Category: Africa

Senegal or England to win? Parents v children in London’s west African community | World Cup 2022


Football’s capacity to unite is routinely lauded, but Sunday’s World Cup match between England and Senegal has already divided many west African families in London.

The split is generational. Parents say they tend to support Senegal, the country of their birth, while their children opt to support the state they were raised in: England.

Among the former is British citizen Ndene Ndiaye who arrived in London in 2009 from the capital, Dakar, and is hopeful of a slender Senegalese victory.

The 54-year-old, who works at the acclaimed Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in Deptford, south-east London, said: “Senegal represents home and I think they’ll win, but my children were born here and they’re English supporters all the way.”

Behind the fresh food counter at Tomi’s Kitchen, within the heart of Deptford’s sizeable west African population, Peter Odise also confirmed his family had segregated on similar lines.

A staunch Senegal fan – despite hailing from fellow west African state Nigeria – Odise explained that his 16-year-old son was an ardent Arsenal supporter and played for the club’s junior football team.

“Lots of the black community here support Senegal, but the young, including my son, support England.”

Siding with their country of birth had been made easier, said Odise, by the prevalence of black footballers in the England squad.

Among the west African community in this corner of the UK capital, one England player stands above all others: Bukayo Saka.

Odise, 57, said: “Saka has Nigerian parents, but is totally English. He’s inspirational for many. My son wants to be like him.”

Two minutes along Deptford High Street, Emeka, a self-employed exporter from east Nigeria, predicted a 2-1 win for Senegal. Again, it was a result that would not impress his two children, Londoners aged 11 and 14.

“For me that’d be good, I support Africa but they support England,” said the 45-year-old, picking up a portion of fried fish lunch at the Island Buka restaurant.

Among his peers, the footballing success of Senegal – the region’s other World Cup representatives, Ghana, were knocked out on Friday – has united west Africans.

The scenes certain to be witnessed on Sunday at Deptford’s Ivory Restaurant will bear testimony to that regional support.

Hundreds of supporters – many carrying drums and waving Senegalese flags – are expected to congregate in the venue. Herbert Ngassi, who has run the restaurant since 2018, expects it will be a raucous occasion.

Yet such an overt display of national pride is rare for London’s Senegalese diaspora. Ngassi, 44, said they preferred to socialise modestly at each other’s homes, rather than throw ostentatious parties.

“They are a French-speaking community, a hard-working community, a community who, more or less Muslim, does not like to drink and party.”

Ngassi, from Ivory Coast – a traditional powerhouse of west African football but which failed to qualify for the World Cup finals – said the inter-generational divide in the Senegalese community was not solely evidenced in the team they support on Sunday.

“The young have a new way of living but the older generation have maybe stuck to their roots. They have memories of back home, family – and the young have never experienced life there.”

With the temperature struggling to reach 7C on Friday afternoon, Ngassi predictably said that the weather was what he most missed about west Africa.

“Also the food, so full of vitamins, the warmth of the people,” said Ngassi.

And what if Senegal get knocked out? “That’s easy. We’ll all support England.”

‘Senegal is the best’: Dakar’s dreaming of World Cup upset | Senegal


Just under 4,500 miles (7,200km) away from the shiny stadiums in Qatar, a man named Serigne Fallou confidently proclaims that he already knows what the result will be on Sunday when England take on Senegal in the World Cup’s round of 16.

“Absolutely, Senegal will win, 1-0,” says Fallou, an apartment doorman in Dakar, Senegal’s bustling capital on the Atlantic Ocean. “I don’t have a doubt.”

People watching a World Cup match at a restaurant on the Dakar coastline.
People watching a World Cup match at a restaurant on the Dakar coastline. Photograph: Guy Peterson

There’s a buzz in the air in the small west African country, whose Lions of Teranga have been on a hot streak of late. Players such as Sadio Mané, recently traded from Liverpool to Bayern Munich, Kalidou Koulibaly, of Chelsea, and Everton’s Idrissa Gana Gueye star in the European leagues. They bested Mo Salah’s Egypt to win the Africa Cup of Nations this year, sparking multi-day street parties in Dakar that delayed the arrival of the winners – and their trophy – from the airport as they crawled through seven hours of crowd-induced traffic welcoming them home.

