dear industry colleague who became a brother. Some may not remember him so fondly. Why not? To err is human, and he was no exception. But like the son of man says in the scripture, let he who has no sin...
X-@bbkunplugged99
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