We know them, we wear their names on our sports jerseys, and we celebrate them when they win, but when they retire, we forget about them. Their names quickly vanish from our minds and soon we replace them with new players.

Very often, football players struggle to ‘shine’ beyond the age of 35. A professional footballer’s career at the top level will not exceed an average of eight years unless you are Zlatan Ibrahimovic or Gianluigi Buffon.

For most professional players, having gone through a mazy route to make it, beyond the age of 30 makes it difficult to stay at the top, especially in competitive leagues like the English Premier League, Spanish La Liga, or the German Bundesliga.

After that, a typical African footballer will start descending to lower leagues in Turkey in the Middle East before eventually retiring. A handful of them will get contracts as pundits or analysts, while others get to join coaching or federations in their respective countries.

However, in most cases, many will disappear into oblivion, their once popular names becoming history, or even forgotten. Others end up in precarious conditions, struggling to make ends meet. Everything they were ever known for is quickly overlooked.

It is something that hurts Fred Siewe, the president of the Federation Internationale de Football Veterans en Europe (FIFVE), and founder of the Veteran Clubs World Championship (VCWC), which will host the Veteran Club World Championship in May 2024.

The Cameroonian businessman believes there is a lot more football legends can do in their later years off the pitch, and it is time to take advantage of their popularity to bring transformative change to their communities.

Siewe, who is in Rwanda to organise the latest event of VCWC which is announcing the captains of the eight teams that will participate in the tournament next year, says football veterans have the power to impact every sector of society.

From investment to health and sports development, their star power has what it takes to move things, and for Siewe, it is a win-win because the players remain actively involved in society, and countries benefit too.

It is something he is passionate about and is determined to do. It is a dream too big, some even doubt it, but Siewe believes it has already been set into motion and it won’t stop until people realise the immense benefits the veterans have to offer.

"The idea came about because first of all I have been passionate about football since I was a kid, and I always work with some football legends. I saw that many of them after their careers don’t have a chance to get some opportunities.

"I saw people that have the attention of the public or society, and I thought that these are people who can give back to society,” Siewe says.

Siewe thought that if these veterans are put together in a tournament, they could make a great impact. The idea is actually not for them to play football—football is just 20 per cent of what VCWC envisions.

A force to reckon with

Siewe says the veterans have the power to bring people together for a positive impact, including peace initiatives, attracting business and investment, and also building social cohesion using the power of football.

He argues that even those who happen to end up in business or as pundits, there is little attachment to the communities they come from and VCWC is focusing on changing that.

It is fair to say that the power of that has already been felt in many ways. Last year in October when the VCWC unveiled its events in Kigali, several football legends showed up and thrilled the country in different appearances.

The legends namely Roger Milla (Cameroon), Khalilou Fadiga (Senegal), Anthony Baffoe (Ghana) Lilian Thuram (France), Patrick ‘Magic’ Mboma (Cameroon), and Rwanda’s star captain - Jimmy Gatete, were at the BK Arena during the Youth Connekt Summit and ‘set the roof on fire’.

Gatete proved the immense power he still has on Rwandan society, thanks to his 2003 acts that sent Rwanda to the African Cup of Nations (AFCON), for the first time. Young people were inspired.

Siewe believes that this is the kind of power legends can have on their respective societies and the continent at large if brought together.

"I think if we put them together, the sympathy people have for these legends can change society, give them a second chance and also a platform to give back to the society,” Siewe tells The New Times.

It is a huge project that many had doubts about, but, Siewe says, when he sold the project to local authorities, there was no hesitation in recognising the immense opportunities it presented—referring to why he chose Rwanda.

The VCWC founder says that Rwanda’s leadership has proved to the world what people can do when they come together—for example, transforming the country from ruins to a model that everyone on the continent looks up to, in just a few years.

"We decided that we will contribute in our way with this project based here in Rwanda because we want to show the world what this continent has to offer,” he says, adding that Rwanda has the potential to showcase that.

The journey to Rwanda

Siewe says when he imagined the project, he talked to the Rwandan Embassy in Germany, which connected him to the Rwanda Football Federation (FERWAFA), which also happily understood the potential of the project, and a Memorandum of Understanding was signed.

From FERWAFA to the Ministry of Sports and other institutions, Siewe says the idea came to fruition. To date, several events, including a national kick-off last year, all put the VCWC project on track.

On March 17, a gala dinner will be held, a day after the FIFA General Assembly in Rwanda, to unveil the eight team captains who will lead the teams in next year’s tournament.

Siewe says that 2024 will be particularly a special year for Rwandans, marking 30 years since the country was liberated, and the tournament should add to the many activities that will showcase Rwanda’s progress three decades on, pointing out that the tournament will be promoted in 13 cities across the world. Everywhere they go, events are dubbed ‘Legends in Rwanda’ with the name of the city.

‘Legends in Rwanda New York’, ‘Legends in Paris’, etc., Siewe says, will market Rwanda to the world and there are immense outcomes from that, including trade, investment, and boosting tourism, among other benefits.

"This project is about development, it is about business opportunities that can be created with the legends, we want to contribute to the cultural aspect of the Rwandan society and the world,” he says.

After the team captain announcement in Kigali, the organisers will embark on a world tour to sell the tournament, and during AFCON 2023 in Cote d’Ivoire in February next year, the eight teams of football legends will be announced.

The tournament will take place in Rwanda from May 10 to 20, 2024. Siewe says that the competition will draw more than 150 legends who will come to Rwanda, and investors, while the sociocultural aspect will also be an expected benefit.

While the list of legends is not yet complete, Siewe says Rwandans should expect the best of the best from the African continent, South America and Europe—names they are accustomed to, including Siewe’s countrymate Samuel Eto’o.

"One thing you should be sure of is all the world will be represented here. We will have legends from Asia, North America, Middle East, not just a few continents,” he said.

Falling in love with Rwanda

While the main mission to come to Rwanda was to seek partnerships to host the VCWC, Siewe says everything he has experienced in Rwanda made him fall in love with the country.

"I will tell you the truth when I came to this country, I just felt like I was at home. That is where I am. I am now at home, and this is a feeling I got on the first day and it has stayed like that.

"The people of this country welcomed us with our project and that is why I live here now,” Siewe says.

The VCWC founder says that the veteran’s championship is a unique project that he believes will contribute to the livelihoods of Rwandans. Today, he is looking for partners to help fund the project which requires a huge budget.

Siewe says that Rwandans will benefit directly when the tournament materialises, including hotels getting business, car rentals, direct employment, and many other benefits.

Siewe hopes that the new Amahoro National Stadium will be ready in time for the tournament, something he says would be great to showcase to the world.