A Didier Drogba concentrated when shooting, sculptures on a mini football field calling for the rapprochement of peoples, multiple press cuttings... In the Plateau district of Abidjan, the exhibition "Y a Match. Mémoires d'Éléphants , Histoires de CAN" traces the rich history of football in Ivory Coast.

CAN 2024: the history of Ivorian football in four key moments

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CAN 2024: an exhibition highlights the history of Ivorian football © France 24

At the origin of the initiative, Yacouba Touré, a historian by training and director of the Rotonde des arts contemporains. At the age of 70, he is truly passionate about the rich history of local football and its Elephants. The idea for this exhibition came to him well before the African Cup which has been happening in his country since February 13.

It dates back to 2006 and the first World Cup contested by Ivory Coast. That year, he saw the national team players being impressed by the history and the flashy trophies displayed in German stadiums. He then dreams of a similar exhibition in his country to inflict the same pressure on the Elephants' opponents. CAN 2024 gives him the opportunity to accomplish his old dream.

One of the sculptures from the “Memories of Elephants” exhibition. © Romain Houeix, France 24

What is the aim of the exhibition?

The objective is to show that Côte d'Ivoire is a land of football and champions, and that the hospitality it boasts is not an empty word. The other objective is to promote the national archives to show politicians that if they want to create a football museum, or quite simply a sports museum, there is material to succeed in this challenge. And I think that Ivory Coast needs a sports museum.

The exhibition that you have put together traces the history of football in Ivory Coast. A story that seems to crystallize into four key moments

: can you name them

?

At the entrance to the exhibition, we see the year 1984. This is the moment when Ivory Coast began to strongly believe in football politically. It is organized in the country, but it has not been planned. The organizing country gave up at the last moment and CAF offered it to Ivory Coast. At the time, President Felix Houphouët-Boigny did not believe in football. He focuses a lot more on boxing and a little on athletics. But he sees the excitement around the CAN, even though we lost and we didn't even make it out of the group matches. So he's starting to get interested in it.

From that moment on, a system was put in place to stabilize the national team around captain Gadji Celi. We quickly arrive at 1992, the year we win. This is a decisive moment. Our victories at the CAN have always been decided on penalties. The whole of Ivory Coast remembers this CAN…

The middle sculpture represents the Ivorian legend Didier Drogba. © Romain Houeix, France 24

The third moment highlighted is 2015 and our second victory at the CAN. It corresponds to a moment when football, the players, most of the players, live and work abroad. We really have a kind of seesaw. From the 2000s, most of Ivory Coast's champions played in the biggest European championships. The backbone of the teams is made up of 90% players who are expatriates, whether from Ivory Coast, Senegal or Mali. These are people who play in European championships. We are in a structure of football that can be described as “globalized”. It is also the return of national heroes, who send the signal to young people here and to the whole world that Africa has talents.

The fourth moment highlighted here is particularly interesting. It is 2006, and it is an event that is both footballing and political

: the qualification of Ivory Coast for the World Cup for the first time and the role played by the Elephants in the peace process

? Football becoming political

?

Politics has always been mixed with football. In September 2002, the country was practically divided in two [due to an attempted coup d'état, editor's note]. In 2005, when Ivory Coast finally qualified for the World Cup for the first time in its history, the national team players made this plea. They ask for peace by kneeling. Didier Drogba kneels to ask all Ivorians to march towards peace. It was a very powerful and moving moment.

Politicians understand that they can stage reconciliation by sending football teams to play inside the country, in Bouaké, which is the capital of the rebellion. The bridge is made between the two parties, the North and the South, by the footballers who regularly play there. And that’s why the Bouaké stadium is called Stade de la Paix.

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