Ivory Coast: Eli Junior Kroupi, so close yet so far from the Elephants

Walking on eggshell. Here is an expression that corresponds to the case of Eli Junior Kroupi as he is so delicate. The footballer of Ivorian origin, whose father evolved with the Elephants in the early 2000s, is divided between France, where he was born and raised, and Côte d'Ivoire for his international future. For the moment, France is holding the rope to enlist the 19-year-old player.

Contacts for nearly 2 years, without success

 “People think it’s easy. But no. It’s up to the Ivorian Football Federation to make an effort. One cannot want a player, who has only known France, who has a French education, who has his bearings in France and wants him to come with a magic blow of a stick. It’s quite a process, quite a diplomacy that needs to be implemented to attract this talent," 

explains Akassou Ghislain, former international defender from Ivory Coast and childhood friend of Kroupi's father. 

The contacts between the Kroupi clan and the FIF date back two years. They hadn’t gone well, social networks made things worse and Kroupi was painted as someone who doesn’t want to see his son under the orange shirt. He received insults and was made fun of. He decided not to speak to any media anymore. Sport News Africa contacted him on February 10, 2026. He was reluctant but ended up expressing himself. 

 

“His mother is Portuguese, I, his father, I am Ivorian, he is French. It’s delicate (...) It’s his story, it’s his decision. I accompany him as a father.”

“I had Guy Demel on the phone a year, a year and a half, two years ago... I don’t really know anymore. At the time, my son was playing in Lorient. That’s all. So what is said on social media that I saw Guy in a stadium and that I snubbed him... That is not true,"

 he insisted before continuing.

 "People must not forget that Eli Junior has three nationalities. His mother is Portuguese, I, his father, I am Ivorian, he is French. It’s delicate. I played for my country, Côte d'Ivoire, with the Elephants. But it was in a different era. That’s my story. For him, it’s different. Even his choice to leave Lorient to go to England, it was him who made it, not me. That’s his story, that’s his decision. I accompany him as a father. If I wanted to interfere in my son’s choices or want his money, I would be his agent, but there I preferred to keep my place as a father," he continues.


For the father of the striker from Bournemouth, there are too many challenges. Yet, according to him, there is a truth that is immutable: «Junior is French. He does not know the Ivory Coast. These are therefore very difficult decisions. I can’t encourage him to choose Ivory Coast, harass him for that and then if it goes wrong, he will blame me... I want to keep this father’s place. And that people must understand. He is my only boy, I gave him an education. Whether his choices are positive or negative, I accompany him.”

A glimmer of hope?
Despite all doubts, a glimmer of hope. Junior’s father and the president of the FIF spoke to each other. They seem to have understood each other, even if the file remains at a standstill for now.

 « I had the president of the Federation, we exchanged views. It went well. So there you go...," he concluded. Sport News Africa joined Yacine Idriss Diallo. He confirmed these exchanges.

 "I prefer not to make noise. I operate like that. We follow this file but we do not want to talk about it," he assured. Eli Junior Kroupi, for many observers, would be a qualitative contribution to the Ivorian team currently in search of a striker. 

At some point, if we want to compile the players who all have the same profile, I think it doesn’t give the coach a wide range. The coach, what he is looking for, is still the player who stands out from what we already have in the store, and this young Eli Kroupi, he is 19 years old, and that one, he stands out entirely, he has a technicality, he has a game reading and he delivers the shots », 

analysis Noël Boli, consultant for the Ivorian public television. While waiting for the next FIFA windows, the debate on the arrival or not of Kroupi Junior (22 matches, 8 goals this season) with the Elephants is in full swing.