A group of 34 adolescents who had been promised international
football careers in Europe have been assisted by IOM and UNICEF to
return to their homes to Abidjan.

The boys, whose parents were tricked into paying up to CFA
300,000 (USD 600) to a rogue agent who promised he would place them
in European football clubs, were kept for the past three months
against their will in a villa in the Southern Malian town of
Sikasso.

Their living conditions were rough with the boys sleeping on the
floor in one room and being given very little food. The boys, aged
between 16 and 18 were apparently smuggled into Mali in late
December and were recently rescued by the Malian police. The agent
and the president of the football club they belonged to in
Yopougon, an impoverished, sprawling district west of Abidjan, were
apprehended and currently face criminal charges. 

The boys were then taken care of by UNICEF and "Mali Enjeu", a
local NGO, before their return was organised by IOM and UNICEF.

Some of the boys said they were mesmerized by European football
games they watched on television and were desperate to play with
professional players so as to earn money and help their families
back home.

 

"Their dreams have been shattered," says IOM's Vivianne Van Hoeck,
who accompanied the group from Sikasso to Abidjan. "The boys are
acutely aware that they were tricked into a situation which would
have led to various forms of exploitation. We hope this will
dissuade families of talented young football players from accepting
bogus offers from rogue agents."

IOM is now working with the Ivorian government, UNICEF and local
NGOs to ensure the boys get the reintegration and psychological
support they need and to increase awareness among the general
public of the dangers of entrusting talented young footballers to
unscrupulous agents.

An increasing number of young Africans are reportedly lured to
Europe with promises of wealth and fame, only to find themselves
without papers, money or contracts in exploitative situations.

 

For more information, please contact:

Vivianne Van Hoeck

IOM Dakar

Tel +221 450 26 81

E-mail: "mailto:vvanhoeck@iom.int">vvanhoeck@iom.int