The following interviews were conducted with two students from West Africa, who currently attend Suffolk University. Herve Zede is a 24 year old from Yaoundé, Cameroon who has been in the states for a little more than two years. Eric Compaore is a 23 year old from Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso who will have been here for two years in July. Since they have only been here for about two years, they both have witnessed firsthand the ongoing development of African football and the recent success of West Africa’s teams and players on the international stage.
Q: What is the relevance soccer in your life?
Eric: Football or soccer is the most widely played sport in my country (Burkina Faso –West Africa) with our national team called “Etalons” meaning horse to symbolize victory and power in my local language. Soccer is very important to me and is our number one sport. We are soccer fans in my country and many of the Burkinabe are passionate about the game. Many of us start learning how to kick a soccer ball in primary school. A survey conducted before 1998 showed that many of Burkinabe from successful business people to the poorest person will not hesitate to donate funds to the National league in order to support the players financially. Also during the African cup, many of the fans will rearrange their day or simply take a week off in order to watch the game. Some will even call in sick at work in order to watch the game during working hours. Soccer is more than just a game; it unites the entire country and even brings enemies together. However, at this point in time the soccer fans loyalty to our national team is somewhat declining. Things got worse after the Etalons (the national team) failed to qualify for the 2000 African Cup and have ever since been beaten up by almost every team.
Herve: Well, soccer is considered as the most important sport in Africa that gathers people from different ethnos, different religions and different behaviors. In this sense, soccer is not only considered as a sport. Soccer appears like a tie that makes fraternize people, improve relationship between friends or members of the same community. From that, it is almost obvious that most of men and more and more women are deep interested in playing or watching soccer. And anytime I have a chance to play with my friends, I do not hesitate to catch this opportunity. For me soccer is very important not only as a sport, but also as a part of my culture.
Q: How did you consume and experience football in Africa, and in the United States?
Eric: In general soccer in Africa is the number one sport and is being passionately watched from everywhere in Africa. As in the US, you can easily know when an important football game is being played because the country you are visiting will literally come to a standstill. Africa soccer is a little bit equivalent to the US Super Bowl. Pretty much everywhere in Africa, you will see young boys kicking around a football. In Burkina Faso, soccer is very often the main conversation topic. Unlike the US, soccer in Africa is still a men thing. You won’t see a lot of girls passionate or even talk about the game. Nor will women be that interested in chatting about the latest Europeans superstars. Most of the time, after a victory thousands poured into the streets, waving flags and beating drums to celebrate.
Herve: Soccer in Africa is almost a part of any man’s life because everyday men talk about soccer. During my childhood, I used to play soccer almost every afternoon after classes. I got familiarized with almost all the kids of my neighborhood and from that we shared our lives, our dreams and our fears. We became friends and we grew together with the same passion. Once I came to America, things change because life has also changed and the culture is not the same. In first, the weather is not the same so that every weekend you can meet with others to play. Even on Television, I do not pay very attention on the games schedule because I always have in mind that soccer is not well recognized as a great sport in the US. But during weekends, I always got few minutes to watch Europeans championships on the cable and check news on what is happening in the soccer planet.
Q: What role did football play in your community growing up?
Eric: Not only does football play an important role in my community, but it also plays an indisputable role in changing lives in my community and is at the same time a tool of unity among Burkinabe. Soccer is the life of many Burkinabe and many feel a sense of joy and pride talking about it. Football field are also sometimes a meeting point to get news about what is happening in the country. In one word soccer brings the community together and even makes it stronger.
Herve: Soccer in my community is more than a sport. Soccer is a part of culture that brings closer members of the community, links and tightens relationship amongst people. Soccer sometimes, even create passion especially when the national team is playing or is in competitions like African Cup or World Cup; everybody is connected to the cable to watch games and make owns commentaries about the game, the players, the referee and the competition itself. Whenever the national team is winning, the whole country is in festival. Everybody is happy and try to forget for a while all the issues happening in is own life. But if unfortunately the team lost the game, people turn sour and sad like something bad happened in their life. Obviously, soccer is a part of the community’s life.
Q: Growing up, how did you perceive football’s role in the larger region you lived in (Sub-Saharan, West African Nations)?
Eric: Almost like in Burkina Faso, football in a larger region (West African Nations) is also a very popular game and is bringing people together to the point that African governments are currently investing huge amounts of money to build soccer infrastructures for the youth. In West African Nations, football creates opportunities that did not existed before and each nation in West Africa want to have its team competing in at the African Cup (takes places every 2 years). Financially speaking, ten years ago, many perceived football to be just a fun game but today things have drastically changed and football in being perceived by many African players in West Africa as a mean to get rich. The local teams are getting better and the quality of game is improving.
Herve: Soccer plays the same role in almost all African countries. It is a big part of culture that creates passion and everywhere, men always talk about soccer, men always share news on soccer. For instance during competitions in which the national team is concerned, when the time of the game comes, people almost stop doing whatever they were doing to come and watch the game; anything else has to wait till the game finished. Soccer is more than important; it is a part of people life.
Q: How do your loyalty and enthusiasm change in international competition when your nation may or may not be represented but the continent is?
Eric: When Burkina Faso is not being represented, I most of the time support a country that is represented and could potentially advanced to the next level of the competition. It really does not matter and despite the fact that my country is not represented, I tend to be loyal to the nation being represented and will watch every single game if my time allows me to do so.
