tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/zinedine-zidane-40160/articlesZinedine Zidane – The Conversation2021-04-22T15:09:33Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1584622021-04-22T15:09:33Z2021-04-22T15:09:33ZFor footballers of African descent, playing in Euro 2020 will be a double-edged sword<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/396133/original/file-20210420-19-11noehj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Romelu Lukaku of Internazionale.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mattia Ozbot/Soccrates/Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro-2020/">UEFA Euro 2020</a> football tournament – or the 2020 Union of European Football Associations Championship, held every four years – is scheduled to begin on 11 June 2021. The tournament was delayed by a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This edition was initially to be hosted by 12 cities in 12 countries in 2020. This is its 16th edition, celebrating 60 years since its inauguration in 1960. Portugal are the defending champions, having won the 2016 edition.</p>
<p>This tournament will be held as Europe grapples with social, economic and public health issues – among them Brexit, COVID-19, refugees, racism and immigration. One burning issue that is bound to be brought to life is that of race and racism. Since mid-2020, players in some leagues have been kneeling to signal their collective stance against racism. However, episodes of racial abuse for black players via social media are also <a href="https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/53205613">on the increase</a>.</p>
<p>Despite the rise in episodes of racial abuse and that of <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36130006">extremist</a> viewpoints from politicians, European teams are increasingly becoming multi-racial as they reflect the population diversity of the nations. </p>
<p>So, players of different ancestries may become the focal point for discussions on race, nationalism and national identity in the countries they represent.</p>
<p>In a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14660970.2021.1906539">recent paper</a>, I argue that for players of African descent representing European national football teams, Euro 2020 is a double-edged sword. It’s an opportunity to contribute to acceptance of multiculturalism in Europe especially when they win, but also a risk of being abused when they lose a match. </p>
<h2>Nationalism and national pride</h2>
<p>For hosting as well as participating nations, a mega event of this nature arouses feelings like national pride, identity and nationalism. <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/101269000035003006">Research</a> <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1012690204043462?journalCode=irsb">indicates</a> that previous similar football events – such as the FIFA World Cup – have shaped attitudes around national identity within the hosting countries.</p>
<p>However, the nationalistic attitudes have become more complex as European national teams have continued to diversify in terms of racial representation. Fewer European teams than in earlier years have only white players.</p>
<p>An event such as Euro 2020 can generate among viewers a shared experience allowing them to feel connected with the national football team and the nation in general. It is apparent that the extent to which the general citizenry of a country may feel connected with the national team and nation may differ for various ethnic audience groups as that connection is affected by several factors, one of which is one’s ancestry or ethnicity. For players of African descent, the sense of connection may be compromised by systematic inequality and frequent negative reception while on the field and in public discourses.</p>
<h2>Migration of African players to Europe</h2>
<p>The multi-racial teams that will be appearing in Euro 2020 have developed from the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1743-4580.2007.00175.x">vast migration</a> of sporting talent from Africa to Europe over many years.</p>
<p>European clubs and nations use their powerful economic position to dictate the terms on which they conduct the trade in football labour with African nations. </p>
<p>Because of the precarious financial situation of the game in Africa, clubs find themselves in a position of <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14660970701440774">dependent trading</a>. This facilitates the deskilling and underdevelopment of African football. </p>
<p>The loss of Africa’s most talented footballers to European leagues and, in some cases, national teams, can be viewed as ongoing post‐colonial exploitation. <a href="http://goldmercuryaward.org/laureates/ydnekatchew-tessema/">Ydnekatchew Tessema</a>, president of the Confederation of African Football from 1972 to 1987, was a vociferous critic of the export of African players and once prophetically argued:</p>
