How can a game bring people together? Is football just a game?
Football can unite people, give them an identity and help them to make friends. In West African countries like Mali, as in the UK, football is a national obsession. Many West African footballers play on British and European teams.
Young people from Bamako and Brighton worked with Brighton Museum to organise football tournaments, collect objects and create a film exploring what football means to them.
This project was undertaken in partnership with Albion in the Community and Coaching for Hope.
Young leaders on the Coaching for Hope programme in Bamako, March 2011
-
Mali’s capital city Bamako is the fastest growing city in Africa.
-
More than 40 different languages are spoken in Mali.
-
One of the world’s greatest collections of ancient manuscripts can be found in the ancient city of Timbuktu.
-
Around 10% of Mali’s population are nomads living on the edge of the Sahara desert.
- Mali was once one of the richest countries in the world because of salt, gold and its position on the cross-Sahara trade routes. Now it is one of the poorest.
Young people from Brighton & Hove on location at the Amex Stadium, August 2011
A film made by young people in Brighton & Hove exploring the global importance of football
Children in Bamako making a football from gathered materials
Behind the scenes on the making of Worlds Apart
Young people from Bamako and Brighton talk about their football heroes
Meet the Professionals
Extracts from interviews with Brighton & Hove Albion players and staff filmed in summer 2011
What does football mean to you? »