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INSIDE AFRICA
Is African Soccer Dying?; World Cup Progress Report From South Africa
Aired February 14, 2009 - 19:30:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ISHA SESAY, HOST: Welcome to INSIDE AFRICA. I'm Isha Sesay. This week, we look at the state of African football clubs, get a progress report on South Africa' 2010 preparations, and visit the Kenyan boys choir on the heels of their triumphant return from the Obama inauguration.
We begin in Nigeria, where times are tough for professional football clubs. As Christian Purefoy reports, it's hard to compete for fans when the best African talent resides in Europe.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTIAN PUREFOY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As these players head out onto the pitch, the body is strong, but the spirit is weak. With only their hard- core fans remaining, Nigerian football teams like the Warri Wolves are playing to empty stadiums, as their fans and talent have abandoned their local leagues for the English Premiere League.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I prefer English Premiere League. That's what I watch most.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like the way they play, they way they organize their football.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What they are doing because of some of this (inaudible) is not good enough.
PUREFOY: This game is extremely important to the Warri Wolves. If they win here today, they could be top of the Nigerian Premiere League. But even here in their home town stadium, with a capacity for 8,000 supporters, it's not even half full.
Nigeria, like many countries in West Africa, is losing its best footballing talent to the European leagues, and especially to England, leaving the game at home, well, deflated.
All the attention is on games thousands of miles away. Nigeria's sports magazines offer detailed coverage of the English Premiere League. With some 140 million Nigerians, the potential audience is big business, and rather than buy tickets for home games, millions of Nigerians are flocking to bars like this, to watch the action from England.
GBOLAHUN LAWANSON, LAGOS BAR OWNER: The Nigerian league is not that interesting for people to watch. The pictures are not so good, the players are not well paid. Everybody looks -- everybody is just not well organized.
PUREFOY: Nigeria first qualified for World Cup finals in 1994, and reached the second round. But most of the national squads ply their trade for European clubs. Joseph Yobo at Everton and John Mikel at Chelsea, for example. They can earn more money in a month than most Nigerians can expect in their lifetime.
OYUKI OBUSEKI, NIGERIA FOOTBALL LEAGUE: For someone (inaudible) five, six, seven, eight, 10 million, we can't pay each. So they are going for greener pastures. We want them to enjoy that money, but then it's how we need them to play for the national team (inaudible).
PUREFOY: And most of the ex-pat players do take their national duties seriously. The Warri Wolves manager says reforms are being put in place to attract fans. Like free entry into matches, maintenance of pitches and investment in the players.
MIKE IDOKO, WARRI WOLVES MANAGER: Once we have quality football, we play quality football, the fans will start, you know, coming back.
PUREFOY: Of course, a successful run in next year's World Cup wouldn't hurt.
Christian Purefoy, CNN, Warri, Nigeria.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: Cameroon's Samuel Eto'o and Ivy Coast's Didier Drogba are two of the biggest African names on European rosters, but one star is shining much brighter than all. I got the lowdown from Patrick Snell.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: Patrick, there's something of a soccer drain, so to speak, taking place on the African continent, with, you know, top talent fleeing to the European continent. Who are the big names making a splash right now?
PATRICK SNELL, CNN: There are several that come to my mind, Isha, that bid to, if you like, and we're seeing different contrasting fortunes.
Samuel Eto'o at Barcelona, the Cameroonian striker. Didier Drogba of the Ivory Coast. And yes, these two players, they turn their backs, if you like, on their domestic leagues, but they'll point to, hey, career development. We're here. And look, we are giving something back. We're giving something back to our national teams.
In the case of Drogba, the '06 World Cup, first ever World Cup, Germany '06, he was a key part of them getting to Germany '06.
Now, at Chelsea, contrasting fortunes. He's 30 now, so expecting a little more from Drogba. He didn't have the best of spells under big Phil Scolari, but under Guus Hiddink, he's now saying, look, I'm still part of this team. My future. I'm going to prove the critics wrong. My future is very much with Hiddink, and they are desperate to win the Champions League. Drogba wants to win the Champions League, and that's why they make the move away from their homeland to get this opportunity which they wouldn't otherwise get.
