80 NOVEMBER 2024 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL It’s a pleasant evening on Jan. 24, 2024, in Bouake, Côte d’Ivoire’s secondlargest city. Here for an investment forum, I’m enjoying being out at night and experiencing the country far from the embassy in Abidjan, where I work in the economic section. As the spouse of a first-tour officer with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, I am one of several family members advancing U.S. policy priorities in Côte d’Ivoire. Sitting in a plastic chair in the sand, I’m watching Morocco play Zambia at a maquis, one of the informal restaurants that are everywhere in Côte d’Ivoire. Many have TV screens to watch the games. They serve simple meals. You pick which protein you want— chicken or fish—and then the nice lady behind the grill prepares it especially for you. On the side she usually adds alloco, plantains dripping in oil, delicious in their own right, with a dipping sauce made from fresh chilies. Add in a cold, watery beer (or three) and an outdoor screen, and there is no better way to watch soccer. The sport was invented, or at least formalized, in England in the 1800s. One could say, however, that watching the game was perfected in Côte d’Ivoire in the 21st century. Plenty of people are out, many only half watching the game, the The Elephants Make a Comeback BY SETH LUXENBERG REFLECTIONS last one of pool play for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) soccer tournament, which Côte d’Ivoire is hosting for the second time. If Morocco wins, then Côte d’Ivoire’s national soccer team, nicknamed the Elephants, will advance to the round of 16. If it’s a tie or Zambia wins, then Côte d’Ivoire will be eliminated. Worse than eliminated, disgraced. Their 0-4 defeat to Equatorial Guinea would be a humiliating way to end the tournament. Morocco scores against Zambia just before halftime. It slowly starts dawning on more people in the crowd that if Morocco wins, Côte d’Ivoire will advance. As the second half progresses, the number of viewers increases. By the last few minutes, most at my maquis and the half-dozen other maquis on the street start focusing intensely. This night Morocco has more fans in Bouake than in Casablanca. Finally, the whistle blows, and the city erupts in celebration. Strangers high-five, motorcycles honk their horns—everyone is celebrating the win by their neighbor Morocco that keeps the Elephants in the AFCON. e To understand the importance of this win, one must know the devastation felt by Ivoirians across the country and globe after that earlier loss to Equatorial Guinea. U.S. Secretary Antony Blinken attended that game as part of his visit in January 2024. Before introducing the Secretary the day after that defeat, Ambassador Davis Ba addressed the elephant in the room: “The U.S. is Côte d’Ivoire’s partner on the good days and Seth Luxenberg is an economic associate in the Expanded Professional Associates Program (EPAP) at U.S. Embassy Abidjan. He was a Peace Corps volunteer in Mauritania and Morocco from 2008 to 2011. In January 2024, during the AFCON 2023 tournament, embassy employees in Elephant colors gather in the U.S. Embassy Abidjan atrium to celebrate Côte d’Ivoire’s soccer team. U.S. EMBASSY ABIDJAN
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