By FRANCIS MAYIK, AND TRANSLATED BY AJAK MAKOR
A healthy heated debate ensued among football commentators and lovers following the admission of South Sudan to the Confederation of the African Football (CAF) as well as the Federation of the International Football Association (Fifa) after the independence from Sudan on July 9, 2011.
The debate has been about the appropriate sobriquet or nickname for the national football team, especially after their first international match against the Cranes of Uganda on July 10, 2012. Although the match ended in a 2-2 draw, the South Sudanese fans treated the outcome a victory, given the Cranes’ long history. South Sudan were ranked by Fifa at position 199.
The heated discussion, especially on Facebook and other social media platforms reflected the growing attachment of the general populace to their national team, an indicator of patriotism and national pride and a unifying tool against religious or ethnic affiliations.
Nicknames for national football teams are often derived from the color of their jersey, a country’s flag, or an animal considered a national treasure. Such names often substitute the official ones, more like stage names or pseudonyms commonly used to express affection, amusement or a character trait.
Most of these sobriquets are intellectual, political or cultural symbols that reflect particular heritage of each country. For instance, the Ghanaian national team are known as the Black Stars, which is the national insignia found in the middle of the national flag of red, yellow and green strips. These are the basic colors of the pan–African movement, rooted in the Negritude ideology that calls for pride in black and a combat against inferiority complexes.
These early Negritude ideas evolved later and were transformed into the pan–African Movement, which was put into action as the Organization of the African Unity (OAU), the precursor of the African Union (AU).
The black renaissance movement was founded by some African students based in London and Paris in late 1930s and early 1940s. They had decided to express their ideas through an intellectual and cultural publication known as The Black Star, for which Kwame Nkrumah was one of the editors. Nkrumah later became Ghana’s first president after independence from Britain in 1957. Later on, he contributed to the founding of the OAU.
Argentina’s national football team are the Tango, a famous Argentinian dance. The Brazilians are known for the Samba, another folk dance similar to the ripples of the great Amazon River. Countries sometimes give animal names to their national football teams, which are of cultural connotations or popular myths. The Ivory Coast national team are known as theElephants,because the elephant is their national symbol, with the tusks having cultural roots. The tusks are also used to make accessories and decorations for men and women. Furthermore, the elephant is a strong animal that symbolizes the strength and resilience of the Ivorian team.
The Cameroonians are known as the Indomitable Lions, while Nigerians are the Super Eagles, because the eagle is their national symbol and the Nigerian flag has white and green colors.
Senegalese are known as theLions of Teranga, Mali, the Eagles, Burkina Faso, the Stallions, Tunisia, the Eagles of Carthage, Algeria, the Desert Foxes or the Desert Warriors, Morocco, the Lions of the Atlas Mountain and Egypt, the Pharaohs. Botswana are known as the Zebras, Libya, the Mediterranean Knights, Sudan, the Secretary Bird or Saqr El-Jedian in Arabic, South Africa the Bafana Bafana, which means the boys in the Zulu language, and Zambia, the Chipolopolo – or Copper bullets.
These nicknames were not given haphazardly or arbitrarily. They have intellectual, political and cultural connotations that reflect the heritage of the various countries. It is a common knowledge that through sports, countries strive to achieve a better reputation and fame. It is considered part of a popular diplomacy, because it bridges the social and cultural gaps between peoples.
Without football, as Brazil’s President Inacio Lula da Silva said, “The world would not have known Brazil.”
The same observation was noted by the revolutionary leader, Fidel Castro, who was proud of the achievements of the Cuban sprinters in the Olympic Games, despite the economic sanctions and the blockade imposed on his country by the Western states.
Liberian football legend George Weah, remains the only African player to have won the Best World Player award in 1995, despite the fact that his country was suffering from a civil war. Weah managed to spread joy and pride all over Liberia during illustrious career.
Weah generously supported the Liberian Football Federation, paying the expenses of the national team. That was why the Liberian government and the people erected his statue in Monrovia; to honor his patriotism.
Memories are clear of when Alassane Ouattara was elected the President of Ivory Coast after a long dispute with his predecessor Laurent Gbagbo who refused to hand over power. In his endeavor to bring a durable peace, Ouattara formed a national reconciliation committee to heal the ethnic and the religious divisions. A Muslim from the north, Ouattara appointed the Ivorian super star and captain of the team, Didier Drogba, as a leading member of the committee, in recognition of his position in the hearts of the Ivorians.
Some African football players have gained more prestige and fame than some of their presidents. For instance; who among us does not know Nwankwo Kanu, Samuel Eto’o, Abedi Pele, Jay Okocha, Patrick Mboma, Rigobert Song, Mohammed Aboutrika or Roger Milla of Cameroon, with his distinctive goal celebration jig? Indeed, many players deserve to be role models in the continent and the world.
South Sudan is rich with intellectual, political and cultural symbols that reflect the heritage of the country. I propose that the Bright Stars should be the name of our national football. The bright star in our national flag represents the vision and guiding principles that constitute hope. The star’s yellow color represents the nucleus of South Sudan and its renaissance, has a long history that goes back to the liberation struggle by the SPLA against the successive regimes in Khartoum.
One of the most famous military operations of the SPLA was the Bright Star Campaign (BSC), which was staged in three phases in 1988, 1990 and 1992, during which most of the Southern Sudanese territories were liberated. The star decorates our national flag which we stand-up for with pride when we sing the national anthem. Some call it “the Golden Star” for its yellow color. This nickname elevates our star in our hearts and we have brightened up since the revolution on May 16, 1983.
Finally, our star brightened in the sky after independence and will be bright forever. Our dream is that we will be reading some headlines about our national team such as the followings;
– The Bright Stars shining in the sky of Africa.
– The Bright Stars’ Juma Jennaro joins top European club.
– The Bright Stars’ Richard Justin lifts trophy against the Zebras of Botswana
Let us talk about the team’s nickname because it represents our country and should motivate and elevate our feelings and inspire our players on the pitch.
The author, Francis Mayik, is a South Sudanese journalist based in Juba. He can be reached at francismayik@gmail.com. This article was first published in Almasier Arabic daily newspaper on Friday, July 27, 2012.
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