Ghanaian Radio Station Keeping Sunday League Football Alive After Graduation

As a fourth year, I’m in the twilight months of my Sunday League career in St Andrews. It’s a scary thing to step out of the limelight — some ex-pros turn to booze, others to gambling, anything to feel the rush one last time.

To find out what life is really like after the big leagues, The Saint sat down with graduate veterans Raunaq Arora and Victor Sciarretta of BLFC and Senders FC, respectively, to talk through their highlights.

Arora, who graduated last year, was a centre forward for the indomitable force that is BLFC. His fluctuating work rate, coupled with a certain panache with the ball at his feet, made him what many would call a ‘champagne footballer.’ Like Adel Taarabt and others of his ilk, Arora had little time for authority — something I experienced first-hand as his manager.

When asked for his favourite moment from his time at the club, he smugly replied, “When I disobeyed the gaffer, not letting him sub me off, and then had the stinkiest ten minutes of my career.” The interview very nearly ended there.

Arora called time on his playing career when he left St Andrews, much to the shock of the footballing world. When asked how he spends his newfound free time on a Sunday, he gave a response far too crass for the respectable readers of The Saint.

Sciarretta, who has also had to hang up his boots, cites a lack of time as the key factor, having moved to London to continue his studies. He joined Senders in 2022, helping the team gain promotion to the coveted top flight of St Andrews Sunday League football, before graduating in the summer.

Although he named “winning the Division Two trophy” as his fondest memory at the club, Senders was about far more than just football — it was an institution with an international following.

“There was a radio station in Ghana run by a man called Kwame,” noted Sciarretta. “He found out about us through social media and claimed to be our biggest fan.” Having obtained exclusive footage, The Saint can attest to Sciarretta’s outlandish claims.

To ensure their global presence didn’t supersede their domestic reputation, Senders signed a lucrative shirt sponsorship deal with a household St Andrews name, The Rule.

“The deal came about because one of our team members, Lucas, knew the owner and managed to get them to sponsor us in exchange for some promotion,” said Sciarretta. If so much was going well for Senders, then why did they fold?

“I felt a bit surprised about how difficult it was to keep the club running after Beckett and Pablo [Senders’ founders] left, as there was less enthusiasm,” the former club captain lamented.

Truth be told, BLFC is facing the same problem: If we can’t generate interest before the end of the year, there will be real question marks around the club’s future. This would mean that Arora’s remarkable tally of a few goals in many games would all be for nothing.

There may not be much to show for their efforts going forward, but both Arora and Sciarretta remain determined to keep their clubs’ legacies alive. Sciarretta admitted that he “may have brought up Senders on a first date,” whereas a more reserved Arora deemed the topic “a third date typa [sic.] move.”

Both ex-players assured The Saint that they would tell their grandchildren about their footballing escapades; Arora even claimed that “they will be in the youth academy.” Maybe the club is in safe hands after all.

It was clear from speaking to the two that they still have a passion for the clubs they have left behind. Arora, for example, said that “BLFC was not just playing football, it was like making love,” although I must have missed those games.

Sciarretta, wisely, made no such comment, but did claim he would rather have dinner with the Senders boys than receive £500,000. However they choose to express themselves, the enduring love for St Andrews’ Sunday League is plain to see.

Image provided by Senders FC