A football match on a sand pitch in the northern Dakar neighbourhood of N’gor.
A football match on a sand pitch in the northern Dakar neighbourhood of N’gor. Photograph: Guy Peterson

And now, the Senegalese are ready to win what would be their first World Cup.

Street sellers in the capital, thronging with millions of residents, have traded – or added to – their usual stocks of kitchenware, phone chargers or tourist tchotchkes for Senegalese flags, wristbands, headbands and shirts. Jerseys of varying legality go for 5,000 to 15,000 CFA francs (£6.50 to £19.50), with children often running around the street decked out head to toe in full kits before games.

Ablaye Diaby putting up a flag beneath dozens of football shirts on a wall across from his small shop in Dakar.
Ablaye Diaby putting up a flag beneath dozens of football shirts on a wall across from his small shop in Dakar. Photograph: Guy Peterson

“They will win. The Senegalese team is the champion of Africa,” says Ousseynou Thioune, who is selling a variety of jerseys and wristbands on a busy boulevard. He bumps up Fallou’s prediction, to 2-0.

“They’re still the Lions, even without Sadio,” Thioune says, referencing the star forward Mané, who was injured in a Bayern game just before the World Cup began.

A woman buying a Senegal football shirt from Ousseynou Thioune (middle left).
A woman buying a Senegal football shirt from Ousseynou Thioune (middle left). Photograph: Guy Peterson

When it was announced that the Ballon d’Or runner-up would have to sit out, drama and consternation among the football- and Mané-crazed populace ensued. In the aftermath, one man told France24 that “I cried when I saw” the news.

“With my friends, we were talking about it. There were some who had bought a television [to watch the World Cup] – and they sold it back,” he said.

People set up small goals to play football on a concrete pitch in a residential area of Dakar.
People set up small goals to play football on a concrete pitch in a residential area of Dakar. Photograph: Guy Peterson

Yet the Lions have more than persevered. Their opening game against Netherlands, resulting in a 2-0 loss, was quickly pushed aside with 3-1 and 2-1 wins over Qatar and Ecuador, respectively.

A young boy looks over a football stadium pitch in a residantial area of Dakar.
A young boy looks over a football stadium pitch in a residential area of Dakar. Photograph: Guy Peterson

“This year, this World Cup, I hope the Africans are going to the final. An African team must qualify. And Senegal is the best,” Thioune says. Along with Senegal, Morocco have also advanced out of the group stage, with Cameroon and Ghana still in with a chance of qualification too going into their final group matches on Friday.

“Football helps people forget about unemployment, it helps people forget about their problems,” Thioune continues. “When there’s football, everybody is talking about football. You’re forced to forget your problems – even the politicians, even the president.”

A Senegalese football fan celebrates during a world cup match at a local sports bar in Dakar.
A Senegalese football fan celebrates during a World Cup match at a local sports bar in Dakar. Photograph: Guy Peterson

In Senegal, the national sport is laamb, a Sumo-like form of traditional wrestling. But like so many other places across the world, football is still the great, globalising equaliser, played everywhere from the country’s pockmarked sandlots to its grand stadiums. When Mané played for Liverpool, it was easy to find television sets and smartphones tuned into the Reds everywhere from Dakar to the smallest villages in Senegal’s rural hinterlands.

“We have [star] players like the English. They play in English championships,” says Ke Ba, a restaurateur who serves up plates of fish, rice, and vegetables – the national dish, thieboudienne – from his small, one-room restaurant. Despite wearing a Manchester jersey, he has no love for the English national team.

“We believe we will win,” he says. “It’s the World Cup – you have to beat the big teams.”

Still, some are hedging their bets.

Djibril serves a customer a breakfast sandwich standing in his corner shop decked out with Senegalese flags and scarves across the shelves.
Djibril serves a customer a breakfast sandwich standing in his corner shop decked out with Senegalese flags and scarves across the shelves. Photograph: Guy Peterson

“No,” says Djibril Diallo, insisting he’s not nervous, per se. But “England – it’s not a small team,” adds the corner store owner, whose shop is dressed up with a Senegalese scarf hanging across a wall of foodstuffs.

“Senegal also, it’s not a small team,” he says. “This match is a bit complicated. Two equals are playing. Two teams, equal. In any case, we’ll pray to God.”

