2026-10-31, 03:09 AM - Word count:
It has been a busy couple of weeks for me. First, I was drafted by the CF Catalunya organisation, and have moved to Seoul, where their minor league team is based. I am sure it will take me some time to adjust to the different culture and customs, but I am already living in a reality beyond my dreams. When I was a young boy in Banfora, I could never have imagined living in so many different places, or having a contract with a division one SSL team.
On the topic of contracts, I am still learning about how they work here. When I was younger, in France, I signed a contract with a team and that was it. I could play for the youth team if I was eligible, and the senior team if I was good enough. But both teams had the same name, and trained in the same place. The SSL approach is different. They have minor league teams instead of youth teams, which can be located in entirely different places. But the mechanics work the same. If you sign a contract with an organisation, you can play for their minor league team or their major league team.
In the coming weeks, I will make a trip back home before the new season begins. I have already sent money to my family and to Philippe. We are now planning to use some of my salary (my first contract paid me some millions of dollars, I am still not sure how people can spend so much money) to build better facilities in Banfora, and give opportunities to a lot of the children there. Who knows? Maybe there are others like me, waiting to be given an opportunity. I have contacted the famous Burkinabe architect Diébédo Francis Kéré to help design the new facilities, so they can be sustainable in future, and will not be harmful to nature. I think this is a responsible way to use my wealth. If I hire somebody to build a big concrete complex with no consideration for the local people and nature, how can I claim to be helping my people?
On the topic of contracts, I am still learning about how they work here. When I was younger, in France, I signed a contract with a team and that was it. I could play for the youth team if I was eligible, and the senior team if I was good enough. But both teams had the same name, and trained in the same place. The SSL approach is different. They have minor league teams instead of youth teams, which can be located in entirely different places. But the mechanics work the same. If you sign a contract with an organisation, you can play for their minor league team or their major league team.
In the coming weeks, I will make a trip back home before the new season begins. I have already sent money to my family and to Philippe. We are now planning to use some of my salary (my first contract paid me some millions of dollars, I am still not sure how people can spend so much money) to build better facilities in Banfora, and give opportunities to a lot of the children there. Who knows? Maybe there are others like me, waiting to be given an opportunity. I have contacted the famous Burkinabe architect Diébédo Francis Kéré to help design the new facilities, so they can be sustainable in future, and will not be harmful to nature. I think this is a responsible way to use my wealth. If I hire somebody to build a big concrete complex with no consideration for the local people and nature, how can I claim to be helping my people?
