The World Cup has excited football fans around the globe, including African people of all nations. But while there are many reasons to be proud, especially of Ghana’s impressive win against America, there are also questions to be asked of the migration that players feel they must undertake to succeed in the football world.

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Ghana’s impressive defeat of the United States last week propelled them to the second round of the World Cup Finals, making them Africa’s only representative in the final sixteen. While Ghana’s success is a tremendous accomplishment for African football, it also provides a time for serious discussion of the difficult issue of labor migration and exploitation that is facing the sport. Of the 23 players Ghana brought to Germany, only 4 are signed with domestic clubs. The other 19 play professionally for clubs in Europe and Israel.

While the personal accomplishments of these athletes should not be disputed, the increasing flight of Africa’s finest players to Europe is indicative of a structural problem in African football. The “muscle exodus” as CAF president Issa Haytou has coined it, has grown tremendously in the past decade, fueled by the nearly 20 to 1 wage discrepancy between African and European clubs.[1] European clubs increasingly use their financial advantage to recruit Africa's best players when they are as young as 14 years old.

Sepp Blatter, the President of FIFA, has characterized the increasing labor migration as a form of neo-colonialism. “I find it unhealthy, if not despicable,” Blatter explains, “for rich clubs to send scouts shopping in Africa, South America and Asia to 'buy' the most promising players there. This leaves those who trained them in their early years with nothing but cash for their trouble. Dignity and integrity tend to fall by the wayside in what has become a glorified body market.” [2]

As the best talent is lured out of Africa, the quality of the sport on the continent is undermined. Local leagues are left with lower standards of play, reinforcing the conception that leaving Africa is the only choice for promising footballers.[3] In addition, African national teams' performance has historically been hurt when European clubs refuse to release African footballers to play for their home countries, fearing injury to their star players. While FIFA regulations now compel clubs to release players, there is a legal battle in the European Court of Justice as to whether clubs can demand monetary compensation for injuries that take place during national competitions.[4] If the legal challenge is successful, the potential financial cost to FIFA could put the current regulations in jeopardy.

By far the most damaging aspect of the current “muscle exodus” is the exploitation of young African footballers by profiteering agents. Youth tournaments held throughout Africa serve as recruitment venues for European agents. Some players, such as the stars of Ghana’s team, end up signing lucrative contracts with European clubs. However, for every success story there are scores of others who are brought to Europe to train and are then abandoned. The economist Wladimir Andreff explains, “Most young players transferred to European professional clubs ultimately do not sign a contract and then are left aside, cut off from their family, friends, and home country, with no source of income and no assistance.” These youth, left in Europe as illegal immigrants with no way to support themselves, in some cases, have even resorted to prostitution to survive [5]. While it is now against FIFA regulations to transfer minors from their home country, the practice continues to exist on the black market. "Non-affiliated football academies" in Africa continue to train and recruit young players for European export, bypassing FIFA regulations [6]. Since ambitious young footballers see moving to Europe as their only chance of success, they are easy targets for such exploitation.

As all of Africa celebrates Ghana’s success, it is an important opportunity to discuss the great potential of truly African national football and the dangers that the current “muscle exodus” poses to this as well as to the athletes themselves. Hopefully the success of Ghana’s national team will challenge the prevailing belief that moving to Europe is the only viable option for aspiring African footballers as well as raise awareness around the injustice that is currently football's status quo.

Matt Bosch is an intern with Fahamu.

