For the family of Marc-Vivien Foe, who died during the Confederations Cup semi-final between Cameroon and Colombia on June 26, you might think grief would be enough of a burden. But they are having to cope with a great deal more, largely due to the generous spirit – not uncommon among African footballers – in which the 28-year-old midfielder lived his life.
He was always well paid and, on loan from Lyon to Manchester City in what tragically proved to be his last season, must have earned around £1 million. Foe, however, was never one for setting money aside or investing. « He gave it all willingly, » Walter Gagg, FIFA’s technical director, told me last week, « to family, friends and everyone else who asked. It is so ironic that, at the crucial moment, his heart was not strong enough to save him, because Marc-Vivien Foe had a great heart. He was a wonderful man. » Yet his young widow, Marie-Louise, and three children – sons aged six and three and a daughter who was only two months old, mercifully unaware, when he collapsed on the familiar turf of Lyon – face an uncertain future, dependent on the « football family » to which Sepp Blatter, the FIFA president, often refers. FIFA, much criticised for deciding the Confederations Cup should carry on despite the shock of Foe’s death, are working closely with Marie-Louise and already a fund-raising match has been arranged between Cameroon and a team of French-based players, to be augmented by Arsenal and Liverpool contingents offered by Arsene Wenger and Gerard Houllier. « It must not just be a gesture, » stressed Gagg. « The match will have to be an annual event in order to pay for the children’s education and other responsibilities. »
Those other responsibilities include a football academy for boys and girls in Yaounde. Foe – affectionately known as ‘Marco’ – founded it as a gift to his native city. Every month he would send a proportion of his wages to his father, Martin, who would supervise another stage of construction. But now the hammers and drills are silent because the money has stopped. « I have told Marco’s father that somehow we must keep this admirable project alive. The idea is that, since he died during the Confederations Cup, each of the FIFA confederations should contribute to help the children of Cameroon. »
Meanwhile, FIFA have given Marie-Louise enough to get by for a few months. She does not own even a house, for the fine residence the family kept in Lyon, complete with grounds and swimming pool, was rented. Not only that: there are 30 people living in it, family and friends, most of whom received an allowance from Foe. With rent and rates unpaid, the debts are piling up. His house in Manchester was also rented. There is simply no way for Marie-Louise to raise income, except through a relatively small life-insurance policy she had wisely taken out. Foe was also insured by the Cameroon FA, but the amount this will raise has yet to be ascertained.
As for all the ‘Foe 17’ shirts you see on the streets of Europe and Africa, Gagg pointed out that the profits from them had gone only to private vendors. « We are anxious that the family’s lawyers must establish control of this, » he said, « and are helping them. We are also bringing together the clubs and federations involved with the aim of creating a foundation. The match on Nov 11 – to be held in Lyon, Lens or Paris – must be only a start. We have been working on this since the day after Marco died. We will never forget the family Foe. »
Foe’s contract with Manchester City was due to expire on June 30 and revert to Lyon. The Premiership club, according to Gagg, had only a « moral » responsibility; Lyon might be able to claim and pass the money on. But it is all very complicated, in stark contrast to Foe’s way of life. « Marco was almost naively generous, » said Gagg. « But I’m told most of the African footballers in France and England are the same. They live from hand to mouth – and they give. Look at the case of Roger Milla. His name is known all over the world and yet, if the Cameroon government had not appointed him their footballing ambassador, he would be a very poor man.
By Patrick Barclay