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<p>When the rich countries take away from us, also by naturalisation, our best elements, we should not expect any chivalrous behaviour on their part to help African football.</p>
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<h2>The double-edged sword</h2>
<p>Analysis of the 2018 World Cup in Russia <a href="https://hailtoyou.wordpress.com/2018/07/09/world-cup-2018-europes-national-teams-by-racial-ancestry/">revealed</a> a high presence of African (black and Arabic) players in top European teams. Of the four semi-finalist teams, only Croatia was 100% white, while France (63% white), Belgium (31% white) and England (37% white) had a high number of children of immigrants. </p>
<p>This increasing prominence of African players has both positive and negative consequences. On one hand, the quality of the national teams has improved and politicians and citizens take pride in their multicultural status. National teams seem to attract support across racial groups when the team wins. Minority groups feel more appreciated and included, which enhances their sense of belonging in their adopted countries. At a political level, there is a sense of national unity. </p>
<p>On the flip side, minority players also feel used and are racially abused when the team does poorly. According to <a href="https://www.pri.org/stories/2018-07-12/french-national-soccer-players-immigrant-ancestry-face-harsher-critics-world-cup">one study</a> French players of African descent face harsher criticism when the team does not do well. </p>
<p>In the <a href="https://www.latimes.com/sports/soccer/la-sp-romeulo-lukaku-baxter-20180728-story.html">words</a> of Inter Milan star, born to Congolese parents, Romelu Lukaku:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>When things were going well … they were calling me Romelu Lukaku, the Belgian striker. When things weren’t going well, they were calling me Romelu Lukaku, the Belgian striker of Congolese descent.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Lukaku’s is not an isolated case. In France, Zinedine Zidane, whose family came from Algeria, wasn’t truly viewed as French until he was photographed singing <em>La Marseillaise</em> – the national anthem – with tears in his eyes after leading the country to a world title in 1998.</p>
<p>Many naturalised black players face this particular dilemma. When they perform well, they are one of “them”, but when performance declines, they are “not one of us”. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/africa-at-the-football-world-cup-10-defining-moments-153989">Africa at the Football World Cup: 10 defining moments</a>
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<p>The transnational nature of Euro 2020, in a globalised era and an anniversary year, presents an ideal moment to put into perspective the scramble for African footballing talent that will be on display – and to acknowledge the challenges that these players have overcome along the way.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/158462/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wycliffe W. Njororai Simiyu does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Behind the multi-racial composition of the elite European teams competing in the tournament lies a complex and painful history.Wycliffe W. Njororai Simiyu, Professor, Health and Kinesiology, University of Texas at TylerLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1000392018-07-20T05:49:54Z2018-07-20T05:49:54ZAfrican countries are losing out on their football talent. They need to figure out why<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228205/original/file-20180718-142426-1g3we7j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">France's World Cup winner Paul Pogba was also eligible to play for Guinea.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Peter Powell/EPA</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A number of African countries must be wondering ‘what could have been’ if they were able to field several of the players who starred for champions <a href="https://www.timeslive.co.za/sport/soccer/2018-07-14-africans-adopt-a-france-team-with-a-familiar-feel/">France</a> and third placed Belgium at the 2018 World Cup tournament. The top talents for Belgium include Romelu Lukaku (parents from Democratic Republic of Congo), Mousa Dembélé (father from Mali) and Marouane Fellaini (parents from Morocco). The French squad featured stars like Paul Pogba (parents from Guinea), N'Golo Kanté (parents from Mali), Kylian Mbappé (Algerian mother and a Cameroonian father), Blaise Matuidi (parents from Angola) and Samuel Umtiti (born in Cameroon).</p>
<p>All who were eligible to play for country of their parentage. It never happened. They opted to play for France and Belgium instead. </p>
