The inclusion marks the end of a successful month for Mission 89, following fruitful round table discussions in conjunction with Istanbul Bilgi University and SOAS University of London.

The “Human Trafficking of Athletes” section of the document (p.26-27) outlines the mechanisms through which athletes are misled, as well as the dangers faced by victims worldwide. Trafficking in European football is given particular focus through a case study of FIFA’s player recruitment regulation, and most importantly, the segment concludes with a lengthy discussion of the meaningful changes that need to be made to address the issue. Suggestions include greater due diligence on agents, increased coordination between governmental youth services and sports services, and nationwide public awareness initiatives.

Lerina Bright, Executive Director of Mission 89 welcomes the greater exposure of trafficking in sport, saying “We at Mission 89 are continually advocating for this issue to receive greater public attention, and it is encouraging that the US State Department’s Report has acknowledged the dangers facing vulnerable athletes worldwide due to the prevalence of trafficking.”

The US State Department Trafficking in Persons Report 2020 is the “world’s most comprehensive resource of governmental anti-trafficking efforts”, and can be found here.

The post Sports Trafficking Featured in TIP for 1st Time appeared first on Mission89.

In 2009, Michael Afolabi Sodeke became a player’s agent and since then he has been involved in sports promotion and development from grassroots to the professional level. In 2018, he played a leading role in repatriating 10 football trafficking victims who were scammed and left stranded in Cape Verde by a fake agent with the promise of a trial in Europe.

He is the C. E. O of Anfield-Lane Integrated Services, which includes Anfield-Lane Soccer School and Anfield-Lane Sports Promotion. Michael founded Football Intermediaries Association of Nigeria (FIAN), an association responsible for unifying all registered intermediaries in Nigeria. FIAN has recorded some major achievement under his leadership, highlights of which include affiliation with the European Football Agent Association (EFAA) and a campaign against human trafficking through football.

We had a chat with him on his role as a football agent and his thoughts on human trafficking in the name of sports.

Questions:

1. Why did you decide to become a football agent?
2. What do you like most and least about being an agent?
3. In your opinion what are the three characteristics of a good agent?
4. What are three things that young players and their parents should be aware of before signing a contract with an agent or agency?
5. It has been reported that up to 15,000 young footballers are trafficked out of West Africa annually (Poli, 2010) on false pretenses to play professionally in Europe. What do you make of this?
6. Do football agents have a role to play in safeguarding young players from exploitation?
7. What do you make of the new agents’ regulations set by FIFA? What would you like to see changing?
8. What education could be useful to agents to do their work even better?
9. Which aspect of your work as a football agent makes you the proudest?

The post Michael Sodeke on his role as a player’s agent appeared first on Mission89.

On June 9th, Mission ‘89 and Istanbul Bilgi University, jointly hosted a virtual round table that discussed “the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and restrictions imposed on the lives of migrant footballers in Istanbul”. The round table, co-moderated by Mission ‘89 Board Member, Yann Coelenbier and Faculty Member of the Sport Management Department at the Istanbul Bilgi University, Dr. Ilknur Hacisoftaoglu, invited experts from the fields of journalism, academia and city management to collectively address the difficulties faced by migrant athletes and victims of football trafficking in Istanbul, while encouraging cooperation and action at the institutional level.

Mr. Coelenbier outlined the importance of understanding the perspectives of both athletes and relevant stakeholder institutions, while encouraging a climate of cooperation and collective action, noting that “there is no one road to migration in sports. Every athlete has different motivations – but most importantly, they want to contribute and build a better future”.

In exploring the lived experiences of Istanbul’s migrant footballers, Dr. Hacisoftaoglu, who has been studying the topic for the past year, was clear in her assessment that “we have a problem in sports, particularly in football; the scale of the industry has made it a common destination for migrant footballers around the world”.

Head of the African Community in Turkey, Julius Kugor, pointed to lack of job prospects, as well as recent regulations in the lower levels of Turkey’s football pyramid as particularly troubling developments for migrant footballers. “Two years ago the Turkish Football Federation ruled that foreigners cannot play in the 4th and 5th division, so it has become very tough for migrant players”, he said.

