2026-09-18, 09:59 AM - Word count:
I have arrived in Stockholm this week, as part of the SSL Academy system. Philippe has stayed behind in France, and will try to return to Banfora soon. I have told him I will send money for the youth team, and for his family as a thank you. He is the reason I have come this far, and I owe him more than I could ever hope to repay. But I will try.
My mother was so pleased for me when I called, I could hear her smile through the telephone. Pierre has already asked if he can come to stay with me, and Djibril tells me he has started playing football. I had to tell him no, because I do not know how long I will be in Stockholm, with the draft approaching.
The draft is a strange custom. Every team takes turns to select a player, like when you pick teams on the playground. This way the best and richest teams do not get to keep all the best players, I suppose. But it is strange. If this was a thing in Burkina Faso, perhaps I would have had a chance at playing for a bigger team sooner. It is hard to know. Perhaps this should be the way in every country, though. It is a way to fairly distribute talent and opportunity, after all.
My mother was so pleased for me when I called, I could hear her smile through the telephone. Pierre has already asked if he can come to stay with me, and Djibril tells me he has started playing football. I had to tell him no, because I do not know how long I will be in Stockholm, with the draft approaching.
The draft is a strange custom. Every team takes turns to select a player, like when you pick teams on the playground. This way the best and richest teams do not get to keep all the best players, I suppose. But it is strange. If this was a thing in Burkina Faso, perhaps I would have had a chance at playing for a bigger team sooner. It is hard to know. Perhaps this should be the way in every country, though. It is a way to fairly distribute talent and opportunity, after all.
