Forgive me reposting this from the main website, but I want people to read it
This Wednesday night at five to midnight on Channel 4 is a remarkable film about football. You would be forgiven for not knowing. It hasn't received the hype of series such as "The Men Who Changed Football." And it's not a voyeuristic exposé of the ill-health of a former great player or ******** of a manager ruined by drink. It's far beyond that; it's a study of a far greater sickness, of the real effects of power and politics gone wrong; and it's a road movie of one man's work as an itinerant football coach who tackles one of the worst legacies of modern warfare. He happens to be one of my best mates, and I'm proud to have been involved in getting his project established. Here's our story ...
"There’s one thing you need to be a professional footballer - legs!"
Scotty Lee is Spurs fan. The first time I met him I had him marked down as a typical cheeky chirpy chappie cockney **** ; it's a fair bet that he thought I was a middle class nonce. He later came to understand that I had been forced to develop an extensive vocabulary of superlatives as I'd been a regular matchgoer at Anfield in the 70s and 80s. I later came to understand that behind the chirpy cockney persona lay a vision of the power of football which I share. Scotty combined this with a unique courage that only occasionally bordered on recklessness, a determinedly-concealed intelligence, and a gift for inspiring people on and onto the pitch. That's no exaggeration - he even got me playing regularly again at the age of 32, some fifteen years after I last played. Monday night 5-a-sides in Sarajevo against the French Special Forces : a few high tackles from the Kurac lad, accompanied by a cry of "Ca, c'est pour la Rainbow Warrior" ...
Scotty was a volunteer truck driver for an unusual and very effective alternative aid organisation during the early phase of the war in Bosnia. The organisation, TSRT, worked outside of the UN mandate and armed escorts, and relied on a child-centric, apolitical humanist diplomacy to feed some of the most disadvantaged and remote communities, using a fleet of refurbished trucks bought for a pittance which - unlike the formal liveries and branding of the major agencies - were decorated in bright colours with cartoon characters and graffiti. As well as the ability to handle the trucks, most drivers had skills in some aspect of performance or sport.
I became country director for TSRT Bosnia in 1995 with a remit to look at programmes providing appropriate education and resources for aspects of youth culture. A lot of the work could be generally lumped together as "music projects," but there was such a strong interest in football in Bosnia, and we were inspired by Paja - Predrag Pasic, the ex-Stuttgart, Sarajevo and Yugoslav International - who had kept a childrens' league and school going throughout the war. As the peace agreement slowly began to be implemented, the old clubs re-established themselves.
The need for independent truck convoys was now past, and Scotty was back in London. I told him my observations on the state of play - or lack of it - for young footballers. For the next few weeks we both squatted in our tiny office in London, developing project funding. I headed back to Sarajevo to carry on the ongoing projects; Scotty got stuck into the idea of using football as a way of getting children to be aware of landmines. It was simple, and brilliant. The film says it all ... One of the other projects in Sarajevo involved the visit of China Drum, the first UK band to Bosnia since the end of the war. We had some gigs organised for them, and also some work in young peoples' psychiatric institutions, etc. A hectic schedule. I'd told Scotty not to arrive in Sarajevo until after that project was finished.
No surprise then, that after sitting nervously waiting all night for the band to arrive (they'd had a minor road accident and had stayed overnight at a British base 30km out of town; there was still a curfew, and phones weren't too reliable) that the knock on the door at 8am was, er, Scotty. I don't think I was exactly welcoming ...
The project he went on to deliver in Bosnia over the next 18 months was superb; it was also the subject of an earlier film shown on Channel 4. Last year, Scotty went to Kosovo : Wednesday's film presents a glimpse of his work there. It's a film about football and the aftermath of war. It is poignant, occasionally funny, sometimes shocking. After watching it you'll have a clearer image of Kosovo now than you would glean from acres of political newsprint; you'll also have an image of the madness of nationalism, and the strength of football fans to work for the common good.
(from redandwhitekop.co.uk)