<p>France had as many as <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2785862-why-france-are-carrying-africas-hopes-in-the-world-cup-final">15 players</a> with African roots in its squad of 23. <a href="https://www.soccerladuma.co.za/news/articles/international/categories/world-cup-2018/24-stars-with-african-roots-in-2018-fifa-world-cup-semi-final/297993">Belgium</a> had nine out of 23. Even England, also in the Top Four of the 2018 competition, had players with African parentage including Dele Alli (Nigeria) and Danny Welbeck (Ghana). </p>
<p>Last year <a href="https://qz.com/1004032/englands-under-20-world-cup-win-is-a-reminder-of-nigerias-local-failures/">six players</a> who were eligible to play for Nigeria were among 21 English players who won the FIFA U/20 World Cup.</p>
<p>The story of Africa missing out to players goes back more than half a century. Eighty years ago <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books?id=NrW50yHkr0EC&pg=PA80&lpg=PA80&dq=Raoul+Diagne+Senegal+France&source=bl&ots=gYZV-t1nID&sig=JnCfEJIX0XdFbxYKb6nxl7INItE&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiIuePQsKjcAhViDcAKHeenDw04FBDoAQg0MAM#v=onepage&q=Raoul%20Diagne%20Senegal%20France&f=false">Raoul Diagne</a>, a Senegalese, played as defender for France in the 1938 World Cup. He won 18 caps for France and after Senegal’s independence became its first coach. In 1963 he led the West African team to its first victory against France and became a national hero. </p>
<p>Over the decades other players with African connections have made their mark at the World Cup. These included super stars like <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2012/jan/12/just-fontaine-13-goals-world-cup">Just Fontaine</a> (Morocco) who represented France in 1958, Mozambican <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/sport-obituaries/10551846/Eusebio-da-Silva-Ferreira-obituary.html">Eusébio</a> da Silva Ferreira who represented Portugal at the 1966 World Cup, and <a href="http://www.footballhistory.org/player/zinedine-zidane.html">Zinedine Zidane</a>, of Algerian descent, who was prominent in the French team when they won the cup in 1998. There were others too.</p>
<p>Can African countries break the cycle and improve their chances of accomplishing much more at a World Cup? Change is already underway. But a lot more needs to be done. The biggest challenge is that administrators and managers aren’t trying to find out why African players chose other countries above their homelands. Until this knowledge gap is filled, it will be impossible to reverse the trend.</p>
<h2>Ignored emigrant players</h2>
<p>Until a few decades ago – before emigration of African players to professional careers outside the continent became a deluge – African countries ignored first and second-generation emigrant players. Instead, they only selected players for their national teams who didn’t have multiple <a href="http://websites.sportstg.com/get_file.cgi?id=1127049">eligibility</a>.</p>
<p>But things have changed and countries have begun to actively look for first (African emigrants) and second (children of African emigrants) generation players. The recruitment is yet to focus on third generation players, who are also eligible, including the likes of England’s <a href="https://buzznigeria.com/10-nigerian-players-who-have-never-played-for-nigeria/">Ross Barkley</a> who has a Nigerian grandfather. That could happen years down the line.</p>
<p>Recruiting players eligible to play for multiple countries has begun in earnest. Morocco, for instance, had 17 players in its recent World Cup who were born outside the country. Nigeria had six that could have played for several European countries, while 25 players born in France were at the World Cup in the uniforms of Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia.</p>
<p>The race to woo and land these players to represent a European country or an African one is fierce. </p>
<p>Coaches in charge of African national teams – especially European ones – prefer recruiting second generation talent from overseas.</p>
<p>It’s difficult to say what impact these players have had given that they haven’t moved the needle in terms of World Cup performance. One reason for this may be that African countries haven’t been able to recruit the top line of second generation emigrant players. Instead, they’ve been left with players who weren’t being strongly courted by European countries.</p>
<p>In several cases, players ignored by European countries took years before deciding to grab the alternative of representing an African country. Take <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2785862-why-france-are-carrying-africas-hopes-in-the-world-cup-final">Steven Nzonzi</a> who played for France in Moscow. He was eligible to play for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) because his father is Congolese. But he repeatedly turned down call-ups to play for the country. Instead he held out until he finally got his first France cap last year at the age of 28. The decision made him very unpopular in the DRC. </p>
