BEVERLY HILLS, June 14, (THEWILL) – Novelist Chimamanda Adichie has said that she once had a mild crush on a Ghanaian international and former Chelsea FC star, Michael Essien.
Adichie stated this in the introduction she wrote for a picture book, Africa ― The Future of Football, which was authored by a photographer, Pall Stefansson.
The writer and feminist stated that she developed this crush for the Ghanaian midfielder because the Ghanaian team defeated the United States at a World Cup tournament that Nigeria did not qualify for.
She emphasized that people often forget their differences while basking in the euphoria of a football game stressing that she while watching the Ghana Vs. US game with a fellow Nigerian friend, they referred to Ghana players as “our boys”.
She said: “I watched the game with my best friend, Uju, often shouting and then hugging each other when Ghana finally beat the United States.
“You know some of our boys started playing this game without shoes’, Uju said. ‘Our boys’ were, of course, the Ghanaians.
“A small consequence of that game was my developing a mild crush on the Ghanaian player, Michael Essien, as much for his looks as for his dexterity.
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“But the larger and more important consequence was my realisation that sports allowed us, black Africans, to address historical and political grievances in the most cathartic way.”
Adichie also disclosed that despite the frequent quarrels between her sister, who lived in Ilupeju, Lagos State, and her neighbor, they became temporary friends the moment the Super Eagles defeated Argentina in the finals of the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.
She said: “My sister put aside her stereotypes of her Yoruba neighbour and her neighbour put aside her stereotypes of my Igbo sister. They forgot about the flat not clean, water wasted and electricity bills unpaid. They became, for that moment, Nigerians, who had somehow contributed to the vanquishing of the world.
“There is no doubt that football nationalism is not peculiar to Nigerians and to Africans. Indeed, the very idea of national games is based on the premise of national identities.”
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