In today’s column, I have decided to fundamentally depart from any discussion of a hard core subject matter, such as human rights and/or natural disasters like the Nepal Earthquake that recently killed nearly 4,000 people (may their souls rest in peace, amen). I am concerned rather with the entertainment side of human rights polemics such as football. And our point of call is the world’s most-watched football league, the English Premiership.

Specifically, my thematic area today is on the phenomenal rise of Chelsea Football Club of England, just as I will zero in on this particularly distinguished and talented football artistic player, Eden Hazard, the 23-year-old Belgian, who has been performing football miracle since joining Chelsea. Make no mistake about it, football as a game is one sure way of promoting and protecting human rights. Through football, a nation such as Brazil has become a respected member of the global community given the quantum of talented exports recorded in the world of football with millions of foreign denominated revenue pouring into the private sector of Brazil through these eminently talented players, who have over the years invested massively in their homeland, Brazil.

First, Chelsea is currently funded by a Russian billionaire businessman known as Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich, born on October 24,1966. He is the owner of the private investment company, Millhouse LLC. According to an entry in Wikipedia, this rich Russian who lives in England is rated by Forbes to have a net worth in 2015 of over US$9.1 billion, making him the 12^th richest person in Russia and the 137^th richest man on earth.

Speaking about Chelsea football club with the specific interest in the young Belgian, Eden, have just been told that he was elected as the best player of the year in the whole of United Kingdom in 2015.

The following is how the British Broadcasting Corporation’s website announced the good news:

“Hazard, 24, has scored 13 goals and made eight assists in 33 Premier League games to help leaders, Chelsea, move to the cusp of the title.” The award was voted for by the Belgian midfielder’s fellow professionals. Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane, 21, was named PFA Young Player of the Year, while Chelsea midfielder, Ji So-Yun, took the Women’s Player of the Year award. Is Hazard a deserved PFA winner? The usually pessimistic broadcasting behemoth responded thus: “Hazard, who won last season's young player accolade, was handed the prize at the Grosvenor Hotel in London on Sunday.”

“I’m very happy. One day I want to be the best and what I did this season is play very well. Chelsea played very well,” he said.

“I don’t know if I deserve to win but it is good for me. It is better to be voted by the players – they know everything about football. Personally, I have played a good season, I have been there in the big games and I scored a lot of important goals, this is why I’m better this season.”

Arsenal midfielder, Leah Williamson, 18, won the Women’s PFA Young Player of the Year award.

Conversely, Eden Harzard’s team, Chelsea FC, is on the verge of becoming the best British Premiership Club of 2015 session with just 6 points to net in before this week runs out, since it has a clear 10 points lead over their next best rival, Arsenal Football Club.

Against the back drop of these superlative feats of Chelsea FC, most observers have concluded, just like me, that Blue is the colour of Best. Findings from scholars of ancient metaphysics confirmed this affirmation. From www.academia.edu, the colour blue, in symbolism as presented in Ancient Mesopotamia, shows it as that which signifies the best thing that nature can give. Andre Sinclair in the piece quoted in the above cited website stated: “The colour blue as a separate entity was instead expressed by employing the term for the blue stone, Lapis Lazuli, which is a very precious stone at that. This precious stone and the colour blue were eminently auspicious and associated as symbols of opulence and holiness for both gods and kings. It is called in Ancient Mesopotamia as Za.Gin/uqnu, which was employed to describe dark blue, and associated with notions of brilliance and radiance.

The would-be champions of football in the United Kingdom – Chelsea Football Club – has through hard work, collective resilience, talent and the extreme dexterity of such players such as Mikel Obi of Nigeria, Eden Hazard of Belgium, Ramires and Oscar of Brazil and the defensive Chief Marshal of John Terry of England, demonstrated clearly that Blue is the colour of Best. I wish them good luck.

•RIGHTSVIEW appears on Wednesdays and Saturdays, in addition to special appearances. The Columnist, popular activist Emmanuel Onwubiko, is a former Federal Commissioner of Nigeria’s National Human Rights Commission and presently National Coordinator of Human Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria (HURIWA).

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