Benin: tambourin ball game is a fast-growing sport

It is a sunny afternoon on the university campus at Abomey-Calavi, and on a Sunday plenty of students are out playing sport. Using a plastic tambourin with a synthetic membrane stretched across it, players strike a small ball on a court measuring 34 m by 16m. This is tambourin ball. Here, the tambourin, an instrument with a 28 cm circumference, takes the place of the tennis racket and is used to hit and return the depressurised ball. Players grip the tambourin by its leather handle. It belongs to the family of hand games and, in its variants, can be played indoors, outdoors or on the beach. The indoor version has its own particularities, says Arnaud Orekan, a tambourin player with the Ensemble Sportif des Étudiants. “The game is played by two teams of three players who hit a ball back and forth on a court divided into two halves by a centre line with no net, called the basse. The ball must not bounce twice in your half, and you cannot pass the ball or play outside the court.” Points are counted as in tennis (15, 30, 45 and game), except that here the first team to win 13 games takes the match. If it reaches 12-12, the teams play alternating serves. The first to reach 13 is declared the winner. Tambourin ball has penalty rules. The main referee is assisted by two others on the sides of the court and a table official. “As soon as the ball touches any part of your body beyond the forearm, your opponent gets 15 points. There are also disciplinary sanctions. In keeping with sporting ethics, shouting at the crowd or at your partner, or disputing the officiating, costs you points,” he adds.

“It takes real legs”

Agility, speed, power and team spirit are the essential qualities a player needs to perform well. “It's tiring because it's a game that works every part of the body. Some matches go beyond three hours of play. It takes strong legs, endurance and quick reflexes throughout matches.” Arnaud Orekan, who discovered the game in 2019 like most of his fellow students, now pursues a professional career in it. “I have played in two World Cups, notably in France and Italy. With the support of the International Tambourin Ball Federation, we aim to make it our profession”, he says.

A professional league in the making

The sport began in Benin in 2015, and clubs are forced to play outdoors for lack of an equipped indoor hall. Even so, the Benin Tambourin Ball Federation is about to launch its professional league, explains Jean-Mathieu Adinci, the organisation's secretary general. “We have 27 sports associations playing the sport, 12 of which have tambourin as their sole focus. The professional league will be held for the first time in April 2023. Since March 2022, we have been working on affiliation with the sports ministry. The supervisory ministry has set up a committee to guide us towards that goal.” Seven years after the sport appeared in Benin, the national teams took part in their first indoor World Cup in February 2023. As the only African country there, Benin finished ranked 7th in the men's and 5th in the women's events thanks to wins over England, Hungary and Portugal. That performance has strengthened the federation's drive to take the sport to younger people. “We have a project called ‘Tambourin at school’ starting soon, with children under 10 and young people aged 12 to 15, to prepare a good next generation. It involves training teachers in schools in tambourin ball. Once equipped, they will be able to teach it to children who want to learn”, says Thomas Tossou Dan, president of the FBJBaT. Benin, who struggle to make their mark in tennis and other hand sports, hope tambourin ball will become one of their flagship sports within the next decade. Rachidi Dossa