By: Fistum Getachew
Few countries in Africa have more passion for football than Ethiopians. Many people are amazed by such attachment of Ethiopians to football. Ethiopia after all is a country with no brilliant records of victories in football tournaments and competitions. In fact the only mentionable glory at the international level for Ethiopia is the victory at the 3rd African Cup of Nations decades ago overcoming the fierce resistance of a strong Egyptian side. That was the glorious moment that I had the chance to witness as a kid along with my father at the then Haile Selassie I Stadium baptized Addis Ababa Stadium.
So it would be logical to pose the question: Where does all this passion come from? And this is a question many pose. One point however has to be clear and that is Ethiopia is one of the founders of the Confederation of African Football, CAF, with a leader such as Yidnekachew Tessema who was a prominent personality not only to African football but also to the World Olympic Committee and FIFA the world governing body of football, He served CAF as the deputy president between 1964 and 1972 and as the President between 1972 and 1987. He was also member of the African Sport Congress, International Olympic Committee, FIFA and President of the African Olympics Committee..
One way of explaining the love of football among Ethiopians may be the input of Brazilian football which was to be very famous throughout the world. This was mainly the famous ‘King’ Pele’s effect. In fact, if you ask an Ethiopian who loves football and ask what football club you admire, they would definitely say Brazil. The Brazil national team is of course reputed worldwide for the elegance and flair of their game and they are also the most successful national team in the world with five world cups in the bag.
However, in recent years the English premier league has gained a lot of popularity and attention among Ethiopian fans. Today the English premier league is the most followed league in the world besides being the most expensive as well. It enjoys worldwide following because it has gathered practically all of the best footballers in the world. Five top national league tournaments are considered to be the biggest in Europe, namely the English Premier League, the Spanish La Liga, the Italian Serie A, the German Bundesliga and the French Ligue I. However, the most followed and celebrated of them all is the English Premier League.
In Ethiopia this is truer than ever. The dominance of the English premier league is also a result of the immense publicity and promotion that the English media offers it on their TV channels, radio podcasts and social media. Billions of dollars are invested in this sport. Today almost all of the best players are recruited from all of the world play in the English Premier League clubs. And players would like to go and play in the premier league also because the financial returns are enormous.
Since the explosion of satellite television and introduced in Ethiopia a couple of decades ago, there has been an amazing rise in the number of Ethiopians who follow consistently the English premier league. In earlier days football fans remember that they used to watch once a week the recorded games of the Italian Serie A and they have good memories of those days. Today football is followed ‘live’ and there is little room for waiting for the rerun of the matches as it was in the older days. People remain awake even in the late evenings to watch football matches in real time.
Unfortunately, Ethiopian football is considered weak. The Ethiopian premier league is also equally weak and as the national team is a reflection of this gloomy reality, it leaves a lot to be desired. However, despite such reality, what is amazing is the strong unabated passion of Ethiopians for football and their national team considered as the standard bearer of a nation of more than 130 million people. Whenever there are football matches in which the national team is involved, the fans begin to line up to buy the entrance tickets for hours without worrying too much about the weather conditions and not showing any sign of fatigue or frustration. But more often than not, their national team ends up disappointing them with the results.
These days the passion for European football has literally exploded in Ethiopia. Fans follow every activity football clubs in Europe conduct. They follow the players who are recruited and fielded by the clubs they support. The rivalry between English clubs’ supporters is particularly fierce even here in Ethiopia just as it is in other parts of the world. There is no radio and TV transmission that does not allot hours for football news, analysis and comments. These programs and coverage are very popular and in the process they have the support of the business sector with lavish sponsorship contracts. There are many who are worried that the national football may be sidelined or neglected due to the overwhelming influence of the foreign leagues.