Samuel Eto'o, he's won the African players title before and he's done it all before. He is on fire right now with Barcelona. He scored over 20 goals already in La Liga. He had a bit of an up and down patch on the (inaudible). I remember when they signed Ronaldinho, the Brazilian, Thierry Henry from Arsenal. People were saying, look, maybe he's on his way, but he's knuckled down, he's overcome injuries, and he's just playing for fun. He has dreams of winning the treble -- La Liga, the Champions League, the Copa del Rey, the Kings Cup.
But look, let's play tribute to Emmanuel Adebayor. Togo. Making his name at Arsenal. Young age, he's already the African footballer of the year. And he's a player that yes, he's come abroad at a young age and he's developed. He's developed very nicely indeed. 24 goals last season. He's not been as prolific this time around. He's a bit of a marked man now. Everyone is desperate to sort of keep him in check. He's had his problems with injuries and consistency, but he's just getting started, and I imagine he's going to have a long, long career ahead of him in Europe. And in the long term, I think Togo and football in his homeland is going to benefit. When he goes back, he's got to do something for the grassroots. He's got to have kids clamoring all around him.
And yes, they're all in the bars maybe watching English Premiere League while he's playing, but I think in a good way, it's kind of helping. If these clubs in Nigeria are doing something, or whichever homeland, to improve attendance, to throw a few free tickets out, then I think the onus is on all of them to react and get things better. And hopefully in time, things will develop and improve.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: Patrick Snell, always enlightening.
Well, South Africa plays host to the 2010 World Cup in less than 500 days. A progress report after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SESAY: Welcome back to INSIDE AFRICA. With almost 500 days to go until South Africa hosts the 2010 World Cup, excitement is already building. But will South Africa be ready in time? Our correspondents on the continent look at all angles.
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SESAY: The organizing committee chief vows that South Africa will exceed expectations. Here's Nkpile Mabuse.
NKPILE MABUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Progress is visible at the venue for both the opening and final games.
DANNY JORDAAN, 2010 ORGANIZING COMMITTEE: You will see that these stadiums are among the best, if not the best, World Cup stadiums to host a World Cup in the past history.
MABUSE: More than 300,000 fans are expected to attend the games next year. As early as August last year, the effects of the credit crunch were already being felt as South Africa experienced a drop in tourism. FIFA, football's world governing body has called for more aggressive marketing. But marketing a country that is still considered one of the most violent in the world is no easy task.
SESAY: Good point, Nkepile. So what are officials doing about security concerns? Robyn Curnow has that.
ROBYN CURNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Police say there has been a dramatic decrease in crime since these cameras were installed last year. The cameras can zoom in and out, showing incredible details, including faces and license plate numbers.
WAYNE MINNAAR, JOHANNESBURG METRO POLICE: We've seen a reduction of crime over the period of one year of as much as 80 percent.
CURNOW: Some security analysts agree the criminals have simply moved to the outskirts of the city. Locals aren't convinced the cameras are as successful as the police claim.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The crime rate is still up. We need cops, you know, patrolling and everything.
CURNOW: Authorities say they are putting more police officers on the streets, and police say they are being dispatched quicker than ever before, making it easier to catch the perpetrators of smash-and-grab incidents like this one, or to help victims of crime.
SESAY: Smile, you're under surveillance!
Plenty of football fans are undaunted, as David McKenzie shows us.
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's the biggest show on earth! Coming to the African shores next year. Kenyans will do anything to get to the World Cup.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's very important. It's a must go. I cannot miss this World Cup, whatever comes.
MCKENZIE: The ringleader of a growing Facebook groups of Kenyans trying to get south. They swap tips and plan routes.
Even if they can't get into games, many Kenyans want to just be part of history, cheering like others before them, at the multiple fan zones that will be outside the stadiums.
SESAY: Sometimes it's enough to just get near the action.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: Also making news in South Africa, President Kgalema Motlanthe has set April 22nd as the date for general elections. African National Congress leader Jacob Zuma is the favorite to become president. He's scheduled to stand trial on corruption charges in August.