Bagis Erten, Journalist & Production Manager at Eurosport, was less optimistic in his outlook for migrant football players in the wake of COVID-19, pointing out that uncertain financial health in the lower divisions is likely to make the protection of migrant athletes a low priority. He was of the view that “the only hope for migrant athletes must come from civic society, as the football industry’s agenda will be too loaded to consider anything else”.

At the institutional level, however, there appears to be enthusiasm for action. According to Coordinator of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality’s Migration Unit, Simten Birsoz, they have expanded basic protection services to migrants in the city (providing nearly

8000 support packages thus far), while they continue to assess their action plan, which involves “creating harmonization opportunities between migrants and host communities and making municipal activities inclusive to migrants, including recreational sports funding”.

There was acknowledgment that those at the top of the Turkish football pyramid also have their part to play, through lobbying and public awareness campaigns. “Galatasaray are not part of the problem, but we can be part of the solution”, stated Istanbul Bilgi University Professor and Galatasary S.K. Board Member Emre Erdogan.

Mission89 Board Member Yann Coelenbier, ended the round table by emphasizing the power of cooperative discussions in tackling societal problems facing migrant athletes. “Cooperation is to create empowerment. We have clubs with resources, we have municipalities with the capacity to integrate and recognize, and we have athletes who wish to take action,” he concluded.

Media Contact:

Media@mission89.org

gizem.kulekcioglu@bilgi.edu.tr

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But wherever there are ambitions and aspirations there are also ruthless individuals ready to exploit those young dreamers. They claim to be football agents with contacts in Europe, approach kids who dream to play in Europe and ask for money from them or their family with the promise that they will arrange the documents needed and a trial at a professional club. However, when the youngster reaches the destination, if they do, the trial does not happen and, in the worst case scenario, the player is abandoned.

In other cases, the scammer keeps the money and disappears even before the journey to Europe takes place, as Daniel Saleh Iko, a 19-year-old Nigerian footballer, learnt the hard way. He has courageously decided to share his unfortunate experience with Mission 89 in this interview.

“I come from Kogi State, a central region of Nigeria, and have always wanted to become a footballer. I’ve played for local professional teams and I’m still playing and training hard as I don’t want to give up on my dream.

Not long ago, a man who claimed to have contacts in European football approached me saying that I was too good for the league where I’m playing. He added I should consider moving to a more ambitious stage. He said if I or my family had managed to put together about $ 3,500 for the expenses needed, he would provide me with some good opportunities to play professionally in Europe”

Fortunately for Daniel, soon afterwards he met trafficking survivor & Mission 89 Ambassador Matthew Edafe, who gave him some advise.  

Talking to Matthew helped me open my eyes. First of all he gave me a lot of encouragement and support. Then he made me understand the reality of that offer. He explained to me that when a real agent sees talent in a player, and if he really believes in that talent, he will be ready to invest rather than asking for money in advance because he’s confident that one day, when a proper contract is signed, he will get his own commission from the club. On the contrary, somebody bragging to have contacts at high level  in professional football and wanting to be given money even before a contract or a trial in Europe was not to be trusted.

In this instance, Daniel managed to keep the fake agent at bay but he had been less successful on another occasion two years earlier.

I was only 17 and all I wanted to do was to have a chance, so when a man promised he’d give me a chance to play for Newcastle United, I wanted to grab it. He was also asking for $ 2,000. My family managed to borrow that amount by asking several people if they could lend us some money. The idea was that if I had been able to play in Europe I definitely would have been able to pay back the loan and also support my sister who is still studying… But unfortunately it was a scam, and, while we lost all that money, I never had the opportunity to move to England.

It was a hard blow, both financially and psychologically.

It was such a bad moment for me and my family as it made our financial situation even shakier than it already was. I was so desperate I even attempted to take my own life and even now, when I think about it, I get frustrated and end up crying. But I don’t want to give up and I am going to train as hard as I can to make it to the top.

