FRANCIS Duku has been there – and knows what the pain feels like.
Then at Gravesend & Northfleet, a 24-year-old Duku had just been part of their 2001-02 Isthmian Premier title win and his performances were getting noticed.
“I was getting a lot of attention and, maybe, going back into the pro game,” Duku says. “But I broke my leg in pre-season at Weymouth. I had no idea it was broken. It was an attempt at an overhead clearance – it was hot and I didn’t want to keep running so I thought I could hook it away and take a breather!
“Everyone thought it was a sprain, have a painkiller and some crutches. Being a pre-season tour, the boys were having a night out. In my mind I couldn’t miss that so I went. A few drinks later you don’t feel the pain. I woke up in the morning and my ankle was five times the size.”
An X-ray back in London showed a broken ankle and he was booked in for an op.
“The guy who did it, fixed me as if I was a non-athlete – put pins in my ankle, which created loads of scar tissue and my ankle was never the same again. To this day you can see the difference. I still did alright, but I wasn’t the level I was before.”
Duku was able to use private medical care through his work in the city but it set the cogs whirring for Our Game, a service that aims to help players and clubs, and is once again a major supporter of Non-League Day this year. And help with injuries is a big focus.
“There’s a real motive to provide a route for change who want it,” Duku says. “We’ve spoken to people time and again, they look at me and say, ‘I get it, I get it’. But they don’t want to do anything; players, chairmen, managers.
“For me, it’s crazy. You know if you’re playing football, you’re going to get injured. You see GoFundMe pages from someone who is self-employed and needs to be on their feet to work, maybe they’ve got a young family. Everyone has shortfalls to cover. Rather than put structures in place, people choose to go that fundraising route.
“I am not here to lecture. But clearly there is a better route and that’s what Our Game has built.”
Members have access to affordable insurance policies as well as a whole network of benefits – and clubs can benefit too.
Fans can help their clubs with the launch of a new community scheme. It costs just £1 to register – including, by the end of March, entry into a draw for a five-star all inclusive holiday – and earns reward points for personal use in Our Game’s marketplace as well as for clubs.
Duku says: “We’re also launching Project 250 where every club who takes out at Our Game club membership can get 250 people to register as part as your community, we have a digital infrastructure which can then help them create insurance benefits to cover costs of wages when players are injured, contract liabilities, cost of surgery – all subsidised or funded in full based on how far the club wants to get involved and how many fans get involved. Your club needs you!” For more info visit ourgamefootball.com
