The African Cup of Nations is having an impact on the daily lives of a host of women. Sport News Africa took the microphone to some of them. Their experiences differ since the start of the competition.
To say that AFCON 2023 has changed women's habits would be an understatement. Over the past few days, some of them have been saying they've been living the martyr's life, while others take pleasure in seeing their husbands at home more often than not. It may be a cliché as old as time, but the women say they feel better. Angela K. is a forwarding agent at the Port of Abidjan. She's got a guitar shape. She's sexy and seductive, and everything a man loves besides soccer. We met her during a drunken evening in a maquis, a kind of open-air bar or restaurant common in Côte d'Ivoire. Her father is a soccer trainer.
Ever since she was a little girl, she's loved the sport. The AFCON 2023 in Côte d'Ivoire, the first one she's following closely because it's on home soil, is a moment of pure happiness for her. "Frankly, it's an incredible moment of soccer.For once, we have matches at good times, unlike the World Cup or the Olympics. After lunch, before dinner, at snack time, there are endless matches. Best of all, my husband and I don't fight over the remote control. He's glued to the house when he's not at the pitch, and that's just as well.I feel good that way. The match I enjoyed the most was the one between Ghana and Mozambique. But I must admit that I'm really looking forward to Morocco", she told us with a smile. Like her, other ladies love soccer.But only because they play it or work in sports journalism. Tapé E. is one of them. Beautiful, dark-haired and plump, she looks a little tired from the sheer volume of work at the AFCON 2023, which is only in its first day of the group phase. She works for a TV channel that broadcasts the competition in French. "This AFCON shows an incredible level of play. When I see the scores of the teams known as the minnows, you can only say that it's historic.
Mozambique forcing Egypt to a draw, Cape Verde beating Ghana, Angola drawing with Algeria, Namibia trouncing Tunisia.
All in all, it's huge. The only downside is that the workload has increased. Before this competition, I finished at 6pm at the latest.Now, it's either 10pm or even midnight. I'll be happy if this CAN 2023 comes to an end on February 11, 2024, so I can get back to a normal life," she sighs. Unlike these two women, for most of them it's been an ordeal for the past month.
Many women were used to seeing their spouses monopolize the television at weekends because of European soccer. But since January 13, it's been all the rage. From morning to night, it's all about soccer, to the point where they've lost the habit of watching their usual TV series."I've had to change a lot of my habits to avoid arguing with my husband. I know he's a soccer fan, but this is going too far.He never leaves the house except when he has to go to work. He doesn't go to the ground because he complains about the slowness and difficulty of getting tickets. I'm glad he's here, but the boredom is killing me and my children. They still get their cartoons between matches, but not me. I don't. Nothing.
If I have to watch TV, it's late at night when he's done with all the reruns of matches and other shows. It's a pain.I didn't have any friends in the neighborhood. I had to make some, especially single ones, so I could enjoy my TV soaps with them a bit," says Mr. Zogbé with an amused air.
With her gazelle-like élan, the children's sweet shopkeeper now takes a back seat to her husband.Some women even go so far as to work overtime to avoid the deafening noise when they watch the AFCON 2023 match with friends."My husband has four friends. They're inseparable. Especially when there are Argentina matches, the atmosphere at home is unbreathable. We don't have any children yet.So I spend most of my time with him when I get home from work. For the past month, it's been impossible.Instead of coming home at 4.30pm, I now prefer to get home at 8pm when the last game of the day is on. That way, I'm less of a victim of their emotional elevators and all-out shouting," assures Reine K., who nonetheless attracts all the attention with her bountiful posterior."I don't actually like soccer. But now I'm forced to follow it.
I work in a hotel in Korhogo and there are Malian fans and local and international journalists making noise every match day. So I have to adapt," sighs M. Assi, a receptionist at a hotel."I don't like soccer. I don't even follow it at this time of year. It's my work that interests me," says D. Minata. Minata, who works in a fan zone for the AFCON 2023, where all the matches are screened every day. Clearly, in soccer, there are always winners and losers.
