Wachezaji kumi duniani ambao waligeukia siasa

Mwaka uliopita aliyekuwa kiungo wa Harambee Stars na Inter Milan, McDonald Mariga, aliwashangaza wengi baada ya kujitoza katika ulingo wa kisiasa wakati alipokuwa aking'ang'ania kiti cha ubunge cha Kibra.

Kiti hicho kiliwachwa wazi baada ya kifo cha Ken Okoth kutokana na maradhi ya saratani.

Hata hivyo, Mariga alibwagwa na Okoth Bernard Otieno Imran (ODM) aliyejizolea 24,636 votes huku akiwa wa pili na kura 11,230.

Miaka kadhaa iliyopita, tuliona wachezaji kadhaa mashuhuri ambao walitumia jukwaa hili la kadanda kuingia katika ulingo wa kisiasa. Wengine walifaulu na wengine walikipata cha mtema kuni.

Hii leo tuna orodhesha wachezaji ambao waligeuka kuwa wanasiasa.

1. Andrei Arshavin

Kiungo huyo wa zamani wa Arsenal alitumia chama cha rais wa Russia Vladimir Putin, United Russia Party katika uchaguzi mwaka wa 2007 lakini alijiuzulu saa chache tu kabla ya uchaguzi.

2. George Weah

Weah ambaye ndiye mu Afrika wa kwanza na pekee kuwahi tuzwa Ballon d'Or kwa kuwa mchezaji bora dunia nzima.Weah alichaguliwa kama seneta baada ya kumpiku Robert Sirleaf, mwanawe aliyekuwa rais mwaka wa 2014.Baadaye alijaribu kuwania kiti cha urais lakini hakufanikiwa lakini nyota yake iling'aa mwaka wa 2018 wakati alichaguliwa kama rais wa 25 wa Liberia.

3. Romario

Mshindi huyu wa kombe la dunia la 1994 na timu ya Brazil alichaguliwa kama seneta wa Rio de Janeiro fours baada ya kuibuka kama mgombea wa sita aliyekuwa na kura nyingi zaidi katika uchaguzi mkuu wa 2014.

4. Zico

Kulingana na jarida la bleacherreport, Pele hakuwa raia wa Brazil wa kwanza kushikilia jukumu la waziri wa michezo kwani Zico pia alichukua wadhfa huo kwa kipindi cha mwaka mmoja baada ya kustaafu kwa Pele 1990.

5. Pele

Edson Arrantez do Nascimento aliyejulikana kama Pele, alitumikia kama waziri wa michezo Brazil huku akitumika chini ya rais Fernando Henrique Cardoso, mwaka wa 1995.

6. Carlos Valderrama

Carlos Valderrama alikuwa mmoja wa wachezaji bora duniani na alijitosa ulingoni wa siasa katika uchaguzi mkuu wa Columbia, mwaka wa 2014 akiwania na chama cha 'U'.

7. Socrates

Marehemu Socrates alikuwa mwanachama wa Brazil’s Workers’ Party na pia kulingana na habari alikuwa mmoja wa waanzilishi wa muungano wa  Corinthians’ Democracy movement, muungano ambao ulipinga uongozi wa kijeshi na jinsi walivyo wafanyia wachezaji.

8. Oleg Blokhin

The former Dynamo Kyiv player turned manager was part of the Communist Party of Ukraine in 1998 and was elected to the Parliament for district Hormada. According to goal.com, He won another term in 2002 and was an active member in Parliament until opponents protested that he could not be a coach and a member of Parliament at the same time.

9. Roman Pavlyuchenko

The former Tottenham player, had been a Duma (city council)  deputy in his home town of Stavropol since 2008 a duty he managed to uphold even while playing at Tottenham.

10. Marc Robert Wilmots

Marc Robert Wilmots is a former Belgian international footballer and the current manager of the Belgium national football team, since May 2012. He has also been a politician, having sat in the Senate for two years for the Mouvement Réformateur party according to Wikipedia.