<p>There has to be a reason why top line players are not yet choosing to represent African countries. It’s time Africa’s top administrators tried to find out so that they can work to rectify the situation. Success in recruiting such talent will be a much faster route to winning the World Cup.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/100039/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chuka Onwumechili does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It’s time Africa’s top administrators tried to find out why top African players are choosing to represent European countries, so that they can work to rectify the situation.Chuka Onwumechili, Professor of Communications, Howard UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/997812018-07-13T08:57:54Z2018-07-13T08:57:54ZSuccess of French football team masks underlying tensions over race and class<p>The French football team has won the 2018 World Cup, 20 years after it triumphed on home soil in 1998. “Les Bleus”, as they’re called, are back in the nation’s good books, celebrated for their excellent performance in this year’s tournament, right through the 4-2 win over Croatia in the final. Out of the limelight and the glare of success in Russia 2018, however, a question continues to dog French football – the role of race and class in the selection of national players.</p>
<p>On the surface, this may seem strange with the <a href="https://www.goalsoul.net/products/zidane-black-blanc-beur-poster">attention given</a> to the multicultural harmony of the 1998 World Cup-winning team. The straight-talking former captain of the French national team, Zinedine Zidane, <a href="https://video.vice.com/en_uk/video/vice-zinedine-zidane-shares-his-world-cup-memories/5b3b81eebe407726cc522301">recently said</a> of his country’s 1998 win: </p>
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<p>It was not about religion, the colour of your skin, we didn’t care about that, we were just together and enjoyed the moment. </p>
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<p>This echoed the sentiment of the times, that a multicultural team of united “<a href="https://www.goalsoul.net/products/zidane-black-blanc-beur-poster">black, blanc, beur</a>” (black, white or Arab) players had united under the cause of the French national team to lift the World Cup for the first time. Triumph, on the football field, demonstrated that integration had been successful in France and anyone could reach the top of French society. </p>
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<p>Zidane, the star of France’s 1998 World Cup-winning team, was born to Berber Algerian parents. He grew up in Marseille’s infamous “<a href="https://www.laprovence.com/article/sports/4988951/de-la-castellane-au-real-zinedine-zidane-un-heros-made-in-marseille.html">La Castellane</a>” estate, seen as one of the toughest estates in one of France’s toughest cities. Two decades later, Kylian Mbappé – a 19-year-old of Cameroonian and Algerian heritage – who grew up in the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/44669497">Bondy suburbs</a> of Paris, is the star of the French team.</p>
<p>Some commentators <a href="https://www.valeursactuelles.com/societe/mbappe-marque-la-france-gagne-vous-reprendrez-bien-un-peu-de-black-blanc-beur-97076">have discussed</a> the 2018 success of Les Bleus as a return to the joys of “black, blanc, beur” multicultural national celebration, acceptance and celebration of ethnic diversity. Yet others have been <a href="https://abonnes.lemonde.fr/mondial-2018/article/2018/07/12/coupe-du-monde-2018-epargnez-nous-une-deuxieme-saison-de-black-blanc-beur-par-olivier-guez_5330286_5193650.html">critical</a> of the way politics, integration and football have been mixed together again. </p>
<h2>Far-right opportunism</h2>
<p>Zidane and Mbappé bookend a couple of decades where the ethnic make-up of the national team has come under fierce scrutiny, often taking worringly racist forms.</p>
<p>Questions about the French team’s ethnic credentials were present even before their 1998 victory against Brazil. The far-right leader of the Front National (FN), Jean-Marie Le Pen <a href="https://www.la-croix.com/Archives/1996-06-25/Pour-Le-Pen-l-equipe-de-France-de-foot-n-est-pas-francaise-_NP_-1996-06-25-377656">argued</a> that some the team were “foreigners” who didn’t know how to sing the national anthem. When Le Pen made it to the second round of the presidential election in 2002, some of the world cup-winning footballers, including the captain, <a href="https://www.ladepeche.fr/article/2002/04/26/350370-ils-disent-non-a-le-pen.html">Marcel Desailly</a>, campaigned hard against him. </p>