Turning now to a controversial cultural practice common around Africa -- female genital mutilation. For many girls, it's simply a fact of life, but activists in Egypt say they're changing attitudes one village at a time. We'll have that story after a break.
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SESAY: You're watching INSIDE AFRICA. Welcome back.
Let's take a quick look at some recent developments in stories we've been following for you. Zimbabwe's unity government appears to be taking shape. Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai has been sworn in as prime minister. New Cabinet members have also taken their posts, including Tsvangirai's choice for finance minister, Tendai Biti. Biti is one of President Robert Mugabe's fiercest critics.
Now, the Sierra Leonean association of journalists has condemned the abduction of four female journalists, allegedly by a group that supports female genital mutilation. Witnesses say the women were stripped naked and marched through the town of Kenema, before being released. The head of the local Bondo society says the women were taken into custody before they'd spoken unfavorably about FGM on the radio.
The United Nations says up to 94 percent of Sierra Leonean women and girls, age 15 to 49, have undergone FGM, sometimes called female circumcision.
Well, FBM is a cultural norm in many African countries, but in Egypt, a grassroots campaign that started a few years ago seems to be turning the tide of public opinion.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: A simple children's game. Played without a care in the world. This is what life is like for these girls in a small village not far from Cairo. They can play as children do, with the knowledge they will not fall victim to centuries-old practice that some call an important part of a woman's cultural identity, and others call a violation of human rights -- female genital mutilation, or FGM.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Fatima, how old are you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I am 13 years old.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Were you circumcised?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, not yet.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am scared and I told daddy I don't want to get circumcised.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And he just listened to you all at once?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. I sat there and spoke to him a little bit until he was convinced.
SESAY: Fatima and her friends live in a village that has declared itself free of FGM. The village is part of a growing movement in Africa to eliminate the practice altogether, and Fatima is one of the movement's young activists.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You must convince your dad that this idea is wrong and he needs to stop thinking about it.
SESAY: The World Health Organization estimates 3 million girls in Africa face the threat of FGM every year. It is a practice meant to preserve a girl or a woman's virginity, or to restrain sexual desire, ensuring a woman's marital fidelity. But it can be a very dangerous procedure, something little Fatima can explain all too well.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They take off parts that protect the girl, and when they take them off, it would be possible that she would get a lot of diseases, and she can get bacteria and viruses, and even bleed and die right then.
SESAY: It is a message Fatima takes with her house to house, family to family if necessary, and it appears to be working.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Were you circumcised?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you have a daughter?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I have one.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will you circumcise her?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, of course not, because I know, it's a very bad phenomenon, and health-wise, we should not do that at all.
SESAY: It's this kind of grassroots campaign that has community and organization leaders at a recent meeting of the Cairo Declaration for the Elimination of FGM very excited.
EMMA BONIN, VP, ITALIAN SENATE: I think it's impressive. It's impressive because just five years ago, nobody even dared to spell female genital mutilation. And then I think that the wall of silence was broken exactly here in Egypt five years ago, and since then, you really move from Kenya to Uganda, from Djibouti to Mali, and people are more and more vocal on this issue.
BEATRICE CHELANGAT, UGANDAN COMMUNITY ACTIVIST: FGM must be wiped away. And we are determined. We shall make it.
MOLLY MELCHING, HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST: It is very difficult to legislate a cultural practice. Therefore, in order to change that social norm, you really need to educate the people at the grassroots level. They need to understand human rights, and they need to learn that they can change, they can do this together. But they can't do it alone.
DR. LEENA KLIMO, KENYAN PARLIAMENT MEMBER: This is not a continent (ph) issue. It's a global issue. It's an issue that affects the whole continent.
SESAY: The Cairo declaration was first signed in 2003. And since then, it has spread the word about the dangers of FGM through media campaigns, helped some countries pass legislation that criminalizes the practice, and lets the villages signing their own declarations that they will not take part.
On this day, it is Fatima's village near Cairo that celebrates, joined by leaders from the Cairo Declaration.
