The only African country below Seychelles looks to be Somalia, who I'm guessing have more immediate concerns than playing football to be getting on with.….only 20 places or so below……Malta.
I thought I had heard this story mentioned in this article somewhere before, but could not see it skimming this thread:
Adingra and Diakite, the youngsters driving Ivorian football
Standing at 1.75 metres tall, Adingra had a difficult journey before becoming a footballer.www.the-star.co.ke
I often think of footballers as entitled young men with riches beyond my dreams, but some have had extraordinary journeys to get here.
In the attached story Simon briefly talks about when he was a child he and 9 other kids were taken to a football academy by his agent in Benin, only to find his agent was a con men who stole their money and the children were left to fend for themselves on the streets. That's a story I would love to hear fleshed out.
have a look at Dark Tourism on Netflix , Benin is one of a few nations that still embrace voodoo, juju, black magic and witchdoctors as a central part of their culture , it's a fascinating place .Blimey that's rough start. Had to Google Benin tbh and never heard of it. So he went from Ivory Coast, through Ghana and Togo to Benin, a journey of 800-1,000 miles, only to be dumped in the street.
No age mentioned but as we got him from the Danish outfit he joined at 18 and they got him through the Right to Dream academy in Ghana, he must have been really young.
As you said, I'd love to hear the full story. Wonder if the club or Naylor would be interested?
Nope. Tonight is the semi final. If they win he has the final at the weekend. If they lose he has the THIRD PLACE PLAY OFF at the weekend. Now that he’s away for the full tournament regardless, we might as well get right behind the lad.I hope ivory Coast get knocked out tonight we need him back in the squad
That’s the wrong attitude in IMO we want our players to have big match experiences it will all help in the future. If we ever make it to a semi final/final I don’t want our young players being overawed by the occasion.I hope ivory Coast get knocked out tonight we need him back in the squad
Makes no difference. If they lose they go to 3rd place play off.I hope ivory Coast get knocked out tonight we need him back in the squad
Let's hope they are 2-0 down early on so he can leave at half time.I hope ivory Coast get knocked out tonight we need him back in the squad
Given that he would presumably have to stay for the third place match at the weekend, he will be available for Sheff Utd. Even without this match, he would have travelled on Thursday at the earliest and it is unlikely that he would have started at Spurs. Getting ever closer to everyone being there, bar Solly.Let's hope they are 2-0 down early on so he can leave at half time.
They might give our U18s a game then!….only 20 places or so below……Malta.
have a look at Dark Tourism on Netflix , Benin is one of a few nations that still embrace voodoo, juju, black magic and witchdoctors as a central part of their culture , it's a fascinating place .
Sounds like an ideal place for the Le Tissier Foundation.
Exactly. A great couple of warm up games to get him up to speed for us. I hope he is the hero tonight and in the final.Nope. Tonight is the semi final. If they win he has the final at the weekend. If they lose he has the THIRD PLACE PLAY OFF at the weekend. Now that he’s away for the full tournament regardless, we might as well get right behind the lad.
If you mean spending an extended period of time celebrating in his home country, and missing important league and cup matches in the process, I f**cking hope not!Would Simon get the hero's welcome home after an AFCON win that Mac Allister did after the WC?
I would hope the club would do something to commemorate that achievement
Indeed.Would Simon get the hero's welcome home after an AFCON win that Mac Allister did after the WC?
I would hope the club would do something to commemorate that achievement