David Etale: Kenya's soldier of good fortune

Published on Saturday 3 January 2009 18:39

AFRICAN star David Etale has seen his life change on and off the park since joining the British army, writes Moira Gordon

OVER THE next week, David Opati Etale will be immersing himself in the romance of the Scottish Cup, hoping international clearance comes through in time to allow him to vie for a place in the Spartans team which will take on Airdrie on Saturday. It's a significant turnaround for a guy who, for the past 18 months, would, understandably, have placed football pretty low down on his list of priorities.

He had played the game to a high level but that was in a previous life, one he had left behind in his homeland of Kenya. He had left it there along with the fighting and troubles which claimed eight members of his extended family, including his younger sister. Left it among the ashes of his burnt-out family home, intent instead on focusing on his new life because that was what was going to help feed and clothe his parents and siblings.

Having grown up showing real footballing talent, playing for one of Kenya's top club sides, Tusker FC, and competing in the CAF Champions League, as well as being capped at U-17, U-20 and U-23 level, life overtook those boyhood ambitions.

Even as he earned those caps, his enthusiasm was waning. As a football professional in Kenya he was still earning only 50 a month and as the eldest child and only son he needed to contribute to the cost of bringing up his younger sisters and looking after his parents. The money allowed him to save enough to build the family home, but it didn't stretch as far as he needed it to.

"Even when I was playing football, I was there but I wasn't there. Do you understand?" he asks. "Physically my body was there but my mind was worrying about so many things. It was pressure and I stopped enjoying football as much."

The words are matter of fact but there is sadness behind the delivery. He knows he can try to explain but he also knows that few, if anyone, can really understand.

But something positive came out of the troubles in Kenya. The British army came to town to help keep the peace.

"I decided to join the army because if you stay in a country like Kenya and see what goes on and how quickly things can go bad then it is difficult to take it all in but when we needed them I saw the British army coming down to Kenya and helping people. I am the type of person that likes to help people and I saw that in the British army so I joined up so that I could help other people around the world and see what I could do to make life in these places better."

Since joining the army last year, he has been sending money back to help his family rebuild their lives and their home and has also rediscovered his love for football. Recruited to the army team, the midfielder-cum-striker is currently their top goalscorer and football has become fun again. The only pressure now is winning. With his army wages already secured, the survival of his nearest and dearest isn't what's at stake, now it's simply pride.

A member of the 3Rifles battalion currently based at Redford and Dreghorn barracks in Edinburgh, he was introduced to Spartans by army pal John Fleming, who, along with almost 50 other soldiers, has adopted the East of Scotland league side. "Most of us are from down south and were finding it too difficult or too costly to go back down to watch our teams every weekend so we decided to find one to support in Edinburgh," explained Fleming. They had watched the club try and fail in their bid for SFL acceptance during the summer but had read enough to be impressed by the set-up and now the Spartan Army has a burgeoning number of enthusiastic new recruits.

"It would be even better if Dave signs and we can watch one of our own every week."

That idea prompts a chuckle from Etale. He knows his mates and knows he will be the subject of their banter but is happy to be involved in a warm football environment again.

Besides, he says the army is now like his family and whatever tongue-in-cheek abuse he is subjected to, he knows he can rely on his mates. They spent December together in Kenya on exercise. Etale says it offered them a better perspective of his life and what he escaped from.

"When my friends saw it they were like 'Oh my god, Dave, is this the country you left? Is this how you used to live?' and I was saying, 'Yeah, I won't lie to you, this is how I used to live.' Every time we had some food I would never throw any of it away, I would go and give it to the small kids because I knew what it meant to them. I knew how much they needed it. It wasn't even the worst places. I told them there were places I could take them where it was so bad they would cry when they saw how people were having to live there. People living in a small hut, maybe 10 people."

So many details of what has happened in the past are too grim and still too raw for Etale to divulge, let alone properly digest, but they have made their mark on this 23-year-old.

Before joining the army, training stints with Grimsby and Leeds United came to nothing. His heart wasn't in football at that time and while the clubs were keen, international clearance and a work permit were tricky obstacles for them to overcome. But now the army has turned things around and the Spartans opportunity has come at the right time. He says he is still trying to get football fit and, having missed the army games throughout December while in Kenya, he needs to work on regaining his match sharpness. But this likeable guy is smiling again and keen to get to training.

"I am enjoying everything now, the army and now the football as well. I do feel lucky after everything else. This is a good thing, I have come to realise, because it helps me forget about so many other things that are really hard to think about. I am now just focusing on this time in my life."

His outlook, as well as his priorities, are changing for the better.