The Messi of Bangui – Football for future | DW Documentary

My name is Gracia Messie. Messie is my middle name. My last name is Bale. I really like football. My dream is to wear the national jersey. To play for my country. It’s not my fault my mother named me after a football player. I’m Messi from Bangui. Hello! Gracia, we’re waiting for you. I’m coming. Where are you going? To play football. It just rained. You can’t play football today. Get out of here! Don’t you have a home? Hey, you! Watch out! No football today! What’s with all this mud? Want me to carry you? Sita and Mon-désir are my friends from the neighbourhood. We grew up together. We play football together. Some boys don’t like it when there are girls around. But with my friends, I share a lot of things. When I dribble past the boys, everyone laughs at them. They get embarrassed. It’s fun. I’ll wash up first. I’ll be here all day! Look at that haircut. That’s nice. That one looks kinda like you. Look! I want that haircut. Exactly the same. Can you do it? Are there any more after him? Yes, those two. That’s a girl. Not a boy? Look closely. Why don’t you go to a women’s salon? It’s my choice. Go get your hair done in a women’s place. This is a men’s salon. Look at the models on the wall! She’s a football player. She can do what she wants. Do you train often? Of course. Whereabouts? My training doesn’t concern you. I have nothing to prove to you. Give him a quick haircut then. We need to find a way to repair it. Try cutting this entire section. I’ll sew it back up. Make it look like this one. He put a lining in it. I’ll give you 200 francs. Where are you going? To play football. Where? Over by Boy-Rabe. What about your exams? You need to study. Not play football. Go and study. Fetch your school book. Since it’s raining, you might as well study. Miss Bertin, Doriane. And Miss Feyi, Vanessa. What’s your name? Bale. I play for FC Abeilles in the 4th arrondissement. It’s a good club. We have a lot of fans. I play left wing at the moment. We’re second in the league, this season. Stay over there! You too, get out! You, Go over there! Elisa! All pupils must wear their uniforms. Where’s yours? You know there are rules against this kind of behaviour. You’re wearing trousers and you have this weird thing here! And you decide to still come to school? Go home immediately. Go home, I don’t want to see you here. The skirt suits you. Shut up. I don’t like dressing as a woman. Stop it. I’m taking it off. Look, it’s too wide. It suits you. I’m not a Muslim. Only they dress like this. No, I’m taking it off. You’re wearing it. Skirts only for Muslims? Yes, and I don’t like skirts. Stop being so stubborn! We want to win the championship and I want to be the top scorer. As you’re students, give me 7,000 francs. I don’t have 7,000. How much do you have? 5,000? OK I’ll help you. To be champions… Are you listening? Yes. Give this to the goalkeeper before every match. She must put it in her gloves or in her socks to avoid goals. Understand? You’re the goal scorer. I’ll wrap this up for you. Rub it on your body every morning. On game days, put it on the captain first, then on the others… Good luck! OK, that’s good. Tackle her! Stay with it! This is the 7th day of the championship. How many points do we have? Eleven. Eleven points. We’re about to play the first match of the day. To move up in the rankings, we have to avoid a draw. A win will earn us 14 points. Gracia thinks she’s Ronaldinho. Do you think the team can’t play without you? That’s what’s in your head. You’re wrong. You can’t play 1 against 11. Dribbling past 11 people is impossible. Football is a team game. Your selfish play is hurting the others. That’s not how we play. You have skills and you play very well, you’re playing like a parasite. You’re not there yet. They’re first and we’re second? Yes. Let’s see who scored. Merline is the top goal scorer? Yes. And Olive… Second. I told you he was a fake witch doctor. He conned us! I told you. Let me throw this away. I told you not to do it. You wouldn’t listen. Never mind, it had to happen… Stop that, Gracia! Stop that and wash the dishes. Again? Stop that! Go and wash the dishes. You do this every morning. Why do I have to do it? Who else is going to do it? Just do it! To eat, you have to work. Then I won’t eat. Nonsense. Do as I say. You complain about the chores. But you always have plenty of energy to play football! That’s different. Really? Well, afterwards, dry them and put them away indoors. Understand? Hey, you! Did you hear me? I’m only washing them. I don’t have time for the rest. I’m going out. Right… I’m late for football. We’ll see. Hello. Name? Bale. Bale what? Gracia. How did you accomplish so little? These results are terrible. You’re suspended! Really? Yes, you’re suspended! What are you doing Look. Is this normal? No, sir. Have you told your parents? No, not yet. Where’s your dad? He’s travelling. This is not good… What do you even do in this school? Are you attending your lessons? Yes, sir. Aren’t you always playing football over there? Yes, sir. What are you going to do? Playing’s good, in the evening. But you must study. How come you’re below average in French? And history’s not hard, how can you fail? You think that’s normal? It’s football that stopped me from studying. Pardon? It’s football that stopped me from studying Football! Football! Now look at your marks! Do you realise? Do you understand what they wrote? Yes, I do. I failed. You failed. What’s more, you’re suspended. I don’t know how I’m going to tell my mother. Go home and give it to your mother. Whatever she says, you’ll have to suffer the consequences. Tomorrow’s training, so