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[1] Andreff, Wladimir. “The Taxation of Player Moves from Developing Countries.” In Rodney Fort & John Fizel, eds., International Sports Economics Comparisons, Westport & London, Praeger 2004 (pp. 87-103).
[2] Blatter, Joseph. “Soccer’s greedy neo-colonialists,” Financial Times. 17 December 2003. London (pp. 19).
[3] Akindes, Gerard, Paul Darby, and Matt Kirwin. “Football Academies and the Migration of African Football Labour to Europe.” Presented at “Soccer, Nationalism, and Globalization.” University of California, Los Angeles. 31 May 2006.
[4] “Sport: Governance of Football Lies at Heart of Charleroi Court Case,” European Report. 12 June 2006.
[5] Akindes et al
[6] Ibid

Germany plays host to the World Cup this year, bringing thousands of soccer fans from across the globe together in one place. The World Cup will also lure unsuspecting girls and women from Africa and other parts of the world who have been tricked by promises of good jobs and high pay. The trafficking of girls and women for the purposes of sexual exploitation is an unfortunate consequence of an event of this kind, but one that must be paid careful attention to.

Germany is in soccer fever. From June 9th to July 9th 2006 Germany is host to an estimated 1 million foreign football fans and a further 2 million domestic supporters. Under the motto “A time to make friends”, the national authorities and tourist offices are determined to improve Germany’s image abroad and show that it can be a hospitable and friendly country. Much has been done in the hosting cities to ensure the visitors feel at home – but there are fears that it will not be fun and games for everyone involved. Traffickers and pimps are seizing the chance to make money by bringing thousands of young women into the country to satisfy the sexual appetite of the fans. In most cases, the women have no idea what is waiting for them when they accept a job offer abroad. The traffickers target vulnerable women from the poorest countries where hopes and dreams often cloud vision.

“Many of the girls who come to us for help were tricked into coming with false promises, thinking they will get work in hotels or restaurants”, says Sister Lea Ackermann, founder of the women’s aid organisation SOLWODI (Solidarity With Women in Distress). “They hear about a chance to earn enough money for their families and have very unrealistic ideas of life in the West. Even those who know they will be working in a bar or brothel have no idea of the exploitation, abuse and violence that is waiting for them. Often the women are locked up by the brothel owners and forced to work in prostitution under terrible conditions. They see little of the money they make – the pimps and brothel owners make money at their expense”.

Exploitation of African girls and women According to official reports, victims are trafficked to Western Europe from Asia, South and Middle America, Africa and Eastern Europe. Of the 998 women who contacted one of the 10 SOLWODI centres in Germany last year, 236 originated from African states, with Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana taking the lead. Not all women who contact SOLWODI-Germany are victims of trafficking in the norrower sense of the word. But in almost every case they are brought to Germany with hopes of a better life, only to be confronted with violence and sexual exploitation, whether in the sex industry or in a relationship. Take Kenya, for example, which is considered to be an emerging center for human trafficking. As a transit country, victims of traffickers are illegally brought from South Africa and Asia via Kenya’s harbours and across the borders destined for Europe, where they are exploited in domestic labour or commercial sex work. Kenya is also a country of origin, where Kenyan girls, in particular those from the Coast region, are first lured into sex work by rich tourists during their holidays. In some cases their exploiters even take them to Europe, but there is seldom a happy end to the story. Without legal documents or only a tourist visa, they have no way of legally finding work, which means they remain completely dependent on their exploiters. Solidarity with the victims Those victims who find themselves stranded in Germany and hear about SOLWODI can contact one of the 10 counselling centres spread across the country. SOLWODI-Germany offers its clients access to information and support and helps in finding ways out of the distressing situation. Where possible, clients are supported in taking legal action against their tormentors. Those eligible for SOLWODI’s returnee programme are helped by the counsellors to develop plans for the future. Together with non-goverment organisations in the home countries, the counsellors organise the return home. Depending on the individual situation, clients may be able to receive financial assistance with an income-generating project, such as setting up a small vegetable stand or a hairdressing business. In the case of Kenyan women, returnees may continue to receive counselling and support from the sister organisation, SOLWODI-Kenya, which has centres along the Coast in the Mombasa, Mtwapa and Malindi regions. SOLWODI-Kenya, which was founded over 20 years ago, has long been engaged in outreach programmes for women and girls at risk of being drawn into prostitution and offers counselling, education on women’s rights and HIV/AIDS, and vocational skills training.

