African ‘lions’ dream of football glory in Libya camp

The Indomitable Lions and the Lions of Teranga took their names from those of their national teams, but the match had little of the atmosphere of African sports events.

Played on a sandy pitch marked out by a low white wall, in front of a prison building, its only spectators were two prison guards.

The teams had been thrown together, their players selected from among 500 inmates who have languished in detention for months.

The luckiest players had shoes, but others tread the makeshift stadium in their socks.

Flourescent yellow bibs for Senegal, orange for Cameroon, the migrants took the game deadly seriously. After the warm-up, hand in hand, they saluted their two spectators.

After a few minutes of sprinting, dribbling and crunching tackles, sweat began to appear on the players’ foreheads.

Short of breath, one Senegalese player threw in the towel and sat at the foot of the wall.

Detained Cameroonian (orange) and Senegalese (yellow) migrants head to the pitch ahead of a football match at the Libyan Interior Ministry’s illegal immigration shelter in Tajoura, Tripoli, on February 28, 2018

“I can’t take it any more. I haven’t had any physically activity for months, we don’t move in prison,” he said.

“Plus, we’re amateurs,” he added. “The Cameroonians are real players who played for teams.”

The match continued without him, and the score left no doubt: the Cameroonians won 4-0.

– ‘Destiny decided otherwise’ –

Mamadou Awal, 21, said he was proud of the victory.

A midfielder like his idol, former French superstar and Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane, Awal left Cameroon aged 17 in a bid to reach Europe and become a professional footballer after a few years in a training center in his country.

He decided to “go on an adventure”, he said, adding he was confident in his talent.

“But destiny decided otherwise,” he said.

Cameroonian (orange) and Senegalese (yellow) migrants play football at the Libyan Interior Ministry’s illegal immigration shelter in Tajoura, Tripoli, on February 28, 2018

After boarding a boat headed for Europe, he was arrested at sea.

“In Libya, I suffered a lot: it’s my third time in prison,” he said. Each time he attempted the crossing, the Libyan navy caught him.

European glory is also the dream of his teammate, Takoute Styve, who quit his studies “to devote myself to football”.

“When I saw (Cameroonian stars) Roger Milla and Samuel Eto’o, I wanted to become like them”.

According to the United Nations, up to a million migrants are currently in Libya, tens of thousands of them detained in inhumane conditions.

After attending two training centres and playing for two second-division teams in Cameroon, Ukamou Lobu left his home town of Douala at the age of 16 to attempt the crossing to Europe.

“I tried to leave Algeria and then Morocco but I did not succeed,” he said. He has also been arrested several times and has seen other migrants die at sea.

He dreams of playing for Arsenal.

But 22-year-old Seryne Diokhane said he has “nothing to do with football”.

Cameroonian (orange) and Senegalese (yellow) migrants pose before a football match at the Libyan Interior Ministry’s illegal immigration shelter in Tajoura, Tripoli, on February 28, 2018

“It’s just an opportunity for me to get out of jail for a while,” he said. “When they asked who can play, I answered ‘me’ right away.”

He was interrupted by a camp official, Faraj al-Guilouchi, who asked the migrants to return to their cells.

“We organise matches every week to try to alleviate their suffering,” Guilouchi said.

“Most of them have suffered psychological shocks, either because they have tried and failed (sea) crossings or because they have lost loved ones.”

He said the camp would soon try to organise a tournament among various African nations.

“No thanks, all we want is to leave this place,” a migrant said in a low voice, as the metal door of the prison closed behind him.