prepare yourself and rest. Forget your problems, and concentrate on football. Tomorrow’s training is very important. Don’t be afraid, everything will be fine. Don’t worry. And thanks for the advice. See you at training tomorrow. Where have you been? Answer me! There’s no future in football. Always football, Why do you… Stop yelling at me! You won’t succeed in football. Every day it’s football, football… Get out and go back where you came from! Go and sleep at the stadium! Go! Fine, I’m going! That’s it, go, yes! Well done! We can’t breathe here when you talk about football! Go! You and your friends aren’t welcome here! Get a chair and sit down. Don’t stay standing. There’s nothing left to eat, we can’t give you anything. If it were me, they’d already have changed their minds. I’m a gangster. Don’t bother crossing me. I live off football money. My father helps me out when I need money. Waiting till the end of the month is hard. Football pays me more than my father gives me. I’m very stubborn. No-one can stop me from playing football. Football! I love football. I hate when she treats me like this. Whatever your mother says, don’t answer her. The next day, do the same thing. She’ll get tired and leave you alone. Neymar’s arrogant. I prefer Messi, my namesake. He’s Messi from Paris and I’m Messi from Bangui. Watch it, Messi from Bangui! You’re right, you’re like Neymar. He’s my star. I’m a good looking girl, aren’t I? Gracia Messie Bale. We all want to be selected. We want to play for the national team. Like this! Do five push ups to check your heart rate. Everything is fine. There’s nothing to stop you from playing. You’re fit to compete. We’re celebrating our victory. Guinea forfeited the match. We were supposed to play Guinea, but the team withdrew. Their team won’t be playing. We’re celebrating. Qualifying is what matters. We were ready to play. But our opponents decided they weren’t, despite being Equatorial Guinea. We’re through to the next round. The next round is Nigeria. Nigeria is very strong in football, and in women’s football. If you want to play in the big league, that’s what happens. You will have to face strong teams. Train as much as you can, at the Atemy field. Do 30 minutes of jogging a day. Get yourself fit again. Don’t give up. You’ll have one week’s rest. You need to work. Welcome back! You’ve lost weight. Were you ill? I was worried. Why? You could have visited. I couldn’t. It’s important to study. You can improve yourself. You named me Messi. What did you expect? You should have called me Sammy Mackfoy. Too bad. With this name, I had to be a football player! I’m leaving school. I prefer football to school. We’re in Cameroon. It’s my first journey. I’ve never seen the sea. Thanks to football, I can visit other countries. Tell the players to come here for a massage. We won’t do it in the changing room. There you go. I’ll be back tonight after the party. Lord Jesus. Give them strength to get there. When the ball’s on our side, the opponents must all be covered. You must cover your opponents. If you do that, they won’t be able to impose their game on us. But if they’re not covered, it’s dangerous. We must stop them from passing. Do you understand? Why did the coach do that? I wasn’t chosen to play. The girls who played aren’t better than me. We travelled all the way here, just to lose… Why? The federation paid us a bonus, and I’ve decided to share it with you. You’ve never taken football seriously and always criticised me. I’m giving you what I’ve earned from football. It’s normal to criticise. You love criticising. Are you satisfied? I was just giving her advice. Careful! Just because she’s got some money, I don’t stop being her mother. Listen! Football is her choice. God bless you! I’m going to buy Jordans and trousers. I’ll dress like a star. God bless you! Leave me alone. May God bless you and help you earn more. I’m proud of myself. Football has helped me reconcile with my mother. I’ve developed my character. Football will be my road to success.

18-year-old Gracia has one great passion: playing soccer. But in the Central African Republic, it’s not considered proper for women to play this sport. Gracia encounters a lot of resistance and not just from her mother.

Her mother wants her to wear dresses and not pants. And Gracia should behave as young women in the Central African Republic are expected to. They have many arguments. But Gracia also has a hard time at school. Because she doesn’t want to wear a dress and sometimes styles her hair quite unconventionally, she’s sometimes sent out of lessons. Because she plays so much soccer, her grades are so bad that she is finally expelled from school. But Gracia is determined to be a successful soccer player at any cost. One day, she dreams of being recruited for the national team. She even enlists the help of a magician as she fights her way to the top.

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24 comments
  1. They wana put trans in sports why not draft her in to soccer league o don't know her skill level but if I had the money to put up I would invest in her

  2. All she needs is understanding love, patients and guidance from her family especially the mum and it turn around her attitude to enable her Excel both in her studies and football but also she should be willing to put in the work in herself.

  3. 32:16 education is equally important thats where you get your knowledge, skill and how to solve problems.have thought of God forbid you get an injury that will make you not play football again what do expect to do if you don't have any education qualifications.

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