Prevention is better than salvation As part of its World Cup anti-traffickign activities SOLWODI-Germany launched a prevention campaign to warn potential victims in the typical countries of origin and transit. Material was sent to more than 100 organisations in Middle and Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa to explain the dangers of accepting lucrative job offers in Germany during the months leading up to the World Cup. For those women who could not be reached by the prevention campaign and who now find themselves in trouble in Germany, SOLWODI has set up a multi-language hotline from 1st May till 31th July 2006. Helpers who speak both German and at least one further language are staffing the hotline, which is available around the clock. Although the hotline is set up for foreign women in distress, calls have also been received by male customers who have reported cases of suspected forced prostitution and violence in brothels they have visited. This goes to show that SOLWODI’s awareness raising activities within Germany have been successful in also reaching the male population. Since there is no market without demand, the customers play a key role in trafficking and forced prostitution.

The best way of preventing women from becoming victims lies in empowerment. Elizabeth Akinyi, SOLWODI-Kenya’s leader in Mombasa, says that most of the 15- to 18-year-olds who get into commercial sex work are often school drop-outs from poor families. Initiation into transactional sex for cash or goods and favours starts between the ages of 12 –to 13 years. Many girls have dropped out of school because their parents/guardians are not able to meet their basic needs, which entail food, education [fees, uniform, books etc], shelter and other needs like clothing. Girls who are victims of commercial sex exploitation of children [CSEC] do so to supplement family income.” It is important that they understand the dangers of being involved in commercial sex work and there are other alternatives and this can be discussed when they come to SOLWODI”, says Ms Akinyi. “Almost every girl who contacts us would prefer to quit commercial sex exploitation by men and instead go for vocational /skills training. We have a waiting list for girls who want vocational training. None of the girls want to remain at the mercy of men who abuse them. As soon as the girls get a chance to start a new life, they take it and work hard to succeed. CSEC is one of the worst forms of child labour and we need to advocate for these poor girls who do not understand the health risks involved. SOLWODI works with young girls from ages 8 to 25 year who are at risk and those already in sex work. Our biggest problem is finding enough funds to pay for the school and college fees. We also urgently need a rescue centre.”

Outlook As long as there are women living in poverty and misery, traffickers will have no problem finding new victims. Just how many girls and women have been trafficked to Germany for the World Cup 2006 will probably never be known. Most will return home disillusioned and dejected. Others will remain in the country at the mercy of the brothel owners. For the traffickers the World Cup was another opportunity to trick vulnerable women and girls into coming to the Europe. And they will be looking out for the next chance.

To combat trafficking and exploitation realistic alternatives must be offered to girls and young women to enable them to live an independent life free from exploitation and abuse. Empowerment, through education, training and start-up loan programmes like those offered by SOLWODI, is one the best ways to prevent girls falling victims to traffickers.

For further information contact: SOLWODI in Kenya: solwodi AT wananchi.com SOLWODI in Germany: info AT solwodi.de

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Inviolata celebrates life, and yet another birthday, in Kenya, where over 600 people die from HIV/AIDS every day. This brave woman is confronting not only her own fears, but also the expectations of her community and Kenyan society about what it means to live with AIDS.

Life at 20 marked the turning point. For many, life would have taken a downward spiral. But not for Inviolata Mbwavi. After going through the usual motion of shock, fear and denial, she resolved not to let the virus complete the hatchet job.

Fourteen years later, her steady hands aided by a number of other hands drive the knife into the red, ribbon cake. With each cut, the room drowns in rounds of applause. Another purple cake sits nearby like an impatient child begging for candy.

“The purple cake represents the years I have survived courtesy of the Almighty, while the other shaped like the red-ribbon, the years I have defied the virus.” Inviolata says as she gets hugs from friends and family.

When they finally break into the “Happy Birthday” it takes a completely new meaning. It is a celebration of life made new; living positively with HIV.

“This was the month I was diagnosed with HIV, I had just turned 20”, she later tells me.