Boys play football on N’Gor beach in Dakar. For many who don’t go to school they spend their days with friends playing the game on the street or on the many beachs around Dakar.
Boys play football on N’Gor beach in Dakar. For many who don’t go to school they spend their days with friends playing the game on the street or on the many beaches around Dakar. Photograph: Guy Peterson

On a nearby beach, young children and adults alike play pick-up games along the shoreline. Even in a worst-case scenario, they’ll be there again on Monday, same as ever, the next generation of Manés, Koulibalys, and Gueyes among them.

Fifpro asks why Gabon’s FA chief was at World Cup opener when facing trial | World Cup 2022


The international players’ union, Fifpro, has questioned why the president of the Gabonese Football Federation (Fegafoot) was allowed to attend the opening match of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar despite being charged in connection with the investigation into allegations of widespread sexual abuse in his country.

Pierre-Alain Mounguengui, who was released at the end of October after six months in preventive custody in Gabon having been charged with “failure to report crimes of paedophilia”, was pictured alongside the Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, and Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, the emir of Qatar, at Sunday’s opening ceremony at Al Bayt Stadium.

He was also pictured hugging Patrice Motsepe, the South African mining billionaire businessman who became president of the Confederation of African Football (Caf) last year and visited Mounguengui in the Gros Bouquet Central prison in Libreville during an official trip to Gabon in August.

It is understood Mounguengui was provisionally released after mounting pressure from Caf. He is awaiting trial after being charged in relation to allegations first published by the Guardian last year. There is no suggestion Mounguengui has been accused of sexual abuse himself. He has not commented on the charges.

“Pierre-Alain Mounguengui is currently under investigation for allegedly covering up the widespread abuse by not reporting to the competent authorities,” read a statement from Fifpro. “Caf executives visiting Mounguengui in custody, on the eve of his release, and photographs of Caf’s president hugging Mounguengui at the Fifa World Cup do nothing to persuade victims and whistleblowers to risk their lives and those of their families to give evidence. How victims perceive these moments matter and could significantly impact the integrity and efficacy of Fifa’s investigation.”

When contacted, a Fifa spokesperson declined to comment. In May Fifa’s ethics committee opened formal proceedings against a former Gabon national under-17 coach, Patrick Assoumou Eyi, and three other coaches as part of its investigation into allegations of sexual abuse. All four had their provisional bans extended in August.

Fifa has yet to take any action against Mounguengui, with sources close to some of the alleged victims concerned that his presence in Qatar alongside Infantino may deter others from coming forward.

Gianni Infantino at the World Cup opening ceremony
The Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, and Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, the emir of Qatar, were also at the opening ceremony on Sunday Photograph: –

It is understood that investigators from Fifa’s ethics committee were in Gabon to gather evidence the week before Mounguengui’s release from custody, although several alleged victims are believed to have been left deeply frustrated by the process so far.

Fifpro said: “Allegations of widespread, systemic sexual abuse possibly impacting hundreds of players in Gabon must be properly investigated both by Fifa and authorities in that country. Fifa’s investigation can only be successful if there is trust in its efficacy and independence. Victims and whistleblowers must believe that – if the evidence substantiates it – those responsible for the abuse will be held to account. We know from supporting victims of abuse in football around the world that this trust is fragile: players who were abused have already been repeatedly failed by football authorities when they were not protected or listened to.”

It can also be revealed that Mounguengui spoke at an event last week in Libreville described as “a workshop for the fight against harassment and sexual abuse in the Gabonese football community”. It was attended by representatives of the World Health Organisation, Gabon’s ministry of sports and health, and was held “in collaboration with Fifa”. Mounguengui welcomed the proposals for a plan that will be sent to world football’s governing body.

“The relevance of your contributions and analysis has led to the development of a document substantial enough to open a new page in the fight against harassment and sexual abuse,” said Mounguengui.

In May, the Guardian revealed that the Caf’s general secretary, Véron Mosengo-Omba, attempted to intervene in the state investigation into Mounguengui, alleging in a letter to the Gabon sports minister, Franck Nguema that Mounguengui’s arrest two weeks after Mounguengui was re-elected was evidence of “a new attempt to remove Mr Mounguengui from the management of Fegafoot”.

Those concerns were dismissed by Nguema, who wrote back that it “is not up to the government to instruct the justice to quickly release Mr Mounguengui, as suggested by the Caf by your care”.

A Caf spokesperson declined to comment on whether it had invited Mounguengui to Qatar. “It is a matter for Fifa,” he said.