Twice starred in this competition that it hosts, Côte d’Ivoire does not however have as much prestige in terms of street cleanliness or air quality. Its economic capital, a dumping ground for wild and industrial waste, has everything of a city to clean up before welcoming the guests of the 34th African Cup of Nations.
In a street in Adjamé, Abidjan © Yves-Landry Kouamé
As at each CAN, while some are worried about the quality of the reception facilities, others are making predictions about the level of the national team, given the latest performance of the elephants. But even beyond the infrastructures and future sports performances, what can also be worrying is the subject of insalubrity, in the heart of the city which is home to the largest stadium in the country, in this case the Ebimpé Olympic stadium. This old problem of insalubrity has often come up in the musical compositions of Ivorian artists since the end of the 1990s.
“Save us oh, we can’t breathe”: mythical chorus of a song by the former zouglou group Les Salopards, titled “Long live the mayor”
Clean up Abidjan: a real emergency before the hospitality CAN
First host city of the African Hospitality Cup, Abidjan, the pearl of the lagoonsis far from appearing on the list of clean cities.
Over the years, due to the accumulation of litter in the streets and urban management overtaken by urban development, exposure to different types of pollution has reached new heights. Are we going to welcome our guests from Can 2023 under these conditions?
On the edge of the Ebrié lagoon in Abidjan, Cocody-Blokhauss ©Yves-Landry Kouamé
This is also where the difference can be made with regard to the hosting of this continental competition. The current picture shows a Lagune Ebrié which has lost its luster, the streets of Adjamé strewn with waste of all kinds, factories and transport which daily release pollutants into the atmosphere.
Abidjan is one of those cities strongly affected by pollution in West Africa where the economic cost of plastic pollution fluctuates between $10,000 to $33,000 per ton.
Read also: Cartoon on 20 years of environmental damage
It is the city where the inhabitants, in particular those of certain districts, live with daily life with the risk of pollution. Pollution of Ivorian waters, air pollution, 17 deaths and a hundred thousand poisonings, this is, for example, the direct result of the dumping of 300-600 tons of oil waste off the coast of Abidjan on August 19, 2006. This is the scandal du Probo Koala or l’affaire Trafigura, one of the most serious attacks on the environment in Côte d’Ivoire. Even today, the effects are there.
Read also: Sub-Saharan Africa and the waste puzzle
Also in Abidjan, the inhabitants of certain municipalities such as Treichville pay the costs of industrial activities on a daily basis. Daily inhalation of rejected dust by industrial activity worsen living conditions.
In the streets of Adjamé in Abidjan ©Yves-Landry Kouamé
So between the smells and the landscape of insalubrity at every street corner, industrial waste and windows constantly covered in dust, you have to know where you are pointing your nose at CAN 2023. Another important point: the competition will certainly add its share of pollution.
Preventing and managing supporter waste during the AFCON
The tall sports competition are known for their negative impacts on the environment. This is a dimension which today needs to be anticipated in the organization and communication around high-level competitions.
For the moment, no communication campaign around CAN 2023 is seriously considering it.
However, if no measures are taken in this direction, if no ecological dimension is displayed at CAN 2023, if the supporters do not adopt eco-citizen gestures, the stadiums and their surroundings will become waste dumps.
It’s not too late to do well. Knowing that the national waste management agency is already struggling to manage the 280 tons daily plastic waste in Abidjan, what about the waste that will be generated by football fans? Indeed, Abidjan is also the city whose waste management remains a real headache for the local authorities. Several waste management systems have failed to ensure the collection and treatment of the latter, in the face of galloping urbanization, until the establishment of l’Anaged in 2017.
In addition, will we or can we dream of observing local supporters or other African countries picking up waste in the stadiums after each match as during the World Cup in Qatar or Russia? The Japanese supporters acquired a exceptional reputation for good citizenship in the matter.
In 2018, despite a defeat (3-2) against Belgium, Japanese fans made headlines by staying until the end to clean the stadium. Unlike others who are quick to throw bottles on the field to express their annoyance, the Japanese supporters were able to keep their lucidity in order to carry out eco-citizen gestures: they were filmed picking up trash produced during the game. This way of doing things was repeated in Qatar in 2022, after the Qatar-Ecuador opening match.
Like a good wave that spreads, the French did the same after their victory (2-1) against Denmark. The Senegalese fans also did the same after the game against Qatar. This is also the beauty of football which is a powerful channel for conveying important messages.
🎥 When Senegalese fans take inspiration from the Japanese and clean the stadium at the end of the match against Qatar 🙏🏿🇸🇳 pic.twitter.com/e6bGrX1MHU
— Football Club Stadiums (@StadesC) November 25, 2022
So, are we going to witness similar scenes during the most important African sports competition? Hope is allowed!
For the celebration of African football to be beautiful
This is not to harm the organizing country of the 34th football festival African, than to highlight the insalubrity of the showcase of the country, especially a few months before the event. Quite the contrary.
The slogan “Abidjan is the sweetest in the world” is based on the traditional warmth of the Ivorians, our humor, our social openness, our gastronomy, our cultural mix, so many assets recognized worldwide. The authorities in charge of the organization ensure that the Ivory Coast is ready to host the competition. The news is also punctuated by the recruitment of 10,000 volunteers in order to involve young people, strengthen management teams and guide sports tourists so as to demonstrate Ivorian hospitality. But what is hospitality in a house full of trash?
Côte d’Ivoire has everything (or almost) to produce beautiful shows, good games like in 2015 while making the stay of each visitor unforgettable during this AFCON.
1965, 1968, 1970, 1974, 1980, 1984 (host), 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992 (🏆), 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015 (🏆), 2017, 2019, 2022, 2023 (🆕️).
The CIV will play its 25th African Cup of Nations next year. Only Egypt does better. 🇨🇮🐘 pic.twitter.com/oYvuqARaVV
— Séléphanto Football 🇨🇮🐘 (@Selephanto) July 19, 2023
The main host cities of Abidjan, Yamoussoukro (political capital, seat of the largest basilica in the world), Bouaké, Korhogo (home to an important art museum) and San-pedro (first cocoa port in the world), are full of tourist sites worthy of the event.
There is also talk of the country of Didier Drogba and Yaya Touré, of a football nation which will soon total 25 participations in the African Cup (even if the ratio of participations/finals won leans more in favor of Egypt). However, for the celebration of African football to be beautiful in Côte d’Ivoire, it is important not to welcome our guests with wild garbage cans strewing the streets and the edges of waterways.
🚨 OFFICIAL: The 6 stadiums for CAN 2024! 🇨🇮🏟️
Ebimpé Olympic Stadium – 60K
Felix Houphouet-Boigny – 40K
Peace Stadium – 40K
Korhogo Stadium – 20K
San Pedro Stadium – 20K
Yamoussoukro Stadium – 20K pic.twitter.com/1g600qdw2N— 🏆 Africa Foot News (@ActuFootAfrique) July 15, 2023
For the celebration of African football to be beautiful in Côte d’Ivoire, and not to add more pollution, it is urgent to make our streets look great, to involve all the actors involved in waste management, to infuse some eco-gestures to the inhabitants and to place the stay of football lovers under the seal of civic-mindedness and eco-citizenship.
It is important to combine business with pleasure by inviting all football lovers to invest in the cleanliness of the premises. Young people volunteers can be trained in this direction and communications can bear the seal of zero-waste in the stadiums. The success of this AFCON depends on it.
Let’s go for the eco-citizen hospitality CAN!