Inviolata had stepped out of teenage life with optimism. But when the doctor waved her Elisa test-results, life crumbled. From her teenage years she carried HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Then, pre-test counselling was limited and anti-retroviral treatment in the realm of illusion.

“Nowadays I don’t expect anyone who has tested positive to commit suicide, not to go to school, miss work or simply refuse to live. If we were to die we would have died then, but we’ve survived,” she says.

Life must have been a sip of hemlock, I thought.

“Invy, we love and value you…” a voice interrupts as if reading my thoughts. It came from one of her brothers, shouting from the furthest corner among a group of teenagers, munching a huge piece of roasted chicken.

Inviolata stands up, her open palm gently on her heart and stoops in appreciation, “Love you too bro, virus or no virus.” The room lights up into hearty cheers. Love, care and support had knocked out the wind from under the wings of the virus.

Born in a family of ten siblings, having many brothers and sisters means an abundance of love, care and support. Unlike a number of people living with HIV/AIDS in Kenya, Inviolata’s family has outpaced stigma and discrimination.

“Love and support from my family, friends and colleagues is the oxygen I have been breathing for the past 14 years.”

Slightly plump, Inviolata frequently breaks into a sweetly ringing laughter displaying a set of teeth, as white as the droppings of the oluru bird (the white only interrupted by gaps between her teeth), ringed-patterns on her neck staring back in coy pride- all these are the hallmarks of African beauty.

Inviolata heads the Network for Empowerment of People Living and Affected with HIV/AIDS in Kenya (NEPHAK). Her name is found in the oft minimal space in the anti-HIV/AIDS diary in Kenya.

Inviolata advises for those living with the virus, birthdays call for celebration. A symbolic defiance against a stealthy virus infecting 40 million people globally, 75% of whom reside in Africa and where 600 Kenyans die every day.

Her boyfriend, who is also HIV-negative could not attend the party as he was away on business. But Inviolata is proud of their eight-year relationship, despite pressure from his relatives for their son to find a serro-negative girl.

“Marriage for me has become complicated because of the African traditions which require that a woman be capable of giving birth. I cannot do that without putting my boyfriend at risk.”

At one time the pressure on them was so much that Inviolata almost broke up with her partner. But reassurance from her boyfriend, whose name she does not want to reveal, kept the relationship intact.

She remains, however, optimistic that over time, her prospective in-laws will change their minds and accept her as a wife. This is especially the case because of the abundance of medical intervention currently available in the management of HIV/AIDS.

The advent of Highly Active Anti-retroviral Therapy (HAART) has turned HIV/AIDS into a chronic though manageable disease away from the bare-knuckled killer it was a decade ago. This means more birthdays for those who are HIV-positive.

“There is life beyond the virus, I don’t expect those who test positive today to stop living.”

But despite Inviolata’s reassuring words, her face turns into a mask of sadness as a shade flushes across her smooth peeled-avocado face. After hesitation she reveals what has pierced her heart.

“There are those who still think we are children of lesser gods because of our HIV-status. We should celebrate more birthday to prove our determination to live to the fullest.”

The conversation had drifted to the brutal murder of a 15-year old HIV-positive boy in Nyeri. At this point one could hear a feather drop as everyone sat with hand on cheek (a pose reflecting deep sadness in African context).

Weeks earlier Inviolata had led a demonstration condemning the hacking to death of Isaiah Gakuyo by his guardian uncle. He had driven the forked end of a hoe into Isaiah’s temple, snuffing out an already frail life. His justification? Isaiah’s constant sickness because of the virus was an unnecessary bother, he was heard bragging. To date, he remains at large, courtesy of relatives who harbour him, a Children’s Department reluctant to raise a finger and a community hesitant to break the silence.

“The murder is a sign that stigma and discrimination is becoming an epidemic on its own. We still need to change attitudes towards people living with HIV/AIDS.”

And despite the fact that the war against stigma and discrimination is easing, they are determined to emerge victorious.