Thanks to Daniel, for speaking up. Painful as sharing this experience may have been, we are hopeful that through this, other young aspiring footballers will learn and make informed decisions about their career in and out of football.

The post Hanging onto a footballing dream appeared first on Mission89.

The “Black Diamonds” project began in 2010 when Andrew travelled to Istanbul in Turkey and met aspiring footballers from Nigeria who has been promised trials with some of Turkey’s top teams. Andrew’s work has been published in Time, the Financial Times, the New Yorker, and the British Journal of Photography, among others.

“Black Diamonds” revealed the reality of life for African players who travelled to Turkey believing they would attend trials with famous teams like Galatasaray, Besiktas, or Fenerbahce. The truth was very different.

Read part one of the interview – Abandoned and alone: Photographer Jason Andrew reveals the lives of scammed African football players in Istanbul – by clicking here.

In part two of this interview, Jason Andrew talks about the resilience of players from Africa and how many look to the future to forget about the past.

From ‘Black Diamonds’ by Jason Andrew

It’s easy to think all the players have the same story. Can you tell us some more about them as individuals?

They all came over from Nigeria with different stories but they don’t tell anybody much about their life before. For Hakim, his passport said he was 19 years old. He has two brothers and his mother in Lagos. One of the guys said he was 16 when he came in and was put in an orphanage because he was underage. Another’s passport said he was 26 when he was actually 42. He had played professionally for 10 years in Nigeria. He had better ball skills than anyone but was a drunk. He was constantly drinking and it was the same thing when he went back to Nigeria. They really don’t want to remember where they were seven years ago, they just want to focus on where they are now.

So, where are they now and what do you think their future looks like?

In some respect, they are now economic migrants who have come to provide for their families. They are now stuck in Turkey and there is really nowhere for them to go. They aren’t going to go to Europe [as footballers]. The reality is unless they marry a European woman; or go to South East Asia; or the Middle East, they are where they are. They are going to end up in Nigeria after ten years probably.

From ‘Black Diamonds’ by Jason Andrew

What did you personally learn from the project?

Resilience. I called the project “Black Diamonds” because a black diamond is the toughest from of a diamond. These guys appeared to me as the toughest human beings I have ever encountered. They were the epitome of the work ethic my grandfather tried to instil in me as a man; the honesty and resilience where one keeps hitting the pavement over and over.

As an observer, what was a challenge for you to see?

I watched them get scammed by every one of their friends. Each one of them turned on each other the moment they could. It was depressing to see that, to see that the people they lived with and trusted did the same things that people they didn’t know did to them. It was always to get a little bit of money.

Did you find the subject inspiring or depressing?

It’s complicated. It isn’t black and white and the issue has many layers to it. Trying to dissect each of those layers is very difficult. If I talk to friends in Nigeria, they would tell me that these guys are a success and they would spend the same amount of money to go if they had the chance. If you look at the guys’ social media pages, they look very successful. But if you talk to them, they are not. Their living situations haven’t changed much from seven years ago. The apartment may be bigger and they may have a little bit of money but in essence, they are still the same guys.

As a photographer, what do you find interesting about projects like Black Diamonds?

The boys reminded me of my friends from when I was growing up and playing sports. It was about family and team and there was just a grind about these guys. There was innocence early on, humility, desperation, desire, and this look in their eyes that they were just going to do anything to make it happen. I watched that desperation turn to greed and envy and desire then I saw it go back again to humility. I think it was to do with age. I was so impressed by them and how much they dealt with that I enjoyed spending time with them and understand what they went through. All of these sacrifices they had to make resonated with me because of how much they had to deal with.

I’ve always been impressed by the African resilience and, with these boys, nothing was ever impossible; there was always a way around it. I spent two years travelling to Nigeria for work and kept up with these guys and it was nice to understand who they were and better understand their families and what drove them. It gave me more respect for them and their struggle.

From ‘Black Diamonds’ by Jason Andrew

What other projects are you working on?

