"No Regrets" in the Ivory Coast | A Journey of the First Football School in Abidjan

Welcome to Episode 16 of the Because Football Podcast! Our guests are Marc Bruneau and Junior Soulama, co-founders of the Étoiles Naissantes Academy, or "Rising Stars Academy" of Abidjan, Ivory Coast / Cote d'Ivoire. Marc, originally from Bordeaux, France, and Junior, a native of Abidjan, met through a mutual friend more than a decade ago. Both had experiences playing professional and amateur football and once their careers ended on the pitch, decided to create a new vision together. Their vision, the Étoiles Naissantes Academy, will be the first of its kind in the Ivory Coast, a hybrid football-educational institution that will develop players on and off the pitch. The traditional model in Cote d'Ivoire is to simply develop professional footballers, and there is no shortage of talent. However, aspiring players often sacrifice their education and life skill development in the pursuit of glory in a risky and often short-lived career on the pitch. And once that career ends, players are often left jobless, penniless, and depressed to find themselves in a disadvantaged position. Marc and Junior are setting out to change that, and offer educational opportunities for players that will set them up for a lifetime of success off the pitch, as well as on it. This is the first bilingual episode of the Because Football, as Marc interprets his partner Junior's French for our Anglophone audience. My apologies to our French speaking listeners, as I've shortened Junior's original responses in French, but have left Marc's interpretations for our mostly English speaking audience. (Je vous demande pardon. Peut-être qu'à l'avenir nous aurons une version française du podcast. Mais aujourd’hui n’est pas ce jour-là !) While the academy's dream is just beginning, Marc and Junior's path during the past two years has still taught them alot about what they wish to achieve. It is a wonderful vision that will certainly have a positive ripple effect in Ivorian football and society. We wish them the greatest success! You can find more about co-founders Marc Bruneau and Junior Soulama and the Etoile Naissantes Academy here: Marc Bruneau LinkedIn Junior Soulama LinkedIn Etoile Naissantes Academy LinkedIn Find out more about our Transform Soccer programs here: Website Instagram LinkedIn