<p>In 2010, the French team crashed out of the World Cup in South Africa at the group stage, winning no games. Behind the scenes, the manager Raymond Domenech had terrible relations with the players, obscenities were screamed and the captain Patrice Evra had an <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2010/jun/20/france-raymond-domenech-nicolas-anelka">on-field bust up</a> with the fitness coach, Robert Duverne. Rather than question the incompetence of these two white coaches in managing the national side, blame fell quickly on the players, whose commitment to the French team was questioned. </p>
<p>The criticism went further than the usual rumblings about spoilt and overpaid players, taking on a distinctly sinister and racial tone when the philosopher Alain Finkielkraut <a href="https://www.agoravox.tv/tribune-libre/article/finkielkraut-l-equipe-de-france-26725">called the team</a> a “gang of thieves with mafia morals”. While this referred to the footballers by their presumed class backgrounds as children of France’s crime-ridden, suburban housing estates, <a href="http://diversite.20minutes-blogs.fr/archive/2010/06/22/alain-finkielkraut-derape-sur-l-equipe-de-france-attention-a.html">some pointed</a> to a racial undertone as these estates are also synonymous with black and Arab youths.</p>
<p>Marine Le Pen, the new leader of the FN party – since then renamed <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jun/01/marine-le-pen-rebrands-front-national-in-push-for-support">Rassemblement National</a> – waded into the fray arguing that the <a href="https://www.marianne.net/societe/comment-le-debat-sur-lequipe-de-france-de-football-sest-racialise-depuis-1998">problem with the national team</a> was down to them having “another nationality in their hearts”. </p>
<p>In the years since, there have been other accusations that France <a href="https://www.mediapart.fr/journal/france/dossier/les-quotas-discriminatoires-dans-le-foot-francais">operated</a> a “quota” to limit the number of black and Arab players in the national team. In part, this was justified as a means to limit the number of bi-national players trained by the French youth team, who may choose to play for a country other than France. However, <a href="http://world.time.com/2011/05/04/french-national-soccer-rocked-by-accusations-of-racist-quotas/">transcripts which formed part</a> of an investigation found the rationale also extended to racial stereotypes that white players were more “cerebral” and “team orientated” than their “fast and strong” African and Arab counterparts. </p>
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<p>Notable by his absence in this world cup is Karim Benzema, an international star with Real Madrid who has been continually left out of the squad, for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/jun/01/karim-benzema-accuses-didier-deschamps-france-euro-2016">what he has called</a> “racist” reasons. Benzema was suspended from the national team in 2015 due to a <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-40566551">criminal investigation</a> into an alleged blackmail case – which remains ongoing – and he was again <a href="https://www.soccerladuma.co.za/news/articles/international/categories/world-cup-2018/snubbed-karim-benzema-hits-back-at-france-football-federation-president-s-claims/295846">omitted</a> from the 2018 squad. The <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/karim-benzema-wants-answers-didier-deschamps-france-national-team-exile-a7648616.html">official</a> reason for his continued absence is “sporting choices”, but former French international Samir Nasri went <a href="https://www.lexpress.fr/actualite/sport/football/un-fond-de-racisme-autour-de-benzema-en-bleu-pour-nasri-c-est-oui_1950546.html">on record</a> in 2017 to say that the reason may have a more racist rationale.</p>
<h2>Banlieue boys</h2>
<p>The aftermath of the 2010 debacle demonstrated that even for those who do make it to the top of French football, when times are hard it is they who are viewed first and foremost with suspicion due to their minority ethnic and working class backgrounds from <em>les banlieues</em> (suburbs). These areas continue to have <a href="http://www.gallimard.fr/Catalogue/GALLIMARD/Hors-serie-Connaissance/Banlieue-de-la-Republique">massive structural problems</a> that disadvantage those of minority and low-income backgrounds.</p>
<p>In the 20 years since Zidane lifted the World Cup, little has changed in the estate outside of Marseille where he grew up. Like other estates in France that house significant numbers of those of foreign ethnic origin, La Castellane continues to be <a href="https://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2015/02/09/rafales-d-armes-automatiques-a-marseille-lors-de-la-visite-de-manuel-valls_4572697_3224.html">gripped by violence</a> and the all-too lucrative drugs trade, which periodic <a href="https://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/provence-alpes-cote-d-azur/bouches-du-rhone/marseille/marseille-plus-gros-reseau-drogue-marseille-demantele-castellane-1499475.html">raids</a> do little to disrupt.</p>
