Some of Africa’s most famous football names, including former African Player of the Year winners, joined their Moroccan counterparts in an exhibition match organized in honor of those who lost their lives in the tragic September 2023 earthquake.
The earthquake heavily affected areas around Marrakesh – the venue that will host the CAF Awards on Monday night.
On Sunday afternoon, the Legends were joined by more than 100 children from and around Marrakesh and several football officials.
The African legends were El Hadji Diouf (Senegal), Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon), Manuel Jose Luis Bucuane (Mozambique), Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo), Geremi Njitap (Cameroon), Pascal Feindouno (Guinea), Herita Illunga (LD Congo). ), Charles Kabore (Burkina Faso), Thomas Nkono (Cameroon) and Abedi Pele (Ghana).
Emmanuel Amunike (Nigeria), Ahmed Hassan (Egypt), Siaka Tiene (Côte d’Ivoire), Jonathan Pitroipa (Burkina Faso), Kalusha Bwalya (Zambia), Khalilou Fadiga (Senegal), Patrick M’Boma (Cameroon), Titi Camara (Guinea), Salomon Kalou (Ivory Coast), Siphiwe Tshabalala (South Africa), Anthony Baffoe (Ghana) and Mustapha El Haddaoui (Morocco) were part of this memorable tribute game.
Notable female stars who have performed include Gaelle Enganamouit (Cameroon), Alberta Sackey (Ghana), Clementine Toure (Côte d’Ivoire), Onome Ebi (Nigeria) and Perpetua Nkwocha (Nigeria).
Two-time African Player of the Year – 2001 and 2002 and Senegal icon El Hadji Diouf said: “We are an Africa and when a country is hurting, we come together to show support. We need to be together especially in times like this. We want to show the families that we stand by them and that we will never forget what happened. We are truly sorry for their loss.”
Former Togo captain Emmanuel Sheyi Adebayor added: “It is very important that we are here for the people of Marrakesh and for them to know that we are with them in this.”
“Seeing the young children of Marrakesh in the stands at the stadium meant so much to us as we really want to show them that we stand with them. When I was young, my parents supported me in education and in every possible way, so I felt their pain and hope that they left, inspired that we are with them.”
2015 African Women’s Player of the Year Gaelle Enganamouit of Cameroon added her voice to her colleagues and said: “It is an honor to give this love from our hearts. They need to know they are not alone. Football is very powerful. It’s a platform that we can use to get that very powerful message across.”
Selfies at the end of the game with the little fans and above all an air of hope and trust from old friends, enemies and youngsters in general.
Cameroon icon Patrick Boma gave a moving tribute at the end of the game saying: “This is about solidarity. It was really a difficult time. It is important to show that we are with them in spirit. Football is a tool we can use to show support and solidarity and with these star players in town for a few days, the message is clear. We are with the people of Marrakesh.”
Marrakesh has since made huge progress on the journey to recovery and with the 2023 CAF Awards in the city, this is an important opportunity to further demonstrate why football is the beautiful game and why football is more than just a game.