It was the same as always on December 20th: When AS Monaco played the away game in the French Ligue 1 at FC Toulouse, a small group of fans had gathered in the stands to loudly celebrate Monaco’s Ismail Jakobs and the later substitute Krepin Diatta.
This is how the two Senegalese national players always feel during their club’s league games. “There are Senegalese all over Europe, and almost all of them are crazy about football. No matter where we play, there is always at least a small group in the stadium that supports us Senegalese national players,” Jakobs told DW.
The 24-year-old has been a Senegalese national player since summer 2022. The Cologne native’s father comes from Senegal, so Ismail could choose between the German and Senegalese national teams. At the youth level, Jakobs played for his country of birth in the jersey with the eagle on the chest, and in 2021 he even became European champion with the German U21.
“Proud to play for Senegal”
But when Senegal’s national coach Aliou Cissé called him in 2022 and suggested a “change of nation” to him, Jakobs was immediately fired up: “I discussed it with my father and the rest of the family that evening. The decision was made immediately. I was scared proud to be able to play for Senegal.”
Jakobs thinks highly of the land of his father’s roots – although he has only rarely been there. His childhood and youth took place entirely in Cologne and the surrounding area. He only visited Senegal and the family still rooted there once during short vacations.
A majority of the football professionals who will be playing the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast from January 13th now have similar or similar stories. Defending champion Senegal around superstar Sadio Mané does not have a single player in the 27-man squad who plays club football in Senegal. All are employed abroad, mainly in Europe.
Morocco – World Cup success with “Europe selection”
This even applies to Morocco, whose players were considered particularly loyal to their homeland for many years and had fairly good earning potential in North Africa. The Moroccans came fourth at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which was their greatest success at a World Cup to date. It was particularly successful with professionals who earned their money abroad. The development in the North African country is exemplary for the entire continent: While there were only two “legionnaires” in Morocco’s squad at the 1998 World Cup in France, the team competed in Qatar with a real “European selection”: Of the 23 World Cup 18 players were born in Europe.
Morocco goes into the Africa Cup as one of the top favorites. 24 teams are fighting for the highest sporting laurels on the continent – and they will give everything to make the people of their country proud and happy with sporting success. “The Africa Cup every two years is the highlight in the social life of almost all Africans,” says cultural anthropologist Kurt Wachter.
No envy or resentment whatsoever
The Austrian has been researching social processes in Africa for many years. “There is no envy or resentment among fans at home regarding the wealth or success of their compatriots, who work as professional footballers far away from home and earn a comparatively incredible amount of money,” Wachter told DW. “You’re just proud of your football heroes and see them as symbols of African success and valuable ambassadors for their countries.”
One of them is Stanley Ratifo, who will wear Mozambique’s jersey at the Africa Cup of Nations. The striker, who was born in the city of Halle in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt, has been playing internationally for his father’s home country since 2017 and is revered there as a folk hero. In his first international match six years ago, he scored the 1-0 winning goal in injury time against Zambia. Mozambique had never won against Zambia before – even today, Ratifo is often asked about his goal.
Hailed like a hero as a fifth division player
“It’s crazy,” says the 29-year-old, who laces up his football boots for the Baden-Württemberg top division team 1. CfR Pforzheim in his everyday football life – in the fifth division, which is upscale amateur football. In Pforzheim, around 300 spectators usually come to the club’s home games. National team appearances are a regular holiday for Ratifo: “Every time I travel to Mozambique to join the national team, I’m celebrated like a hero at the airport. I really feel like a star. And I enjoy that.”
The 1.90 meter tall center forward always finds visits to the country of his father’s roots exciting. “Life there is so different, it’s hard to imagine as a European who hasn’t been there before,” Ratifo told DW. “These crowds, this chaos on the streets, and always this euphoria around football – we don’t know anything like that in Europe in such intensity.”
However, the German-African cannot do anything with the idea of perhaps even living permanently in Mozambique – he is enjoying modest success in his “part-time job” as a musician on the streaming service Spotify. “No,” says Ratifo. “That wouldn’t work for me.”