<p>The achievements of 1998 and 2018 demonstrate that players such as Zidane and Mbappé from ethnic minority backgrounds can rise to the top of French society. Some players transcend football, taking up bigger political causes, such as the French 1998-world cup winning defender Lillian Thuram who has worked against discrimination in France. He even turned <a href="https://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2009/02/03/thuram-explique-pourquoi-il-a-refuse-d-entrer-au-gouvernement_1149889_823448.html">down a position</a> in the government of Nicolas Sarkozy because of differences with the president over his stance on social issues and because Sarkozy called the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2007/mar/04/football.newsstory">rioters of 2005 “scum”</a> when he was interior minister.</p>
<p>Yet while the current team is riding high on a wave of the resurrection of “black-blanc-beur” success, French football, like French society, remains marred by <a href="http://www.liberation.fr/societe/2009/02/17/discrimination-raciale-un-heritage-francais_310620">complex forms of racial discrimination</a>. </p>
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<p><em>More evidence-based articles about football and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/world-cup-2018-11490?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=WorldCup2018">World Cup</a>:</em></p>
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<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/england-fans-sing-footballs-coming-home-but-where-is-home-really-99479?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=WorldCup2018">England fans sing ‘football’s coming home’ – but where is ‘home’ really?</a></em></p></li>
<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/what-does-fifa-really-want-out-of-this-world-cup-97393?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=WorldCup2018">What does FIFA really want out of this World Cup?</a></em></p></li>
<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/why-do-people-suddenly-get-into-football-during-the-world-cup-98812?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=WorldCup2018">Why do people suddenly ‘get into’ football during the World Cup?</a></em></p></li>
</ul><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/99781/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joseph Downing receives funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 703613. </span></em></p>When France won the world cup in 1998, the team was celebrated for its multiculturalism. What has happened since?Joseph Downing, Marie Curie Fellow, CNRS, Laboratoire méditerranéen de sociologie, Aix-Marseille Université (AMU)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/798562017-07-02T08:37:11Z2017-07-02T08:37:11ZWhy African fans love European football - a Senegalese perspective<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175826/original/file-20170627-24782-7bkqjt.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The local game in Senegal is underdeveloped.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mark Hann/GLOBALSPORT</span></span></figcaption></figure><blockquote>
<p>Casillas throws the ball to Thuram, standing on the edge of his penalty area. The big defender passes to Zidane, who turns and dribbles past two opponents before playing a precise through-ball for Iniesta, who lays it on for Alves on the right wing. Alves curls in an accurate cross, Tevez rises at the far post to meet it with a powerful header – goal!</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This may sound like the commentary for a testimonial or charity match, at which an all-star team of football legends past and present line up for a good cause. But at this match there are no supporters cheering the players on. There are no TV cameras recording the play, and not even a single blade of grass on the pitch. </p>
<p>And Frenchmen <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2017/jun/04/zinedine-zidane-manager-more-successful-player-real-madrid-champions-league">Zinedine Zidane</a> and <a href="http://www.thuram.org/site/en/the-foundation/who-is-lilian-thuram/">Lilian Thuram</a>, Brazilian <a href="http://www.eurosport.com/football/dani-alves_prs206480/person.shtml">Dani Alves</a>, Argentinian <a href="http://www.goal.com/en/news/8/main/2017/05/14/35504562/introverted-tevez-has-been-a-colossal-waste-of-money-for">Carlos Tevez</a>, and Spaniards <a href="http://www.goal.com/en-za/people/spain/1219/iker-casillas">Iker Casillas</a> and <a href="https://www.fcbarcelona.com/football/first-team/staff/players/2016-2017/a-iniesta">Andrés Iniesta</a> – fabled names from the upper echelons of European football – are nowhere to be seen. </p>
<p>Instead it’s Ameth “Zidane”, Mbaye “Thuram”, Mamadou “Alves”, Saliou “Tevez”, Mohamed “Casillas” and Abdou “Iniesta”, all nicknamed after those footballing icons. We are in the Senegalese capital of Dakar, on a dusty pitch, watching a cup game between two local under-19 teams.</p>
