Bigger than football 

At least two of Jamaica’s national footballers support Belgian football star Jérémy Doku’s decision to leave his World Cup team camp in the United States to travel to London for the birth of his first child.

His decision sparked a firestorm, dividing the football world and culminating in one member of the international media apologising after describing his decision as “disgusting”. She argued that he was abandoning his country to “cut an umbilical cord”.

Jamaica’s national football captain and first-choice goalkeeper, Andre Blake, has very safe hands for both his country and his club, Philadelphia Union in the US Major League Soccer.

Now 35, the husband and father of three told The Gleaner that missing the birth of his first child is something he still thinks about.

“My firstborn (a son), I was actually in college, (University of Connecticut in the United States) and at the time she was my girlfriend, she wasn't my wife. So she was back in Jamaica, so I actually was not there for her in that moment. But, my other two kids I was there, you know, front and centre, supporting her in every way that I can,” Blake shared with The Gleaner.

As his family grew with another son and a daughter, he was determined not to experience those emotions again.

“It definitely was not a good feeling because for me personally, in moments like those, you want to be there, you know, supporting your partner in whatever capacity you can because, you know it's a tough time. It's never easy and it can go a lot of different ways, you know. And the least you can do in that moment is to be there to support however you can,” Blake said.

His Reggae Boyz teammate, Amal Knight, agrees. He too missed the birth of his only child, a son, who was born in the United States while Knight was in Jamaica.

“It felt painful knowing that his mom had to endure it by herself. Obviously, she spent nine months with him in her stomach, so like just enduring it by herself for another couple of hours in the labour room, and I'm not there to show support or hold her hand or whatever you may call it, just giving her that support that she needs. It was heart-breaking knowing that I couldn't see him when he was born. I couldn't hold him, all of that stuff. You know, like obviously, at the time, his mom was young 19, 20. So, you know, obviously that experience for her was frightening, and not having me there to give her the support that she needed was heart-breaking for me because obviously I wanted to be there for the birth of my son and, for reasons beyond my control, I wasn't able to be there,” Knight told The Gleaner.

Blake insists that being present for the birth of your children goes far beyond “cutting an umbilical cord.”

“Obviously, it comes down to personal preference, you know, but as I said before, there are certain things that are bigger than football, and that's one of them,” he said.

“It's very difficult, to be honest. I don't think a lot of people understand. I've missed so many birthdays because of my job. But we all understand that it comes with the job. It's a part of it. We all know what we were signing up for. But there are just certain things that are bigger than football, and while you can miss a birthday or whatever, the birth of your child is something special,” the football star told The Gleaner.

Now 32, Knight is a goalkeeper with USL club Greenville Triumph FC in the United States. He says fully acknowledging the demands of the job does not make it any easier.

“The other day I was speaking to one of my club coaches and I'm telling him that it's just kind of difficult because my son [now 12] lives with me now, so it's difficult whenever I'm traveling, playing games overseas or playing games where I have to travel domestically. Sometimes I get sad knowing that I have to leave him knowing that the bond that I have with my son, we have a great relationship, from day one, and sometimes I wonder if he's doing good mentally, physically, all that stuff. As a parent, stuff like that triggers your mind. ‘Is he in good care?’” Knight shared.

Like Blake, he supports Doku’s decision.

“I think it's the birth of his first child, he has to be there. He has to show his wife the support. And then now, obviously he's in a hard place where he has to choose his country or his family. And for me, it's family first, you know what I mean? He's young. He's pretty young and he's a good footballer. So, at any given time, once he's not injured and he's playing at the top level that he is playing, he will definitely be at another World Cup. So, I would say for him to be at the birth of his first child, he should always be there for physical and emotional support,” argued Knight.

Doku returned to his team camp in Seattle on Tuesday following the birth of his son, Praise, on Monday. His team posted on social media that he was returning after the "most important assist of his life”.

karen.madden@gleanerjm.com