“Today it is Isaiah Gakuyo, tomorrow it could be you, your mother, father, or your loved one. Embrace us with love…”

The burst of the mwana wamberi song jolts us out of the sad pre-occupation. The song is sang among Luhya to celebrate the birth of the first born. Indeed it was appropriate for Inviolata, who like a first born in the family was leading the way in the anti-AIDS struggle.

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As the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) moves towards elections, political scientist Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja talks to Pambazuka News about the strategic importance of the DRC. A strong state in the Congo would threaten western control over the resource-rich countries in the sub-region, namely, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Sao Tome and Principe. Moreover, he argues, the DRC has enough arable soil, rainfall, lakes and rivers to become the breadbasket of Africa, and enough hydroelectric power to light up the whole continent from the Cape to Cairo.

Pambazuka News: What is the strategic and economic importance of the DRC, both for Africa and internationally?

Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja: The best answer to this question is a quote from the late Jacques Foccart, the éminence grise of Gaullist Africa policy under Presidents Charles de Gaulle, Georgess Pompidou and Jacques Chirac, when the latter was Prime Minister under President François Mitterand. Asked by a journalist who was writing Foccart’s memoirs about his thoughts concerning the DRC, the old man had this to say:

You asked me what was France’s interest. On this matter, there is no ambiguity. Congo-Léopoldville, Zaire today, is the largest country in Francophone Africa. It has considerable natural resources. It has the means of being a regional power. The long-term interest of France and its African allies is evident (Emphasis mine. Jacques Foccart and Philippe Gaillard, Foccart parle: entretiens avec Philippe Gaillard, Fayard/Jeune Afrique, Paris, 1995, p. 310).

What is evident is that France and its allies, African as well as non-African, do not wish to see the DRC become a regional power in Central Africa, and thus constitute a threat to French hegemony and Western interests in the sub-region. A strong state in the Congo will not only threaten French control over the resource-rich countries in the sub-region, namely, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Sao Tome and Principe.

Moreover, the DRC has enough arable soil, rainfall, lakes and rivers to become the breadbasket of Africa, and enough hydroelectric power to light up the whole continent from the Cape to Cairo. While its mineral resources are so abundant that a young Belgian geologist declared the country a geological scandal at the beginning of the last century, the real scandal of the Congo include the facts that its uranium was used to build the first atomic bombs in the world and its wealth has since the days of King Leopold II been used not in the interests of its people but to the benefit of its rulers and their external allies.

Pambazuka News: Given this importance, how does this play out with regards the looming election?

Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja: The forthcoming election means more to the international community, which is spending heavily on it and even sending in European Union forces to supplement MONUC to ensure that it is being held, than to the Congolese people. The major powers of the world and the international organizations under their control would like to legitimize their current client regime in Kinshasa so they can continue unfettered to extract all the resources they need from the Congo.

Pambazuka News: What is the emancipatory role of the DRC with regards Africa’s development and what does self-determination mean in the context of this election?

Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja: The DRC cannot play a positive role in Africa’s development as long as it remains a dependent territory with approximately 60 percent of its national budget, over US$400 million for its national elections and virtually all of its development policy decisions coming from external sources. Elections, in this context, are not an exercise in self-determination but a ritual designed to justify external control through weak and non-patriotic elements of the political class. To play an emancipatory role with respect to Africa’s development, the DRC must complete its transition from colonialism to genuine independence as a sovereign nation with its own social project and capacity to make and implement its own development policies.

Pambazuka News: Historically, since independence at least, DRC has had strategic importance for the US as a result of the Cold War. Have the new dynamics associated with the war on terror changed this, and how?

Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja: On the contrary, the U.S. obsession with Islamic Fundamentalism as a potential source of terrorism makes the DRC a strategically important country because of its proximity to Sudan, its own small but significant Muslim population and its ties to East Africa, and the fact that persistent instability in the northeast is likely to provide opportunities for drug trafficking, the proliferation of small arms, money laundering and other criminal activities likely to be exploited by terrorist groups to their own advantage. The U.S. stake in the DRC is clearly evident by Washington’s involvement in the management of the current transition through CIAT (the International Committee to Accompany the Transition).

