Wednesday 6 February 2013

Mali footballers target African Nations success to provide hope to troubled nation

Players motivated by role in promoting peace and pride for nation

"It has been as important for us to win for the people as it has been for ourselves."

The words belong to Seydou Keita, midfield lynchpin of the Malian national side. Having never qualified for a World Cup, and only once reached the Final of the African Cup of Nations, Mali head into a semi-final match with Nigeria at the 2013 tournament on the verge of creating a new chapter in their footballing history.

Despite their limited international pedigree, there is a real sense that Mali are an emerging force, competing in their fifth semi-final since 2000, rising to 25th in the FIFA Rankings and exporting a host of star players to Europe in recent years including Mahamadou Diarra, Seydou Keita and Mohamed Sissoko, following on from Fredi Kanoute, the most famous footballing representative from Mali in the past decade.

But Mali’s march towards a potential final with either Ghana or Burkina Faso comes at a difficult time for the country and its population and is set against the backdrop of war. In scenes reminiscent of a bygone age, French President Francois Hollande received a hero’s welcome in the historic town of Timbuktu in Mali last week after French forces were successful in repelling the advance of Islamic radicals and al-Qaeda in the country.

Hollande was welcomed to Mali as a saviour. Source: european_parliament

Indeed the past 12 months has seen sustained conflict in Mali, beginning with a Tuareg rebellion in the north of the country driving out the government from the region. The government was then ousted by a military coup d’etat in March 2012. Northern Mali was completely captured by rebels in April 2012, and quickly seized by Islamist groups (who sought to impose sharia law), before the recent fight back and French intervention.

Football has not been immune from the problems. After an impressive and unexpected third place in the 2012 edition of the African Cup of Nations, Alain Giresse quit his position as coach of the Mali national side less than a month before the World Cup qualifiers, in the wake of the military coup which left him initially unable to leave the country. Giresse was unhappy with a new contract offer that “impeded my independence. I had to give a list of players for approval and the medical staff was no longer under my direction.”

Such an event and interference in team affairs could have seen the team’s performances affected negatively. Conversely it appears to have had the opposite effect, galvanising the players in a way also seen with other African nations experiencing conflict in recent years. The team sits just one victory away from their first appearance in the Final since 1972 and should stand a genuine chance of qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

Should they win, the impact at home will be a huge lift to the morale of the Malian people besieged by conflict. Such is the important of the game, football fans have celebrated the progress of the national team on the streets of Bamako, believing that victory can provide a boost for those waging war on Islamic rebels in the north and restore peace to the troubled nation.

Mali defeated hosts South Africa in the quarter-final. Source: GovernmentZA

The players themselves, led by captain and former Barcelona midfielder Seydou Keita, have recognised the importance of positive football results and its influence at a vital time for their country and its people. After reaching the semi finals, Keita wrapped the Malian flag around himself and linked the football team’s campaign on the conflict, saying "It (the flag) flies not only in the northern part of Mali, and not only in the south of Mali, but also outside Mali…That is important. Only football can do that."
Keita has continuously linked the performances of the Mali team back to the conflict and a message of peace throughout the tournament. After their first match he wore a T-shirt with the slogan 'Peace in our Country', asserting, “We want to use football as a tool to restore peace in Mali and we can only do that by winning our matches. I feel happy that we won our first game and I dedicate it towards the efforts to bring peace back home.”

The team set up a five-day camp in Bamako before the tournament in an effort to restore calm in the country. As coach Patrice Carteron explained, “We stayed in Bamako for five days and thousands of people came to watch our training every day. I wanted them to feel something positive and we were happy that they were motivated.”

On a similar theme striker Modibo Maiga said following the quarter-final, “Our biggest motivation is to make Malian people and all the supporters happy.”

Mali is not the only troubled African nation in recent times to enjoy unexpected success on the football field. Following the Arab Spring in 2011, the results of most North African nations improved dramatically, with Sudan, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia qualifying for the 2012 African Cup of Nations. Similarly Greece performed admirably at Euro 2012 against a backdrop of civil unrest and the Syrian Under 23 side were one game from qualifying from the London 2012 Olympics.


Whilst Mali has not undergone a full-scale revolution, the conflict of the past 12 months have affected the entire population and the recent performances of the national football team have coincided with moves towards a resolution of the troubles at home. The Malian footballers are clearly motivated by the potential of bringing success and hope to their people at a troubled time in the country’s history, while the prospect of a first ever international tournament victory is providing an unexpected boost to the Malian fans in the midst of conflict.