A former international footballer is raising money to support himself after a cancer diagnosis left him unable to work for six months.
Jose ‘Pepe’ Oleas represented the Ecuador national team and played for a series of clubs in his home country, including in the Copa Libertadores, the South American equivalent of the Champions League.
After hanging up his boots at the age of 31, he moved to Spain for work, before coming to London about seven years ago. He settled in Stockwell and found work as a cleaner at London South Bank University.
Jose was recently diagnosed with throat cancer and has had to take time off work for chemotherapy. His friend Lenin Escudero, with whom he played in Ecuador and who also now works as a cleaner in London, said Jose’s outsourced employer Churchill Services only gives him statutory sick pay, which is about £96 per week..
Lenin, who works for the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), set up a fundraising campaign to help support Jose during his illness, and has raised £1,700 so far. The target is £3,000.
Lenin said: “I’ve known him since I was sixteen, we were teammates in Ecuador. When I got to the team we were playing for, I didn’t have anywhere to stay, anything to eat. He got me to stay with him, he looked after me. He made me ready to be a professional player.
In contrast with the high wages of footballers in the Premier League today, neither player earned enough not to have to work after they retired from the game. “It wasn’t like at the moment where footballers have a very good salary, we didn’t earn much back then.”
Jose’s cancer was caught at an early stage, Lenin said. “There is a strong possibility with treatment that he will recover fine. He’s on chemotherapy – doctors say he’s coping very well with the treatment.”
Churchill did not respond to a request for comment.
To donate visit: https://gofund.me/e9aa8c72