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"An African ball made for the poorest African communities — the very embodiment of development through football in Africa."
The Ball 2010 is travelling through Europe and 17 African countries (Morocco, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Namibia, Botswana and South Africa) to the World Cup Opening Ceremony.
So what do we do when we’re not chasing round on one footballing mission or another here in Dakar? We take a stroll along Ngor beach and enjoy the relative cool of the late afternoon. And play some football, of course!
Andrew with the mascot his son Pauli gave him
The temperature is dropping and the sun is starting to set, plunging straight into the sea. Who are those guys walking towards us? A team of footballers? Yes. Certainly. These guys look like professional athletes — they have amazingly toned bodies. “Phil, they have to be a football team,” Andrew suggests.
Phil immediately approaches them and explains The Ball and the journey and is welcomed to join their “light” training session the day before an important cup match. Phil whips his shirt off, revealing a great British blindingly-white torso.
Phil shows off his classic English “tan”
Soon the team and their latest starlet start jogging up and down the beach. While Phil’s energy quickly drains away, their pace ramps up to a furious level and Phil rolls out of the pack in a heap. As the professionals continue their light warm-up, Phil resorts to some more gentle keepie-uppie instead.
Keepie-uppie on Ngor beach
By this stage, Andrew is keen for a game of beach football. Organising a game of footy in Dakar is just about the easiest task you could ask of someone. People simply love their football here — and play just about anywhere and anytime they can.
Enthusiasm for the game is never far away
In a flash, its 3 against 3, with stones as goals. The tide is coming in and The Ball, being made completely of African leather, is soaking wet in no time. No matter, game on. 3 against 3 becomes 5 against 5. Two French surfers join in. They are spending a month in this surfing Mecca, where the local Wollof-speaking fishermen have surfed for years on the beautiful rollers that frame the nearby Ile de Ngor.
The Ngor beach players pose for the team shot
This idyllic beach harbour is the perfect place to wind down after the intensity of the last few days. Football for football’s sake. A welcome break.
We hone our diplomatic skills as Special Olympics Senegal organise a visit to Dakar’s City Hall.
Dakar’s City Hall
We’re beginning to understand that, this time round, The Ball’s journey is more than just an exercise in “happy-go-lucky” serendipity and has a more serious element to it. Meeting the children at the special needs schools impressed on us just how important The Ball can be to them and that we have a responsibility to make The Ball as good an ambassador for their cause as we can. And so we’re off to meet the Mayor of Dakar on their behalf.
It turns out that the Mayor himself is otherwise engaged and so The Ball is introduced to the First Deputy Mayor. The meeting takes place at an enormous long table with a central channel for The Ball to be rolled down. The Deputy Mayor takes great interest in the journey and our partnership with Special Olympics and can’t resist a spot of keepie-uppie out in the hallway.
The Deputy Mayor plays keepie-uppie with The Ball
He promises to grant Special Olympics athletes access to a number of sports facilities for training and other activities. He also asks Special Olympics Senegal to send him a list of their needs for further consideration.
It’s all smiles for the The Hotel de Ville team
We hope that The Ball has helped Special Olympics Senegal to open some doors to the administrative and political authorities in Dakar. And, more importantly, that they stay open once it has moved on.
Dakar is on a peninsula and is said to be the nose of Africa and that Africa breathes through it. We take a morning ferry from Dakar to Ile de Gorée — an island off the coast of Dakar — with Mademba Mbacké, Directeur des Programmes Special Olympics Senegal. From this seemingly idyllic island, millions of Africans, who had been rounded up throughout West Africa (and as far east as Sudan) in the 19th century, were exported as slaves to the USA, Brazil, the West Indies and Europe. 50% of them died in transit.
Andrew and Mademba Mbacké
Our first stop is the last remaining slave house. It was in here that thousands of slaves were crammed, awaiting their fate. When Nelson Mandela visited the island, he insisted on crawling into the tiny prison room of this house. 6 or 7 people were crammed into this tiniest of cells under the stairs, without a window and excruciatingly hot. Mandela came out shedding tears.
Let freedom ring. Girls from the traditional all girl school Maison D’Education Mariama Bambaras painted a series of peace paintings on a memorial wall on Gorée.
The memorial wall
A memorial statue on Ile de Gorée
As a sign of brotherhood and respect, the brothers of Guadeloupe donated this memorial statue to the brothers of Africa. It is a statue of the liberation of slavery sent from the West Indies. The drum symbolises communication, and the knowledge that the Africans who left would continue to understand the rhythm of the drum. A rhythm that can bring people together.
Along with The Ball’s tour guide Francois, Mademba and Andrew request a minute of silence to contemplate this place and the things that happened here over 200 years ago. Mademba eventually comments: “This is the real story of Africa. The present is important, but the future comes from the past. What happened here 200 years ago explains what is happening now in Africa.”
This baobab tree is providing a little bit of shade on this blazingly hot day. It is said that the nut from the baobab can relieve constipation. Not sure that we are going to be needing those on our travels, however. We are heartened to see the goalposts here — it reminds us that Mandela played football during his incarceration on Robben Island. There are some things that can help alleviate the horror of even the most hopeless of situations. Play, friendship, or a smile from a stranger.
Leopold our gracious host for the day, sponsored the journey, including our delicious, typically Senegalese, rice and fish lunch. On behalf of his brother, the Mayor of Gorée, he awards us and The Ball “official pilgrim” status to Gorée Island.
We finish our lunch and realise we have to rush for the ferry. But where has The Ball gone? Panic sets in. Again. We needn’t have worried — Leopold has it safely tucked under his arm. He guards it for us as we head back to Dakar.
Leopold safeguards The Ball on the ferry
The Ball 2010 left Battersea Park on 24th Jan 2010 is heading to the Opening Ceremony in Johannesburg for the 11th June 2010.
Published on March 10th, 2010
Published on March 10th, 2010
Published on March 9th, 2010
Published on March 9th, 2010
Published on March 8th, 2010
Published on March 8th, 2010
Published on March 7th, 2010
Published on March 6th, 2010
Published on March 5th, 2010
Published on March 5th, 2010
Published on March 5th, 2010
Published on March 4th, 2010
Mystery solved by our friend Mark via our Facebook page – apparently he sells water.
Because none of us speak Arabic 
Why didn’t you ask him?
I already bookmark this post, I might get back and will read your new post… bye for now
Great work Gentlemen. Thank heaven someone had the ball to do it!
The Ball 2006 (Teamgeist) travelled from Battersea Park, London and headed to the Opening Ceremony in Munich, Germany.
The Ball 2002 (Fevernova) was carried 7000 miles across Europe and Asia to the World Cup finals in Korea & Japan.