I did some with a Somali-based football team that was playing in the CONIFA football tournament in Abkhazia. I then had a daughter and she took up most of my time. Since then, I have been working on a story following young women struggling with addiction in the USA. It’s been really interesting because their resilience to keep themselves and their children clean and do better for their lives has a lot of similarities with the guys in Turkey. While the women deal with addiction, the guys in Turkey were dealing with racism and bigotry. These young women are trying to get rid of the ‘addict’ stereotype and live a different life. I’ve been really interested in the resilience of human beings.

I’m going to start looking into a group of West Africans in Poland. There’s a group of a little over 100 who fell for the same scam. They are in the same predicament, trying to make it in football playing in the lowest leagues. In Nigeria, they could play professionally if they bribed somebody to get on those teams. Europe is always going to be the chance for many footballers.

To see what life is like for Nigerian players abandoned in Turkey and for more images from Jason Andrew’s Black Diamonds project click here.

Interview: Mwende Maureen for Mission 89

The post “The toughest human beings I have encountered”: Photographer Jason Andrew and the Black Diamonds project (part two) appeared first on Mission89.

In 2010, Andrew traveled to Istanbul in Turkey where he met aspiring footballers from Nigeria, players who would become the subject of his photography series Black Diamonds.

Photographs from the project revealed the reality of life for African players who had traveled to Turkey believing they would attend trials with famous teams like Galatasaray, Besiktas, or Fenerbahce. The truth was very different.

In part one of a two-part interview with Jason, the photographer explains how he met the footballers from Nigeria in Istanbul, what he learned about their journey from West Africa to Turkey, and what happens when players discover they are victims of a scam.

How did you meet the Nigerian players in Turkey?

It was a coincidence. I was in Turkey looking to do a story on the immigration issues that were happening on the Greek-Turkey border in October 2010. I was sitting in a café with a friend of mine in Istanbul and there was a slew of young West African guys constantly going by the café. I asked if there were many Africans in the area and he told me about a community called Kurtulus, a predominantly immigrant community.

I went down there and noticed a lot of these guys at a café. I went in, sat down to check my email, and began talking to this one kid. His name was Hakim. He told me he was in Turkey to play football and had been there for three months. I asked him what team he played for and he said he didn’t play for a team. He was brought over to Turkey by his coach, who he hadn’t spoken to or seen since he arrived in the country. The coach wasn’t answering his phone any more.

I came back the next day to talk to Hakim. He brought his friend Jerry and I found that there was a team of about 20 to 30 players that had been brought over from Nigeria. The coach was with them for the first seven to 10 days and then disappeared leaving them stranded in a hotel in Istanbul. They didn’t know where to go and somehow find their way down to the immigrant community in Kurtulus near Taksim Square.

With many West Africans living there, the boys felt they had found a community to plug into. There were also football pitches near there, which was great for their dream to play. They found accommodation in some single rooms above an industrial building where 25 to 50 Africans lived. They would play pick-up football games at night and try to find work during the day.

From ‘Black Diamonds’ by Jason Andrew

Was it unusual for players from Africa to be in Turkey?

Yes. At the time, there weren’t as many Africans in Turkey as there are now. There was mixed reactions from local people. They would either take pictures with them because they were exotic or they would be called by derogatory terms to make fun of them and would constantly try to beat them down. It was really difficult for them in the beginning.

It was really hard, as they were never going to be accepted. The only people who accepted them were the ones who were making money from them or those who were also being persecuted for being immigrants. The young Nigerians just basically kept to themselves. They kept to their churches that were all African, the restaurants where people were kind to them.

To see what life is like for Nigerian players abandoned in Turkey and for more images from Jason Andrew’s Black Diamonds project click here

What pathway did the players take to Turkey? What were their expectations?

They were brought over by a coach from Nigeria who told them there were two destinations that they could go to: Germany or Turkey. The truth was they were all going to Turkey because it was easiest at that time to get a 30-day sports visa. The visas allowed players to come for 30 days and try out for football clubs then go back to their original country. What the players understood that to mean was they had 30 days to come play and the teams then recruit them and then they can stay in Turkey, which was not the case.