<p>In Senegal European football is hugely popular. While local league teams play in almost deserted stadia, audiences crowd around televisions to follow the latest matches of the English <a href="https://www.premierleague.com/">Premier League</a>, the Spanish <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/laligafootball">La Liga</a>, or the pan-European <a href="http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/">UEFA Champions League</a>. </p>
<p>The latest goals, controversies and transfers in Europe are the subject of passionate debate and discussion on the streets of Dakar. By contrast, the local leagues attract hardly any interest. This is true in very many African countries. But I explore what lies behind this discrepancy in Senegal. As well as why a nation so in thrall to the beautiful game seemingly ignores the major competitions taking place on their own doorstep? </p>
<h2>Why the big attraction</h2>
<p>There are a number of reasons.</p>
<p>Jean Bertin Uwarugaba, a telecoms engineer of Rwandan origin who has lived in Senegal for over two decades, provided me with one obvious answer: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>The local game is underdeveloped. It’s not attractive, because there are no historical rivalries between the teams.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>With the <a href="http://sociologicalimagination.org/archives/1946/comment-page-1">deregulation of football broadcasting</a> since the 1990s, the European game has become accessible and affordable to many Africans, especially those living in urban areas. Why should people consume a sub-par product when they can watch the elite level of the game in the comfort of their own homes? </p>
<p>Dakar-based Uwarugaba is a fanatical fan of top English club <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/chelsea?INTCMP=searchAutoComp">Chelsea</a>. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I first started watching European football around 1999, in particular <a href="https://www.om.net/en">Olympique Marseille</a>. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/didier-drogba">Didier Drogba</a> emerged as the leader of that team. After Drogba’s transfer to Chelsea in 2004, I started following the Premier League. I’ve been a fan of Chelsea ever since.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Another reason is the growing presence of African football stars in the top European leagues. This is certainly a big attraction. The Ivorian superstars Drogba and <a href="https://www.premierleague.com/players/4148/Yaya-Tour%C3%A9/overview">Yaya Touré</a>, or the Cameroonian striker <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2010/jun/08/samuel-etoo-world-cup-2010">Samuel Eto'o</a> are icons to fans in Senegal. There’s particular pride at the emergence of exciting young Senegalese players such as Liverpool’s <a href="https://www.premierleague.com/players/6519/Sadio-Man%C3%A9/overview">Sadio Mané</a>, Lazio’s Keita Baldé Diao or <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/kalidou-koulibaly">Kalidou Koulibaly</a> who’s playing for Napoli. </p>
<p>However, the two most popular clubs in Senegal at the moment are the Spanish giants, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/barcelona">FC Barcelona</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/realmadrid">Real Madrid</a>, neither of whom currently has an African player in their first team squad – other than the Cameroonian born French international <a href="https://www.fcbarcelona.com/football/first-team/news/2016-2017/10-essential-facts-about-new-fc-barcelona-signing-samuel-umtiti">Samuel Umtiti</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175834/original/file-20170627-24746-4z6a39.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175834/original/file-20170627-24746-4z6a39.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175834/original/file-20170627-24746-4z6a39.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175834/original/file-20170627-24746-4z6a39.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175834/original/file-20170627-24746-4z6a39.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175834/original/file-20170627-24746-4z6a39.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175834/original/file-20170627-24746-4z6a39.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Top league matches in Senegal are normally poorly attended.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mark Hann/GLOBALSPORT</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Specific local context of football</h2>
