Le 9 janvier Since my arrival in Gisenyi, I’ve noticed two rather dramatic additions – a new football stadium and paved roads (only in order to accommodate those going to the matches, and stopping about 500 meters before our house). We’re nowhere close to being a European city, but it’s a start.
Our stadium here, Umuganda Stadium, just finished last week and is the second national football stadium here in Rwanda – the first being in Kigali. Why the rush to finish (because nothing in Africa happens this quickly)? The African U-17 Championships.
From the 8th-22nd of January, Rwanda is hosting teams from across the continent and reveling in the football energy. In the United States, there are those who watch football (soccer) and those who don’t. Most choose “don’t.” However most American children play soccer throughout their childhood, so I’m not sure how that works out. In the rest of the world, though, football is the big sport. If you ask any local here in Gisenyi, a town full of people that don’t often follow international news, he will be able to tell you his favorite British football team. It’s quite comical, really.
Yesterday kicked off the first day of the Championship series, and today was the first day of play here in Gisenyi. Well, for curiosity’s sake, Joselyne and I wanted to go to a match. After mass, we headed the 300 meters down the road to the stadium to find out the time of the game and pricing, and then headed the 500 meters to our house to have a quick lunch before an afternoon of sports. (It is pretty crazy… the school is in the same plot of land as the house I live and the church is just outside the gate. Some days I don’t have to leave my little nook of Gisenyi – it’s maybe TOO convenient.)
Finding that there was a double-header, we opted to take our time – clearly there wouldn’t be a shortage of football. When we got to the stadium, there were crowds of people. Many had even found higher elevation (like buildings or the side of the mountain) from which to watch the game if they couldn’t find the funds. The craziest thing? The street was lined with CARS. I’m not used to there being any kind of bottle-neck in Gisenyi, especially not in our area. We were finally able to find out where to buy our tickets – from a man outside of the stadium in the center of a mob-scene. The 500 RWF tickets (approx. $1) were out, so we had to splurge on the 1000 RWF seats. (And we pay how much for Red Sox tickets?)
We made our way through the line into the stadium and up the stairs - ah – the same energy you’d find in any sporting event worldwide. There was hustle and there was bustle. There were about ten minutes left in the match between Congo-Brazaville and another team (I was more focused on scoping out my surroundings), and we looked for a seat. I say “seat,” but really I refer to a place to sit down. There were broad cement steps in which to sit, and even though the place would only get more filled, we had to squish ourselves in like sardines.
Jo and I watched as the two teams rushed up and down the field and how the crowd roared each time the ball was even close to the net (maybe a bit of an over exaggeration? But this is Africa). We marveled at the splendor of Umuganda Stadium, and from our seats we had the mountain right behind the field. If there was ever a place to people-watch, too, this would was it… the African people that came through, the Congolese people swarming in (and are they ever lively people!)… If only I had my camera.
Our friend called us up and told us that he was at the game and had seen us come in. Of course he did – I was the only white person in my section and one of maybe ten white spectators in the whole stadium. There were another handful manning the cameras and coaching, too, but truly it was not hard to miss me.
The three of us watched as they announced the next two teams to play – Mali and Cote d’Ivoire – and the crowd was on its feet. Mind you, we were in neither Mali nor Cote d’Ivoire. I’m not quite sure how sports work in smaller countries, but it might be something like cheering for the Mets or Yankees because you’re from New York – I don’t know. I’ve never been to either place, but even yet my decision was easy – my cousin Kevin is/was in Cote d’Ivoire, and I know that it would please him to hear that I was watching his team play.
I tell you – there is such a difference between watching a sports match in the US and Africa. I suppose this would be obvious, as everything else under the sun is different, too, but I was nonetheless amused. I’m not quite sure how to explain it for a lack of the right words, but… try to imagine. Deep in the heart of Africa, squeezed in like sardines, cheering at the top of your lungs for a country that’s not your own and maybe you’ve never seen before this day. What a blast.
