Anyone familiar with Bob Marley already knows that the talented musician had a deep passion for one sport in particular and that was soccer.  His love for the game was so great that he would take a soccer ball on all his tours in order to start pickup games. Alan Cole, the soccer star firmly believed that Bob Marley would be one of the most successful soccer players on a professional level if it was not for the love for his music that prevented him from his sports career. The only thing Marley loved more than soccer was his music and he refused to play at a professional level due to his devotion to his music.

Bob Marley – International Icon

There is little doubt that the music of Bob Marley would continue to impress many generations. Marley was born in 1945 on his grandfather’s farm where he grew up with one thing in mind, and that was to create music that would cross cultural divides and borders, he succeeded and became a global phenomenon.

His music made a huge cultural impact even though it was structured within the limitation of reggae, at the time it was a musical genre quite new to the world. Apart from music flowing through his veins his second love was soccer, whether he was in the studio busy recording or on the road, he always had a soccer ball close to his feet.

Photographic Evidence That Bob Marley Was A Soccer Fanatic At Heart

There are hundreds of Bob Marley photographs taken while he was playing on the fields, in parking lots or sometimes even in the recording studios when he had the chance, he had a passion for the game, and it is clear that it was way more than a hobby. Soccer not only played a huge role in the life of Bob Marley and it remains part of his legacy.

As a fan of soccer he supported the Santos Brazilian club and admired Pele, Bob Marley surrounded himself with soccer players and for much of the 1970s Alan Skill Cole was his tour manager. Cole was the former North American Soccer League player for the Atlanta Chiefs. He was chosen by Marley as it added soccer to his daily routines and it was great for the man who was always looking for ways to add soccer to his daily routine.

Bob Marley Raised $51,522 for the Jamaica Football Federation

Cedella, Marley’s oldest daughter was playing for the Jamaican National Women’s soccer team. Supported by the Jamaican Football Federation, the first ever Caribbean team to get the opportunity to compete at the Women’s World Cup lacked funding for both their travelling costs and training. The Indiegogo campaign was super successful, and funding raised for the qualification stages in the tournament of 2015 totalled $51,522. Still, many soccer professionals feel that Marley would have played professional soccer if he made it his focus, although he believed that soccer is what offered him freedom.