Pambazuka News: How has/does the historical legacy of Leopold 11 and Belgian colonialism impact on the country?

Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja: At the present time, Georges Forrest, a Belgian businessman, runs a big mining empire in the Katanga province, with obvious support from the Belgian state. Louis Michel, the EU Commissioner for Development and former Deputy Prime Minister and External Affairs Minister of Belgium, is one of the most powerful decision makers on the fate of the Congo. While it would be an exaggeration to put them on the same level as the agents of either King Leopold’s Congo or the Belgian Congo, the legacy of Belgian domination is kept alive through their enormous influence on Congo’s economy and politics.

Pambazuka News: What are the links between colonial rule, Mobutu and the rule of the late Kabila and now his son?

Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja: The main linkage between colonial rule, Mobutu and the two Kabila has already been underlined above, in that they each represent a predatory regime in which the enormous wealth of the country is being monopolized by the rulers and their external allies instead of serving the basic needs of the Congolese people.

Pambazuka News: You’ve written a book: ‘The Congo from Leopold to Kabila: A People's History’ in which you say that Congolese people have fought throughout their oppressive history to establish democratic institutions at home and free themselves from foreign exploitation. This is perhaps something that’s often missed in a discussion of the Congo, with a focus on war and resource extraction making it seem as if the DRC’s people are helpless in the face of these forces. Can you elaborate on your argument and how this fight has played itself out?

Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja: In January 1959, the popular masses arose against colonial rule in Kinshasa and by the end of that year, parts of the country had become totally ungovernable, leading the Belgians to conclude that they had to respect the Congolese people’s call for “immediate independence.” In 1963, faced with the evidence that independence did not meet their deepest aspirations for freedom and material well-being, peasants in the western part of the country came up with the new slogan, that of a “second independence,” and this became the rallying cry of popular insurrections led by the followers of the former and assassinated Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba, which succeeded in taking over nearly three quarters of the national territory. These insurrections were defeated by a counter-insurgency effort coordinated by the United States and Belgium, and which included the use of white mercenaries from Europe and Southern Africa.

In 1990, the rejection of the Mobutu regime through the popular consultations that the dictator himself had initiated for a verdict on his rule opened the process of transition to multiparty democracy. Had it not been for the erosion of Mobutu’s power through his repudiation by the public and which the Sovereign National Conference endorsed in 1992 through the election of Etienne Tshisekedi as Prime Minister of a transitional government, Laurent Kabila and his Rwandan allies would not have been able to march from Goma to Kinshasa in 7 months without a significant military challenge from Mobutu’s army.

Unfortunately, all these episodes of popular resistance to tyranny in search of democracy and social progress have ended in failure for lack of a political leadership that would put the people’s interests ahead of the narrow class interests of self-serving and corrupt politicians.

Pambazuka News: Any predictions for how the coming election is going to play itself out?

Georgess Nzongola-Ntalaja: Since the current transitional government has not fulfilled the requirements laid out in the Sun City/Pretoria accord for free and fair elections, the ritual of 30 July is likely to confirm Joseph Kabila as President, but it will not change the political situation of the country for the better. Violence will continue in the northeast, and corruption and incompetence will remain the most salient features of a government with an externally-driven agenda.

Interview conducted by email. Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja's book, The Congo from Leopold to Kabila: A People's History, is published by Zed Books, 2002. Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja is Facilitator for the Africa Governance Institute (AGI), a project of the Regional Bureau for Africa of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in New York. He has also served UNDP as Director of the Oslo Governance Centre in Oslo, Norway, from 1 August 2002 to 31 July 2005, and as Senior Adviser on Governance to the Federal Government of Nigeria in Abuja, Nigeria, from March 2000 to May 2002.

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