The two teams were very evenly matched, which meant that we had a great match to watch, and in the end the better team won. YES, Cote d’Ivoire. I was so proud. I was so excited. I was so African.
Our stadium here, Umuganda Stadium, just finished last week and is the second national football stadium here in Rwanda – the first being in Kigali. Why the rush to finish (because nothing in Africa happens this quickly)? The African U-17 Championships.
From the 8th-22nd of January, Rwanda is hosting teams from across the continent and reveling in the football energy. In the United States, there are those who watch football (soccer) and those who don’t. Most choose “don’t.” However most American children play soccer throughout their childhood, so I’m not sure how that works out. In the rest of the world, though, football is the big sport. If you ask any local here in Gisenyi, a town full of people that don’t often follow international news, he will be able to tell you his favorite British football team. It’s quite comical, really.
Yesterday kicked off the first day of the Championship series, and today was the first day of play here in Gisenyi. Well, for curiosity’s sake, Joselyne and I wanted to go to a match. After mass, we headed the 300 meters down the road to the stadium to find out the time of the game and pricing, and then headed the 500 meters to our house to have a quick lunch before an afternoon of sports. (It is pretty crazy… the school is in the same plot of land as the house I live and the church is just outside the gate. Some days I don’t have to leave my little nook of Gisenyi – it’s maybe TOO convenient.)
Finding that there was a double-header, we opted to take our time – clearly there wouldn’t be a shortage of football. When we got to the stadium, there were crowds of people. Many had even found higher elevation (like buildings or the side of the mountain) from which to watch the game if they couldn’t find the funds. The craziest thing? The street was lined with CARS. I’m not used to there being any kind of bottle-neck in Gisenyi, especially not in our area. We were finally able to find out where to buy our tickets – from a man outside of the stadium in the center of a mob-scene. The 500 RWF tickets (approx. $1) were out, so we had to splurge on the 1000 RWF seats. (And we pay how much for Red Sox tickets?)
We made our way through the line into the stadium and up the stairs - ah – the same energy you’d find in any sporting event worldwide. There was hustle and there was bustle. There were about ten minutes left in the match between Congo-Brazaville and another team (I was more focused on scoping out my surroundings), and we looked for a seat. I say “seat,” but really I refer to a place to sit down. There were broad cement steps in which to sit, and even though the place would only get more filled, we had to squish ourselves in like sardines.
Jo and I watched as the two teams rushed up and down the field and how the crowd roared each time the ball was even close to the net (maybe a bit of an over exaggeration? But this is Africa). We marveled at the splendor of Umuganda Stadium, and from our seats we had the mountain right behind the field. If there was ever a place to people-watch, too, this would was it… the African people that came through, the Congolese people swarming in (and are they ever lively people!)… If only I had my camera.
Our friend called us up and told us that he was at the game and had seen us come in. Of course he did – I was the only white person in my section and one of maybe ten white spectators in the whole stadium. There were another handful manning the cameras and coaching, too, but truly it was not hard to miss me.
The three of us watched as they announced the next two teams to play – Mali and Cote d’Ivoire – and the crowd was on its feet. Mind you, we were in neither Mali nor Cote d’Ivoire. I’m not quite sure how sports work in smaller countries, but it might be something like cheering for the Mets or Yankees because you’re from New York – I don’t know. I’ve never been to either place, but even yet my decision was easy – my cousin Kevin is/was in Cote d’Ivoire, and I know that it would please him to hear that I was watching his team play.
I tell you – there is such a difference between watching a sports match in the US and Africa. I suppose this would be obvious, as everything else under the sun is different, too, but I was nonetheless amused. I’m not quite sure how to explain it for a lack of the right words, but… try to imagine. Deep in the heart of Africa, squeezed in like sardines, cheering at the top of your lungs for a country that’s not your own and maybe you’ve never seen before this day. What a blast.
The two teams were very evenly matched, which meant that we had a great match to watch, and in the end the better team won. YES, Cote d’Ivoire. I was so proud. I was so excited. I was so African.
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