When it finally dawned on them that they wouldn’t be picked up by any team, they had one or two choices. Either stay [undocumented] or go back home and tell their families who had they borrowed all the money from that it was a scam and nothing had happened. Some went back home but most stayed. Turkey certainly wasn’t where they wanted to be.

The players thought that Turkey was in the European Union [editor’s note: Turkey is not a member of the EU] because they played in the UEFA Champions League. The players would post on social media sites elated about “having won their first medals in Europe” because they had played in a local league. They didn’t understand that the only way for them to actually get to Europe was to cross the Greek border. At the time, things in Greece were worse than they were in Turkey so they ended up staying in Istanbul.

From ‘Black Diamonds’ by Jason Andrew

Describe the players’ lives in Turkey.

Over the five years that I was on this project, I ended up staying and living with the players when I would travel there. Their living conditions were better than what it would be in Nigeria. Having constant electricity and internet was a huge plus for them. Nonetheless, it was rough. Many of the players had children back home. The majority of them came on passports that said they were eight or 10 years younger than they actually were. They were scared constantly of the police; young gangs of boys who would cause them problems; they were scared of theft.

One day while walking walk up a street with Hakim and some boys heckling him, Hakim said to me, “In Turkey I’m nothing but a n$%&er.” In his way of thinking, back home he would be respected but in Turkey he was the bottom of their shoes.

Did you know the players’ immigration status?

All the players had overstayed their visas at the time we met. They were all illegal as they had no immigration status and were flying under the radar. Right now, they all have residency permits. In 2014, the Turkish government began offering them residency permits that cost a lot of money and the guys were able to secure them.

The police didn’t harass them unless they thought they were dealing or transporting drugs. The players kept their noses clean. They only went where they knew they could go and stayed among each other. It got better over the years but never got great.

What were the players living conditions like?

They were initially living in a cement building where they lived in apartments in groups. They then moved to a studio flat that was on the fourth floor with five people – three on the bed and two on the floor. Then they moved to different places as they began to find work. By 2015, they had all pretty much left Istanbul and were living closer to the airport, which was more affordable with nicer apartments.

Do you think the players happy with their situation?

No. Not at all.

From ‘Black Diamonds’ by Jason Andrew

Did they want to return home or move to Europe?

They couldn’t really go back home. In the case of one of the guys, his mother had borrowed close to $5,000 to send him over to Europe. He wasn’t going to go back home until he could provide for his family. He was better off in Turkey trying to make some money that he could send home as opposed to being home with nothing. A few of them started small import export businesses dealing with clothing, car spare parts and whatever else they could to try to make money. Others got work in factories when they realised football wasn’t going to happen at that time.

Did the players still expect to play professional football in the future?

Yes. They even showed up to the big Turkish teams, Besiktas and Galatasaray and told them who they were and that they were there for trials. The teams would be shocked. To this day, the players still harbour ambitions of playing football at the top level. They are right now playing in the fourth division of the amateur leagues in Turkey. Turkish rules state that foreigners can’t play in the second and third divisions but can play in the top division. Problem is, very few to none of the first division coaches will go watch fourth division matches. They are stuck in the lowest division right now. The professional Turkish teams are not picking them up, there’s just no interest.

For more information on Jason and his projects go to www.jasonandrewphotography.com

Interview: Mwende Maureen for Mission 89

The post Abandoned and alone: Photographer Jason Andrew reveals the lives of scammed African football players in Istanbul appeared first on Mission89.

Many of these teens and their families go to great lengths to find huge sums of money, in the region of thousands of dollars, to finance these trips.

Most families are made to believe that the sum they pay to “agents” is a drop in the ocean compared to what they shall soon be earning in the major European clubs. For someone living in poverty and with the belief that they cannot attain success on the African continent, this is a deal that they can rarely afford to pass up.

A New Statesman article highlights one of the reasons behind the issue of trafficking young African footballers. While most cases are of teenagers looking for their big football break in Europe, it is increasingly becoming aware that families are paying for what they believe is a sure route to Europe.

Image: Bryan Snyder/Reuters/via New Statesman

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