Have you ever heard of a politician from Ghana?

I don't know if you listen to Radio 5live or not. If you don't, I recommend you do, as it is probably the best radio station for sport and what not.

Yesterday they had somebody in a village in the Ethiopian Highlands, who asked the local boys, probably no older than ten years old, about football. Although their English wasn't the best and despite living in a remote part of Africa, they knew an awful lot about football. They knew that Terry's form wasn't great recently, Drogba plays better for Chelsea than the Ivory Coast and that Mourinho was the reason that Inter won the Champions League.

It was incredible to hear these kids on the radio. People say that football is just a game, and in many respects they are right; noone dies because a team has won or lost, and, dare I say it, there are more important things in the world other that football. But at the same time football has a way to connect people together the way not much else can. Whilst in Italy recently I couldn't speak a word of the native tongue, yet I had a twenty minute conversation (no exaggeration) about Eto'o and Scottish teams. I doubt I could have an argument regarding the economy with these locals. Simon Barnes, in his book "The Meaning of Sport", he argues the significance of football. How many people can name a politician in Ghana? But how many people know who Michael Essien is? Bad role models they may be labelled, but footballers can do alot more work for charities and general diplomacy than a poet could. The success of Soccer Aid on Sunday proves this. It just makes you wonder, however, how much more footballers could do? I'm pretty sure somebody who even donated half of their year salary to UNICEF would be in contention for very high praise. Even John Terry.