<p>In Senegal, perhaps, the reason for this European obsession can be found by exploring the specific context of football – and sport – in the country. It’s worth looking at one local exception that attracts as much passion and fervour as the European giants – the navétanes inter-district championship, which includes the aforementioned team containing the illustrious names of Casillas, Zidane and Tevez. Saliou “Tevez” is the team’s centre forward, a fast and athletic young man who dreams of a career in Europe.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I played in the local navétanes team. Everyone started calling me Tevez, because I played like [Argentine player] Carlos Tevez. I worked hard, I scored goals, I was technical. We won the cup that year. Everyone in the neighbourhood knows me as Tevez.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Saliou’s exploits in the inter-district team are a reminder that there is a local football competition which ignites the passions and loyalties of Senegalese fans. It just isn’t the official league championship.</p>
<p>The navétanes championships take their name from the Wolof “nawet”, referring to the rainy season, and it’s primarily during these summer months that they take place. Since the 1950s, local teams have competed against one another to defend the honour and pride of the neighbourhood or village, and the navétanes matches often attract huge crowds. </p>
<p>Much is at stake: violent altercations and accusations of occult activity among fans are often reported, making the competition resemble Senegal’s other hugely popular sport of <a href="https://theconversation.com/senegalese-wrestle-with-ethnicity-while-reaching-for-dreams-of-success-66073?sr=1">wrestling</a> known for being saturated in magico-religious practices. The popularity of the navétanes championships and the national wrestling arena demonstrate that there’s a large appetite for local sports competitions.</p>
<p>The high demand for European football comes in addition to, not instead of, sport at the local level. </p>
<p>Ultimately, they represent two very different things. The navétanes championships, like wrestling, offer a visceral experience of sporting competition which is rooted in complex local meanings, regional loyalties and historical rivalries. In contrast, the viewing of European football matches on TV allows African fans to partake in the aspirational dreams exported worldwide by the Premier League or the Champions League.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175837/original/file-20170627-24741-1aq3rwc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175837/original/file-20170627-24741-1aq3rwc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175837/original/file-20170627-24741-1aq3rwc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175837/original/file-20170627-24741-1aq3rwc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175837/original/file-20170627-24741-1aq3rwc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175837/original/file-20170627-24741-1aq3rwc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175837/original/file-20170627-24741-1aq3rwc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many young Senegalese boys dream of playing for big European clubs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mark Hann/GLOBALSPORT</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Whether as a consumer, like Uwarugaba, or as a player, in the case of Saliou “Tevez”, there is a strong desire to participate in the football economy at the highest level. In this context, the local league championships are neither here nor there. They lack the passionate support of the navétanes teams, but are also unable to pay competitive salaries necessary to attract the best players. </p>
<p>In a sense, the popularity of European football in Africa is a direct consequence of neoliberal economic transformations, the liberalisation of media and the influx of satellite broadcasting into the African market. The commodification and <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/as-the-premier-league-sells-its-wares-in-south-africa-the-local-league-will-suffer-9222573.html">marketing</a> of European football to an African audience generates profits for telecommunications companies based in the global North, thus exacerbating inequalities and restricting the growth potential of the local game.</p>
<p>But, as pervasive as the globalisation of football may be, there is no denying the genuine passion it inspires among its African fans, and the creative ways in which the global game is incorporated into local narratives. </p>
<p><em>This article is based on research conducted as part of the <a href="http://global-sport.eu/">GLOBALSPORT</a> project based at the University of Amsterdam and funded by the European Research Council.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/79856/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Hann receives funding from the European Research Council. </span></em></p>European football matches allow African fans to partake in the aspirational dreams exported worldwide by the Premier League or the Champions League.Mark Hann, Doctoral student in Anthropology, University of AmsterdamLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.