Increasing Demand For African Footballers And Their Burden Of Racism

Brazilian football legend Pelé is credited for calling football ‘the beautiful game’. His 1977 autobiography, ‘My Life and the Beautiful Game’, offers a tribute to those who have contributed to this sport and made it beautiful, in addition to telling the story of his life. (More Football News)

That’s what football is – a beautiful game. It is also the world’s most popular sport.

Now, a definite version as to why football is a beloved game does not exist. Many have pointed out elements such as its volatility and the ability to bring communities together as the reasons behind their love for the game.

Although football may look pretty straightforward at first glance, a lot of technical components go into it. Factors such as speed, physical prowess and technical skills make a player and a constant moulding of these factors is imperative. 

It is common knowledge that players of African origin have these attributes in abundance, along with a passion for football. That makes them a prized commodity in football.

France, especially, is seen as the preferred destination for most African footballers. During every transfer window, the attention shifts to this part of the world and the results often don’t disappoint.

Then, there are the academy graduates, who usually leave their home country at a young age with the dream of playing for clubs in Europe. The likes of Wilfred Zaha (Ivory Coast & Crystal Palace), Paul Pogba (France & Manchester United) and Trevoh Chalobah (Sierra Leone & Chelsea), have realised those dreams.

One can hail Europe and other continents for giving deserving players from Africa the chance to showcase their talent and become extremely wealthy in the process. One can even understand and accept that the clubs and federations want to invest in resources that can largely benefit them by winning them trophies.

But it comes at a price.

Unfortunately, this beauty called football has its own beast. Racism.

FIFA, the football governing body, has its own law on racism explained in simple, yet firm words. Article 4 in the FIFA laws states, “Discrimination of any kind against a country, private person or group of people on account of race, skin colour, ethnic, national or social origin, gender, disability, language, religion, political opinion or any other opinion, wealth, birth or any other status, sexual orientation or any other reason is strictly prohibited and punishable by suspension or expulsion.”

But then, it is one thing to have a rule on paper, quite another to stop players or fans from indulging in racist behaviour. As a result, a dichotomy has always existed in football. Teams want the best players from all around the world, regardless of their colour. But the people of those countries can still be racist towards those players. This is more so in recent times, with the mood in several European and South American nations leaning towards the right wing.

After his infamous clash with racial overtones with Luis Suarez during the 2011-12 Premier League season, Patrice Evra, who is black, said, “I don’t know if Suarez is a racist. I don’t know his family. I don’t know his background. But racism is so big for so many years and that day, there was racist abuse. So, when we went to the hearing, they listened to me because I said I didn’t want them to punish him and I don’t know him close enough to say he is racist but he used that racist word.”

Former England striker Emile Heskey, too, was at the receiving end of several unfortunate incidents involving racism from a very young age. “I played for the England team at under-16s and went to Ireland and got spat at and called the ‘N-word,” Heskey once said. 

Racism is not limited to men’s football.

Anita Asante, a former female English footballer, who is black, once talked about feeling anxious about her appearance and how she presented herself in the society. “The way I wear my hair in general society, should not be policed in that way – it’s a part of who I am. It’s what I want to be appreciated for on and off the pitch,” she said.

Authorities clamp down on offenders when they can. Suarez was banned for eight games and fined £40,000. The then Sheffield United women’s footballer Sophie Jones had her contract terminated in 2019 for making monkey noises at Tottenham’s Renee Hector. During that match, Hector’s teammate, Ashleigh Neville, stepped in and complained to the referee about the noises. However, the referee denied hearing anything. FA was ultimately forced to intervene, and after finding Jones guilty, forced her to attend an FA educational course.

Rude chants from fans towards opposition players are not uncommon in football. The guilty parties have been evacuated, fined and banned on numerous occasions. 

Yet, racism continues to remain rampant in the sport.

Why the contradiction? Why is there love for the game, but not for players with different skin colour?

The reason behind such behaviours varies from person to person. While some are said to have poor upbringing, others blame it on their patriotism, or their passion towards football.

FIFA and the European Commission continue to devise a roadmap to combat racism in football. FIFA even has a three-step procedure for discriminatory incidents during FIFA tournaments – stop the match, suspend the match, abandon the match.

In this age when technology dominates and information is readily available, incidents involving racism cannot be swept under the rug. The continued demand for African players could take a hit if racism is not tackled. With the right sense and direction, football can remain the beautiful game that it was, and has been for the most part.