Football (Soccer) in Dialakoroba!

Football, commonly known as soccer to America, started here in Mali during the early 20th century. The first organized leagues came didn't come about until the late 1930's. Today Mali has a national league that travels and competes at the international level and is part of various football clubs, associations and competes for World and African Cups. But those are the tops players in our country! But the rest of us seem to enjoy the game just as much. Football is the most popular sport played in Mali. Most children in our town, are often found playing in large groups (all of our children in the entire village... anywhere from elementary to late teens) all playing together with a make shift ball made of rag pieces. We do, however, have a small town league that the young men here put together. A youth journalist crew went out to one of their games to see them in action. One player testified that the game has created a positive environment for young adults to develop important social skills and allows for networking with other towns in terms of work, jobs, education and friends.