Similarly, some people are heard complaining that the attention and news coverage for these football events and related issues outnumber that of other programs or subjects dealing with more significant local social issues. May be these are people who are bitterly disappointed by the level of our football. However, the same is also true with our football clubs as they never manage to shine in international events. Even veteran clubs such as St George Football Club which is founded among the very first football clubs in Africa has still not won any international tournament at the continental level. But all this has not prevented Ethiopian fans from following international football with passion.
The English Premier League has the lion’s share of the attention of Ethiopian fans. A recent survey has shown that Ethiopians are very much attached to the English premier league and the passion of followers is just amazing. The rivalry between fans of various clubs such as Manchester United and Arsenal is so fierce that every discussion of football is monopolized by it. When foreigners discover this fact, they cannot hide their surprise and one foreigner once remarked to me saying he was amazed to see so many people donning the jerseys of European football clubs such as Arsenal, Man United and Barcelona etc.
Football is viewed almost as a religious faith in many European states particularly among the working class presumably because it does not require lots of money to follow or even play. The rules are simple and easy to be understood by everybody. The balls and jerseys to wear are relatively cheap especially when one compares them with other sports such as golf, ground tennis, skiing etc. Football is now a massively popular sport across the world as it is in Ethiopia.
Millions of young citizens and even adults play it in their neighborhoods both for passing some leisure time enjoying with friends, especially during weekends, for health and physical fitness issues upon the recommendation or suggestion of their physicians. Even among kids football is their favourite sport and they like to pass all their spare time away from their books and exercise books when they are free from school activities.
During the just ended rainy season for us, and the summer period for the European leagues, there were no tournaments and many football fans were experiencing some sort of boredom during their weekends when they would be following the matches. When they began around the middle of August, they resumed their following even with more passion and eagerness because the title chase in the various leagues begins again with more vigour and intensity.
The fact that many clubs have been strengthened by recruiting new players from other clubs has made the competition even more electrical. Many clubs have signed players who play in the attacking sector and this can contribute to the scoring of more goals. In fact, it is said that the beauty of football lies in the goals scored or even avoided by the goalkeepers. It thus becomes more spectacular and fascinating. Football is all about goals, many argue, but we should not forget that sometimes there are matches which may end nil nil but the number of goal scoring occasions and the way the defenders foil the attacks can make them equally interesting and worth watching.
Ethiopia has hosted international football tournaments such as the third edition of the African Cup of Nations during which it won. It was in 1962. But since then there have not been any similar glories although it has managed to clinch the CECAFA Cup (the tournament that includes the east and central African nations) in a couple of occasions. For years it has even failed to qualify for the finals of the African Cup of Nations. And what is more, it has never qualified for the World Cup and even this time with forty eight national teams taking part in the forthcoming World Cup to be held in the US, Mexico and Canada, it has been eliminated by the likes of Egypt, Sierra Lion and Burkina Faso national teams piling up more frustration among the passionate fans.
Many factors have been cited for the decline of Ethiopian football across the years whereas those who began after us have attained remarkable results! But brighter days are in the pipeline according to the plans of Prime Minster Abiy Ahmed (PhD) who in his latest book ‘the Medemer State’ has acknowledged this negative fact. He has pledged that within the next ten years the situation will definitely change. He wrote that only with hard work, coupled with a well-defined and crafted plan as well as a feasible vision can positive results be achieved. He stated that he is confident that there will be good results because there are now hundreds of football fields constructed where youths can have the opportunity to play freely. With good and capable coaches training these youths beginning from their childhood, the situation could very well change and Ethiopian football will produce among the strongest teams in the international arena.
These new developments have filled the hearts of Ethiopian football fans with hope and warmth because finally they would reserve satisfaction from the exploits of their national team. In conclusion, Ethiopia has already asked the Confederation of African Football to be given the opportunity to host the 2029 African Cup of Nations and it seems that it could do it because the required facilities are fast approaching completion and will be ready for the tournament. This will be the right opportunity for Ethiopian football fans to enjoy seeing their national team to excel at the international arena. This would also be another occasion for the country to shine in the international scene with all its benefits in terms of image building and acquiring some fame even in the football world.