Herve: During international competitions, especially the world cup, my loyalty and enthusiasm do not change at all when my country is playing or another African country is playing because as the minority, all African gathers like a block to support African teams the same way. It is obvious that when my own country is playing or winning I am more enthusiastic and happy but finally it is the same interest.
Q: How do you classify the impact of African players playing abroad in Europe and other nations? What does it do for your regions?
Eric: Most of the time, they build soccer schools in order to help and create better conditions for the youth. Some build educational institution for the communities and others donate funds to fight against malaria and HIV. In sum the players playing abroad in Europe generally have positive impact on the nation.
Herve: Watching African players play abroad makes me happy because they are considered as ambassadors of African community abroad and they represent well the continent. For instance in Europe now, one sees more and more African players and they are among the best players. The whole continent is happy and people follow their integration, their evolution and their games. And when these players go back home, they are welcomed as stars, they are honored and blessed because they represent hope to people, for the young generation that also want to bloom within the community. Most of these players help people, and participate in social development of the community. Players thus have a great impact in people life because they represent the pride of being African abroad and as a proof that African players are among the best in the world.
Q: What has been the most intriguing development or “football story” for you in the past decade?
Eric: For me the most fascinating football story in the past decade was the game Senegal Vs France in the World cup in 2002 where Senegal won by 1-0. In fact no one even suspected that Senegal could beat France and they did. That is still a shock to many who can’t digest it up to now. Not only did they beat France but they were able to get to the quarter finals round for their first participation to the World Cup.
Herve: The most intriguing story for the past decade that really amazed me is the good performance of the Senegal team during “World Cup 2002” in Korea and Japan. I was very happy to watch them playing and win games against great reputation European teams. They play so well that they got qualified to the quarterfinals. Unfortunately, they could not go so far. However, they did a very good impression and that showed how fast the African soccer evolves for international competition
Q: Do you believe football has had a positive or negative social effect in your communities and regions? Why?
Eric: I believe soccer had a positive social effect in my community and regions. Soccer is intensively being watched and the quality of local game keeps improving from year to year as demonstrated by the increasing number of Burkinabe players in European clubs. They often invest in our communities and create better living conditions for the communities.
Herve: Obviously, as a part of culture, soccer has been having a positive social effect in African community in general. The most important aspect is the fact that soccer brings closer people, and makes them socialize, fraternize and share common life. In addition, soccer players participate actively in social development plans and actions such as build school, build foundations for poor kids and orphans, give drugs to hospitals and even organize soccer competitions during summer for kids and young generation so that they can spend nice vacations and have fun.
Q: Do you believe football has had a positive or negative economic effect in your communities and regions?
Eric: I believe soccer has had a positive economic effect in my community and regions because not only soccer is becoming more popular but it is also more profitable and creating economic opportunities for many professional players. Hundreds of Burkina soccer players have found prosperity in just 2 years. Many have made millions of euro in a matter of weeks. The majority of them have built houses in Burkina Faso and helped created businesses for their families and for friends while others have donated to the national soccer federation new soccer equipments for the youth.
Herve: The positive impact of soccer is not observed in a general macroeconomics level. African governments’ control almost every economical aspect of the country and give direction on what to do or how to do things. However, the social impact of soccer players is most observes within few households. For instance, they finance and invest in projects development of a specific community, especially where they come from and that concern few families. Some of the players build manufactories, firms that create jobs and opportunities for those who are jobless. Many of them help families in their common financial difficulties like send their kids to school or support their bills or health care. It is obvious that one does not feel the effect of soccer in a general level. However, by looking closely, many households found their life buoy behind soccer.
Q: If questions 8 and 9 were positive, what negative effects do you perceive the game having on society, if any?
Eric: Since hundreds of Burkinabe soccer players has found prosperity in playing soccer. This could have negative effect on the society in the long run as many kids drop out of school and prefer to play soccer.
Herve: The impact of soccer in African community does not make it easy to perceive a negative aspect. However, according to me, there is a negative aspect simply because more and more young generations are less interested in getting educated, getting trained so that they can be well integrated and bloom within the community. Young generations only think about the money that African players earn abroad and how famous they are. As a consequence, they all want to have the same life. As a result, African projects development will stagnate due to the lack of competency or Qualified people. And the continent is threat to keep staying behind. Finally, as well as young generations need to be interest in soccer, and since they cannot all become famous and rich, most of them should get well educated and trained so that they will take in their hands the future and the bloom of Africa within the world community.
A few common themes stood out to me as I read their responses to our interview questions. Both interviewees emphasized the unifying power of football within their communities, nations and continent as a whole. They both discussed how they will support any African team entry into international competition or any African player who has the opportunity to play in Europe, regardless of what nation they are representing. Both mentioned Senegal’s 2002 World Cup run as an event of great importance to both of them even though neither actually hails from the nation. Finally, both perceive the influx of African talent playing in the major European football leagues as a positive development for West Africa. They view these players as charitable, patriotic, and socially conscious ambassadors of Africa, who place an emphasis on giving back to their childhood communities. These interviews clearly reveal a high level of optimism towards the continued development of African football on the international level and the effects that this development is having on the nations of West Africa.