It is no secret Bob Marley’s other passion was the ‘Beautiful Game’. In his spare time, the reggae star would trade his guitar and lyrics for football.

Former Santos player Clive “Busy” Campbell shared the field with Marley at his Hope Road residence in Kingston on several occasions.

“Dem used to call Bob ‘Skip’. We played a couple of scrimmage games at his house. He was a hard tackler. He wasn’t a Premier League standard, but he coulda make a Major League team,” Campbell told the Jamaica Observer.

“Bob love di game an’ him an’ Alan was close. An’, as you know, Alan was a top-shelf baller. An’ true him [Bob] used to live a Trench Town, Boys’ Town was him team,” he continued.

Alan is in reference to Alan “Skill” Cole, Marley’s former road manager and confidant. He remains Jamaica’s youngest senior international footballer, donning national colours against a Brazilian team when he was only 15 years old.

Cole, who also played for Santos, had spells with the Atlanta Chiefs in the United States, Brazil’s Nautica, Boys’ Town and Real Mona.

According to Campbell, Marley, Cole, and he crossed paths frequently.

“I was a sales personnel for Dynamic Sounds, and Bob had Tuff Gong. Him an’ Skill used to come a Dynamic to press record… Lick Samba an’ plenty other songs were done there,” he said.

Marley visited Brazil in March 1980. Accompanying him was Inner Circle’s lead singer Jacob Miller. They came to participate in festivities marking the Brazilian launch of the German label Ariola. Island Records, the original recording studio of the Wailers, was, at that time, part of Ariola. Both artistes were signed to Island Records.

According to soundsandcolours.com, they played a match at a private football pitch in Rio de Janeiro.

On the field were Marley; Miller; Junior Marvin, member of the Wailers; Paulo César Caju, member of the Brazil 1970 squad; Toquinho, Brazilian musician; and (Brazilian singer) Chico Buarque; Alceu Valença, Brazilian musician; Chicão, member of (Brazilian musician) Jorge Ben’s band.

Marley’s team won 3-0 with Bob scoring once.

Paulo César Caju’s analysis of Marley was not very complimentary.

“… [That] game was actually short. Everything was quick, thank God, because the game was horrible. Bob was really bad. He simply couldn’t play. From 1 to 10, I would give him 1.5,” he was quoted as saying.

Campbell shrugged off the low grade.

“Brazilians generally mark hard… but remember they came out here and signed Alan,” he said.

Miller died two days after returning to Jamaica, in a car accident in Kingston. By the end of the year, Marley increasingly felt symptoms of the disease that would take his life in May 1981 at age 36; he would have turned 75 today.

Campbell says Marley’s passion for football lives through his children.

“Di love him have fi di game, he woulda still support it, if he was alive. But mi see him children dem a continue it — Cedella with di Reggae Girlz an’ Ky-Mani wid Falmouth United,” Campbell added.