The dream begins innocently enough, little African kids playing football on the streets, on the dust covered compounds of family houses, on the school field, wherever they can. They have more than their love for the beautiful game in common, they are all from poor homes. School is not highly prioritised, and these young minds can’t be bothered by arithmetic, it’s hard enough making a living.
On weekends or UEFA Champions League nights, they gather in the local bar and watch their idols on TV. A goal by Drogba, or Adebayor, or Muntari would send these young ones into ecstasy, mental notes of celebrations are noted, to be replicated on a dusty pitch the next day.
Each young mind dreams of being that star on TV, the next Michael Essien or Didier Drogba.
A few years later, the little kids have grown to young teens, There is a buzz in in the little town, a self proclaimed football agent has set up a football "academy". He doesn’t need to be a gifted orator to get the young teens to enrol, they already believe this is where the journey to stardom begins. After all most of the African stars where plucked from academies, they think.
The football "agent" complete in his designer tracksuit, whistle dangling from his neck and a baseball cap perched on his head has signed these eager kids to a "contract". One they barely understand, with their parent(s) consent of course.
Parent(s) in this case mostly means a single mother of kids no less than four who has been burdened with the unenviable role of feeding and clothing a whole household, with an income of less than a dollar a day. There are miscellaneous bills to be settled too. The mother is a staunch believer in religion. No, God hasn’t forsaken her after all, the agent might be God’s answer to her litany of prayers.
When the football agent meets the mother of one of his prospects, she is overjoyed. The agent makes it known to her that her son is the next big thing out of Africa. He doesn’t forget to mention his "links" with the top European clubs.
There is a catch however, he needs to be paid for the welfare of her son, transport, food and accommodation is expensive in Europe, he tells her. In many parts of underdeveloped Africa, education is a privilege, the poor mother laps it all up. Alas, she does not have enough cash she bemoans, but she could and would raise the money, her mind already wandering to the family heirloom or the title deeds to the family house. There has to be a way to grind out the money, after all when her boy makes it in Europe she would be repaid tenfold.
Fast forward eight months later, the poor mother who was filled with so much hope is now grief stricken. She has no idea what has become of her son, she wonders if he even made it to Europe.
The boy did make it to Europe but he has now acquired a new skill. Instead of defenders he’s dodging policemen because of his expired visa. The dream of skipping past defenders in top flight leagues is all but gone. Chased away by the nightmare of being all alone in the streets of Brussels or Paris.
He cannot call home now, he’s too ashamed to do that. He was supposed to come to Europe and make it big, not be a homeless wanderer.
The agent, his supposed saviour, is long gone, but not before he had made it clear to the boy that trial season in Europe is over. He tells the boy to "survive" until the next trial in about three months whilst he (the agent) sniffs around for club opportunities.
With that another aspiring footballer’s dream is almost certainly over. The dream of his expectant family back home who have sacrificed so much to pay for his trip evaporates too. Another statistic has been added to the already insanely high number of victims of football trafficking.
It is for good reason that FIFA President Sepp Blatter called player traffickers and fake football agents "false prophets". Unlicensed football academies and agents have sprung up in all parts of Africa. Greedy and evil, sweet talking and cunning, these villains prey on ignorant minds all across Africa. By boat and by plane, these deluded youngsters step onto European soil in droves with the mostly unrealised dream of signing lucrative football contracts. They mostly end up as anything but successful footballers.
Football trafficking is a very serious issue that needs to be addressed urgently. Education should be made the key here. Aspiring footballers should be educated on the risks of following supposed agents to Europe.
It takes a lot of hard work and endeavour to succeed in Europe, rarely just raw talent. It is not for nothing that the success stories from Africa passed through established and well run academies. Chelsea and Ghana stalwart Michael Essien developed with Liberty Professionals Academy in Accra. Arsenal defender Kolo Toure went through the mill at the renowned Ivorian academy side Asec Mimosas.
Footballing bodies and administrators all over the world need to stand up against football trafficking in Africa before it turns into a slave trade, if it hasn’t already.
