In the blood. . . Guinean-born Iya Traore is not your professional footballer in the conventional sense but as a Traore he sure has football genes, that's why he is the world champion of football freestyle!
This has been a Cup of Nations and more, despite the absence of the top guns who I am not going to bore you by mentioning by name. Apart from the heroics of both host nations, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, fancy and outrageous hairstyles, and heart-warming efforts by the likes of Libya and Sudan, there is also the question of nationality.
This aspect comes in different forms, namely:
(a) players who were born outside of Africa,
(b) the naturalization of players by Equatorial Guinea and
(c) the distribution of certain west African surnames across several national teams in competition.
Firstly, let’s look at point “c”, which was brought to my attention by a friend’s comment on the weekend while we were watching the Afcon games. He asked how come certain surnames appear in several national teams. Though he did not say, he was referring to some west African nations.
I had taken note of that point for all the years I have been following the Afcon but never bothered to take a closer inspection why surnames like Diallo or Keita appear in the team sheets of so many countries in west Africa. Diallo and other surnames like Ba (or Bah), Tall, Sow, Sy, Toure, Jallah, Konare and Niang all belong to the Fula (also known as Fulani). This group (or “nation”) is the most widely distributed ethnic group in Africa, stretching from the western coast countries such as Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia to the further east through Chad to Sudan. So in between – east to west, and north to south – the Fula are also found in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Benin, Togo, Cameroon and northern Nigeria.
Apart from Guinea, the Fula are a minority group in all other countries where they exist, despite their formidable presence in the national teams of those countries, as well as in other spheres of life, including the military and politics. In Nigeria, cultural and religious similarities (pastoralism and Islam) with the Hausa - that country’s and Africa’s largest ethnic group - have given the Fula the platform to be influential in the affairs of Nigeria.
The late Umaru Yar’ Adua, the previous president of Nigeria before the incumbent Goodluck Jonathan, was also a Fula. Other previous Fulani heads of state in Nigeria were Shehu Shagari and General Muhamadu Buhari. Other notable Fulas elsewhere are Thomas Sankara (former Burkina Faso president), Ahmadou Ahidjo (first president of Cameroon), Amadou Toumani Toure (Mali president), Minkailu Bah (Sierra Leone sports minister), Mariama Ba (Senegalese writer) and Baba Maal (Senegalese singer).
From African football point of view, it is of very deep significance that CAF president, Cameroonian Issa Hayatou, is a Fula, a people known for their fierce solidarity which defies international borders separating them. It is from this perspective that some punters try to find logic why countries like Mali and Burkina Faso held the Afcon ahead of countries with superior resources in largely Anglophone east and southern Africa. And, also why major CAF decisions and focus favour west and central Africa ahead of the rest, notably east and southern Africa, and why Hayatou has stayed in power for so long.
Hayatou has cunningly used patronage, and exploited African geopolitics either by singing from the Francophone hymn book or by appealing to cultural and religious ties mentioned above.
Meanwhile, another significant distribution of surnames across west Africa is those of Mandinka origin, whose distribution is also as widespread as Fula’s. Typical Mandinka surnames include Sidibe, Toure, Keita, Kouyate, Sissokho (or Cissoko), Diabate, Diawarra, Kone, Camara, and Cisse (or Sissay). And because Mandinka are descendants of the Mali Empire, they are closely related to the Bambara, Mali’s largest ethnic group. This also explains why Mandinka surnames are also found among the Bambara.
Though the Bambara people are not as widely distributed as the Fula and Mandinka, their language has significant numbers in Senegal, Mauritania, the Gambia, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Burkina Faso. This then explains the presence of typical Malian surnames such as Traore, Coulibaly and Diarra in the national teams of the countries mentioned above.
This 2012 Cup of Nations had been conspicuous for the shortage of Coulibaly players: Mali has two (defenders Ousmane and Idrissa Coulibaly), Ivory Coast (midfielder Kafoumba Coulibaly), Burkina Faso (defender Paul Keba Koulibaly). There are eight Traores in four national teams: Abdou Razzak, Bertand and Alain (Burkina Faso); Mahamane, Abdou and Bekaye (Mali); Ibrahima (Guinea) and Armand (Senegal). The first seven are remarkably all midfielders while the 22-year-old Senegalese, who is attached to Queens Park Rangers, is a defender.
Finally, the debate around nationhood was raised to another level when Zambia’s French coach Herve Renard warned that Fifa must take keen interest in stamping unclear naturalisation processes. He was compelled to make the statement when he realised ahead of the match with Equatorial Guinea that the host nation had fielded starting XIs made up of players born in other countries.