MOUSHIRA KHATTAB, CHILDREN'S RIGHTS ACTIVIST: This big crowd of people getting together to say that we're against FGM is a great success for them and for us. Really, this shows you the paradigm shift that the Egyptians have made. They have really turned their back on a very bad habit or practice, so we are very proud of them.
SESAY: It's a celebration Khattab and others hope to repeat again and again, until every village and the rest of the world is FGM-free.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: From the power of grassroots to the power of song. We'll show you how the Kenyan boys choir ceased the moment at the Obama inauguration. That's after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SESAY: Welcome back to INSIDE AFRICA. South Africa's world famous Ladysmith Black Mambazo has a new award to add to the trophy case. The a cappella singing group won this year's Grammy for best traditional world music album, for "Llembe" honoring Shaka Zulu. The group has already won two Grammys in previous years.
A singing group from Kenya could one day follow in their footsteps. The Kenyan Boys Choir recently landed a record deal after performing at the Obama inauguration in Washington. David McKenzie caught up with them back home in Kenya.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MCKENZIE: It's just a rehearsal, but whenever the Boys Choir of Kenya sings, they treat it like opening night.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Welcome back, everybody. You are listening to the beautiful sounds of the Boys Choir of Kenya.
MCKENZIE: You may remember seeing them on the Washington Mall. They performed at the inauguration celebrations for President Barack Obama, the son of a Kenyan.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're singing "Hakuna Matata." This is a popular Kenyan song. It means "no problem."
MCKENZIE: The big TV moment helped them nab a record deal with Universal Music, which they signed in the transit lounge of London's Heathrow Airport, as they traveled home. It was their big break.
JOSEPH MUYALE, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, BOYS CHOIR OF KENYA: CNN featured us I think three times in one program in the U.S., and also featured us live. I believe it's from that that they happen to establish who we are. To me, I think it's a challenge to us and it's a God-given gift, because our beginnings were so humble.
MCKENZIE: Joseph Muyale started the choir 10 years ago as a way to promote talent and foster community. Over the years, they've struggled for funding and sponsorship. But the choir was always about more than just performance. To stay in the choir, the young men need good grades, and the money they bring in pays for their school fees.
What does this being in this choir mean for these boys?
MUYALE: It means a lot. This is like their second home. Some of these boys are orphans, and all of them come from very humble economic backgrounds. We are mentoring them for good leadership tomorrow.
MCKENZIE: Singers like Frederick Masambaya. He joined a decade ago and paid for his education, all the way to university.
FREDERICK MASAMBAYA, BOYS CHOIR OF KENYA: I've learned a lot. I'm a changed person. And all we want other youths to get and enjoy what (inaudible). That's why I'm here, working hard and making sure that other youths are enjoying what I've enjoyed.
MCKENZIE: The youngest and arguably most enthusiastic of the group is 14- year-old Alan Odhiambo.
ALAN ODHIAMBO, BOYS CHOIR OF KENYA: Many did not know I could sing. Just (inaudible) I could see (inaudible), a dream come true. And then I came here and knew that I had a talent for music.
MCKENZIE: A talent that the choir uses to showcase a different side of the continent.
MUYALE: From these woods we are in to get to Washington, D.C., to be signed up by a large world recording company, I think that's an achievement, and so it meant a lot to us.
People look at Africa on the darker side. Our message is that we have hope and something positive that we can also send out there.
MCKENZIE: And they are set to take that message from a park in Nairobi to the rest of the world.
David McKenzie, CNN, Nairobi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: Kudos to the Kenyan Boys Choir. They have done their country proud.
Be sure to tune into INSIDE AFRICA in two weeks' time. David McKenzie will host a special report from Kenya. He'll show us how the country has been faring since last year's violent political crisis. We'll bring you that report to mark the one year anniversary of the formation of Kenya's unity government.
And there, we must leave it. Be sure to tune in next week for a brand new INSIDE AFRICA. We leave you now with another look at the Kenyan Boys Choir performing on the Washington Mall during inaugural festivities. Enjoy. Take care.
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