The African World Cup may be over but the beautiful game still continues. In the throes of the celebration this documentary “Football Fables” came out and won Golden Knight Awards for best feature screenplay and best foreign feature, lifts the lid on the inner workings of Ghanaian football migration.
It unfolds through the eyes of Francis, a talented teenager on the brink of a dream transfer. He is talented and ambition is undeniable but is whether or not that’s enough is another story.
Francis’ journey sheds light on the middle men who earn a living making sure their cream rises to the top. A system which (although far from perfect and in spite of itself) produces some of the best players in the world.
AfriPOP! sat down with the film director Baff Akoto on the day it was released on DVD.
AfriPOP!: What’s good with Francis nowadays. Do you know?
Baff Akoto: He’s angling for a contract in Cyprus. He had a successful trial there but that in itself is never enough
We’ll see what happens over the next few weeks as the European season starts. Yeah, we keep in touch at his various ports of call.
AfriPOP!: Where in Ghana are your parents from?
Asante region. Both grew up in the great metropolis of Kumasi. I want to secondary school in Accra.
I arrived in Ghana when I was 14 and survived on a diet of Mnet Movie Magic. And Supersport.
AfriPOP!: You’re in London now but when we met you were out in Spain, what took you there?
Iberian Peninsula is the closest you can get to Africa in Europe without being there. So I tend to spend a lot of time here. Especially in summer. I love Lisbon. And Portugal too.
AfriPOP!: What would be the chances of you living in actual Africa?
Pretty high. I’ve done it before and plan to do it again. But right now it’s not about settling anywhere just for the sake of it. You need to go where the work takes you. It’s a global game now. Despite the stories you might be telling. You might be filming an Indian story set in Morroco with the post-production done in Spain and the marketing spanning the globe from Toronto to Taipei. So where does that leave you as a director? Homeless! Or with a nominal base that you rarely get time to spend time at.
But I do plan to tell more African stories, not just Ghanaian ones.
AfriPOP!: You obviously were watching all the world cup games. Did it all turn out how you thought it might?
The favourites won.
AfriPOP!: Yours?
Nope, the bookies’. Spain have been the best team in the world according to FIFA rankings for the past 3 years. So, not a massive surprise. But for a team that had never won it before they did well to ride their self-doubt and recover from losing that first game to fulfill their destiny. Favourites or not, many would have, and many have buckled under that kind of expectation
AfriPOP!: Where was your heart and money?
I thought Brazil would do well, personally. And although I tipped the Dutch to do well, I never thought Dunga’s team would fail that test. And that the Dutch would get all the way to the final.
In an interview you said you predicted that the world cup effect will ripple throughout the continent. How do you see this happening?
The way everyone was behind Ghana’s Black Stars as the remaining African representatives was special. But more importantly, it was a successful Africa-staged event that was seen around the continent and the world. The effect on how we as Africans, and the rest of the world who watched the tournament, perceive us as world class, will be immense. Especially as the primary problem our continent has is one of perception. The world cup was a big “fuck you” to all the scaremongers and naysayers who kept talking about what a disaster the tournament would be.
Ukraine and Poland are going through a similar thing right now with their preparations for Euro 2012.
A lot of anti-Eastern European prejudice is seeping through when reports come through about how they are progressing. But if Stalin could build a global superpower in 10 years. I am sure they can get together a couple of stadiums and a bit of infrastructure by their deadline.
AfriPOP!: Would you say the net effect of football migration on football in Africa is like a sports talent drain, where the very best get to go to Europe and then the rest stay behind?
To become “the best” and develop their potential players have to migrate. That’s why you see them leave so young and not for big transfer fees – otherwise that would be the opposite would be the case. The question becomes what needs to be done to allow these same young players to realise their potential without having to migrate in Egypt and South Africa to an extent.
AfriPOP!: Any suggestions?
The local leagues are administered in a way that means their best youngsters can develop without having to leave. The all-conquering Egyptian African Cup of Nations sides of recent years have been made up almost 100% of players based in Egypt. Other federations could look to that example and apply some of the methods if they wanted to.
AfriPOP!: Would you say that football for Africans in Africa is what basketball has been for African American inner city youth in a way?
Sports and entertainment success stories are inherently high profile in a way that the uber-successful lawyers, doctors and teachers are not. So in that sense, a lot of people are attracted to what is presented to them. Whatever it is that is visible. But there are always options. Whatever situation you are born into there are options, and you play the cards that are in front of you. And you see this in Football Fables. People using whatever means they have to hand to get what they want.
AfriPOP!: So this scouting process that we learn about in the film, is it a similar situation in other developing countries? Like say, Brasil for example?
I know that Brasil and some South American countries do develop players who have added value and sell for massive fees to the European clubs. But that’s not happening yet in Ghana. What we see in Football Fables is a case study for Africa using Ghana as the example.
AfriPOP!: And FF is your directorial debut?
Yep. I’m popping my movie cherry. Was painful but very fulfilling.
AfriPOP!: Not a bad start at all. How many awards now?
I’m proud of what we’ve achieved. The film picked up 3 awards in Italy and Amsterdam.
AfriPOP!: Be so great if it could be shown in Africa.
I know. I am working on it. I was in some discussions to get it out there prior to the world cup but ran out of time. Now that it’s over we can have those discussions without the time constraints
AfriPOP!: And what are you working on for next?
I’m working on a feature film which is coming together slowly and also just wrapped a series for Channel 4 called Home which you will see later this year.
Football Fables is available on DVD on the Football Fables site.
Join Football Fables on Facebook too.