Two or three naturalized players in a team – as it has been the norm with Senegal (this time via French-born Demba Ba) and others over the years – not bad; but the entire Eleven! I think there’s a point there to argue.
This aspect comes in different forms, namely:
(a) players who were born outside of Africa,
(b) the naturalization of players by Equatorial Guinea and
(c) the distribution of certain west African surnames across several national teams in competition.
Firstly, let’s look at point “c”, which was brought to my attention by a friend’s comment on the weekend while we were watching the Afcon games. He asked how come certain surnames appear in several national teams. Though he did not say, he was referring to some west African nations.
I had taken note of that point for all the years I have been following the Afcon but never bothered to take a closer inspection why surnames like Diallo or Keita appear in the team sheets of so many countries in west Africa. Diallo and other surnames like Ba (or Bah), Tall, Sow, Sy, Toure, Jallah, Konare and Niang all belong to the Fula (also known as Fulani). This group (or “nation”) is the most widely distributed ethnic group in Africa, stretching from the western coast countries such as Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia to the further east through Chad to Sudan. So in between – east to west, and north to south – the Fula are also found in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Benin, Togo, Cameroon and northern Nigeria.
Apart from Guinea, the Fula are a minority group in all other countries where they exist, despite their formidable presence in the national teams of those countries, as well as in other spheres of life, including the military and politics. In Nigeria, cultural and religious similarities (pastoralism and Islam) with the Hausa - that country’s and Africa’s largest ethnic group - have given the Fula the platform to be influential in the affairs of Nigeria.
The late Umaru Yar’ Adua, the previous president of Nigeria before the incumbent Goodluck Jonathan, was also a Fula. Other previous Fulani heads of state in Nigeria were Shehu Shagari and General Muhamadu Buhari. Other notable Fulas elsewhere are Thomas Sankara (former Burkina Faso president), Ahmadou Ahidjo (first president of Cameroon), Amadou Toumani Toure (Mali president), Minkailu Bah (Sierra Leone sports minister), Mariama Ba (Senegalese writer) and Baba Maal (Senegalese singer).
From African football point of view, it is of very deep significance that CAF president, Cameroonian Issa Hayatou, is a Fula, a people known for their fierce solidarity which defies international borders separating them. It is from this perspective that some punters try to find logic why countries like Mali and Burkina Faso held the Afcon ahead of countries with superior resources in largely Anglophone east and southern Africa. And, also why major CAF decisions and focus favour west and central Africa ahead of the rest, notably east and southern Africa, and why Hayatou has stayed in power for so long.
Hayatou has cunningly used patronage, and exploited African geopolitics either by singing from the Francophone hymn book or by appealing to cultural and religious ties mentioned above.
Meanwhile, another significant distribution of surnames across west Africa is those of Mandinka origin, whose distribution is also as widespread as Fula’s. Typical Mandinka surnames include Sidibe, Toure, Keita, Kouyate, Sissokho (or Cissoko), Diabate, Diawarra, Kone, Camara, and Cisse (or Sissay). And because Mandinka are descendants of the Mali Empire, they are closely related to the Bambara, Mali’s largest ethnic group. This also explains why Mandinka surnames are also found among the Bambara.
Though the Bambara people are not as widely distributed as the Fula and Mandinka, their language has significant numbers in Senegal, Mauritania, the Gambia, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Burkina Faso. This then explains the presence of typical Malian surnames such as Traore, Coulibaly and Diarra in the national teams of the countries mentioned above.
This 2012 Cup of Nations had been conspicuous for the shortage of Coulibaly players: Mali has two (defenders Ousmane and Idrissa Coulibaly), Ivory Coast (midfielder Kafoumba Coulibaly), Burkina Faso (defender Paul Keba Koulibaly). There are eight Traores in four national teams: Abdou Razzak, Bertand and Alain (Burkina Faso); Mahamane, Abdou and Bekaye (Mali); Ibrahima (Guinea) and Armand (Senegal). The first seven are remarkably all midfielders while the 22-year-old Senegalese, who is attached to Queens Park Rangers, is a defender.
Finally, the debate around nationhood was raised to another level when Zambia’s French coach Herve Renard warned that Fifa must take keen interest in stamping unclear naturalisation processes. He was compelled to make the statement when he realised ahead of the match with Equatorial Guinea that the host nation had fielded starting XIs made up of players born in other countries.
Two or three naturalized players in a team – as it has been the norm with Senegal (this time via French-born Demba Ba) and others over the years – not bad; but the entire Eleven! I think there’s a point there to argue.
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