Benin’s stellar performance at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), marked by a historic quarter-final qualification is highly valued by Beninese.
If some football fans attribute this deed to the virtuosity and aggressiveness of Stephane Sessegnon’s team, others see the power of mystics at work from the voodoo gods to whom a large portion of Beninese turn on any occasion.
While waiting for the quarter-final match against Senegal scheduled for Cairo later on Wednesday, the controversy over possible mystical practices in favor of the Squirrels (name of Benin’s national squad) has been raging on social media, since an unlikely victory over Morocco in the first knockout round of the Africa Cup of Nations.
Since then, there has been no let up in the debate, fed by avid internet users who draw their inspiration partly from the rumor circulated by Guinea-Bissau players during the tournament.
According to those players, Beninese fans had, ahead of a group match, marched into the team’s hotel, flashing statuettes of twins in their faces.
According to the Djurtus (Guinea-Bissau’s team), this practice is thought to have helped the Squirrels to neutralize their opponents, as the match ended in a goalless tie.
Yet in Benin, tradition teaches that twin statuettes are a source of happiness, so what if they are displayed in front of an opponent?
Proponents of the mystical hypothesis also make reference to very frequent practices in national football.
There are plenty of examples, and many practitioners have revealed that they have resorted to mysticism to enhance their performance on the pitch or facilitate their team to win.
Zamba Raoul, a former footballer turned coach, says that before playing a match, his father used to take him to a fetish priest who had the ability to make a player score the number of goals he wanted.
According to him, his priest also had the power to make amulets called “goal-lock” that guarantee a clean sheet to any goalkeeper wearing it.
Sometimes an entire team is required to follow the witch doctor’s recommendations to avoid defeat.
Thus, on February 3, during the 14th day of the national championship, “Buffalo du Borgou” team were away to “Dynamo d’Abomey.”
They had to scale the stadium wall, instead of going through the official gate.
The result of this curious behavior, which spared them from stepping on the potions buried under the team’s passageway, was a goalless match.
Asked about these mystical practices, Beaugard Koukpaki, a History of Minds Ph D holder, points out that the players no longer explain their performance by their ability to surpass themselves.
He adds: “There is a parameter, which is that of psychological preparation. And among this category, there are behaviors that escape the analysis of unsuspecting observers. This is the case of pre-competitive rituals and other magical or esoteric practices.”
This explains why in many football clubs in Benin, individual or collective practices are adopted, by appealing to either a magician or a priest, Koukpaki explains.
For her part, Sabine Loumedjinon, a sports journalist, is far from convinced about the ability of mysticism to influence the outcome of a match.
“If occult practices are the answer, why Africa, which is the champion in this tendency, has never won the World Cup?” she asks sarcastically.
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