The Stade Alassane Ouattara in Ebimpe, which has been called the most advanced football arena in Africa, looks like a spaceship, one that was landed incongruously on the red earth of semi-rural Abidjan, Ivory Coast’s de-facto capital.It is not a machine-beast, lumpen or identikit, but an architectural wonder with subtleties, such as a roof that curves and swoops around its giant bowl like an ocean wave or a skateboard rink. Below, enormous coliseum-style pillars support a fascia that includes latticing reflective of the Ivory Coast’s tricolour flag.But the truth is that this stadium is here because of cash flowing directly from Beijing. And so, for all the national fervour being stirred here on Africa’s west coast, this has become an AFCON for China as much as it is for Ivory Coast.It's hosting the Ivory Coast vs DR Congo semi-final later tonight, as well as the final on February 11.
“We see potential spies and enemies everywhere,” says David. “It can be at border control or it can be in a cafe. The other day, a guy was looking at me strangely, so I left without finishing my breakfast, and jumped in a taxi asking the driver to take me to the wrong address.”David is an Eritrean footballer, a refugee who thinks government agents are still watching him even though he fled the country a long time ago and is now thousands of miles away. He felt like his future was being stolen from him yet insists he was one of the lucky ones. Though he recognises the importance of telling at least part of his story, he is thin on detail at times because the conversation makes him feel nervous. When he speaks to The Athletic, he talks quietly. He does not want anyone to hear what he is saying.