Portrait of African Players: BAH TRAORE Zoumaro (Niger)
- Wednesday, 25 January 2012 09:37
Bah Traore Zoumaro. Stand-off half for Niger national team, founder of a Rugby Academy
In the series "These men who make rugby in Africa ", there is Bah Traoré Zoumaro’s amazing career, how a young Togolese finds himself in Niger’s national team before founding a Rugby Academy for the youngest. To talk to us about it, Bah Traoré carried out the delicate exercise of self-portrait.
Meeting with:
"My name is BAH TRAORE Zoumaro; born on 8 April 1977 in Sokodé in TOGO. Secretary for Niger Rugby Union, in charge of Rugby schools, I also play in position No. 10 (stand-off half) in NIGER’s national team.
After my High School graduation, like every youngster, I yearned to study and have a good job in life… But my disappointment was great when upon arriving at the UNIVERSITY CAMPUS OF LOME (Togo), there had been so many strikes either as a result of non-payments of bursaries or to demand better studying conditions. Because it must be said, conditions were truly appalling.
Thus I saw my hope fade because without studies, I did not know what to become in life. After two tumultuous years in Benin’s University in Togo, I had lost all hope. I therefore had to act quickly as I was getting older.
So I had to leave my family, my friends, my country for Niger; it was in 2001.
Life in Niamey, Niger was not easy at first. I had travelled there with the aim to register at Abdou Moumouni University of Niamey. But I was not lucky that year because only people who had graduated from High School in 2000 could register. Personally I had obtained my High School Diploma in 1999 and my application was rejected. At that time, I thought about stopping my studies and do something that would bring in money so I had to learn hairdressing in order to support myself.
One day, I went to the grounds next to Seyni Kountché Stadium. I had been invited by a friend to play rugby. I wanted to know this sport that I often saw on television.
It was in 2002... At that time, I had a football team that regrouped at least sixteen children from the neighbourhood.
I coached them football every Wednesday and Saturday afternoons at the Pont Kennedy School of Gaweye’s suburbs. So when I started to practise rugby, I found it extremely fascinating and I didn’t hesitate one second to have the children play it too.
It was not easy at first as it was necessary to dedicate the maximum of time to football and a restricted time to rugby. With time, I changed little by little the time of play and the children started to enjoy playing rugby. My plan was that one day we would be able to play 100% rugby...
And it is thus that one day, on a Wednesday afternoon, all the children had been playing rugby without thinking about football. So I said to myself: «My goal is reached, the try has been converted». The first team of youngsters was born.
At the time, we did not have a proper rugby ball at our disposal. The game of rugby was played with a soccer ball. We therefore needed a rugby ball.
In the meantime I had met three expatriates from various missions of three to five years. The first one was Rodolphe. He was the youngest of the three and he was the one who had made me touch my first rugby ball. He was a good coach for me because he brought me theoretical as well as practical support with regards to rugby. The second person was Guy, Guy Roulette; he is very experienced and he helped me a lot with his know-how and his strong will, especially when it came to developing rugby for children.
The future of this sport, both for children or adults, owes its salvation to one Gentleman: Vincent Turbat.
He was the third person and thanks to him we obtained balls to practise proper rugby. In addition to this, he also has this quality of being close to players as well the ability to help them improve and play well. It is also thanks to this man and his support that I was able to take part in training sessions organised by some IRB agents in 2005, to be specific, JEAN- LUC Barthes (IRB Training Manager Africa....), Michel Arpaillange and other French coaches such as Laurent Javerzac, Fredéric Austrui and Gaëtan Deytieux (in 2006) after Vincent Turbat’s departure during the same year.
Considering the growing number of children practising this sport and M. Turbat’s effort for the success of this sport in Niger, the smallest of presents that I could offer him was to give his name to the Academy I was going to create.
Thus we looked for sponsors and Thank God, in 2006 I was able to secure some premises with two rooms thanks to my very dear late Friend and «mother» Marilyne MILLER and to the financial donations of an American company’s employees.
One room (25 m² approximately) would be used as an office and the other one (also 25m²) as a training room (help to school support). On 06 June 2006, the Academy with the name of: «Vincent Turbat» had just been created in Gaweye Pont Kennedy, one of the most underprivileged Capital’s suburbs.
The Academy then regroups at least 144 youngsters from 8 to 19 years old. The matches take place especially on Sundays and at the end of the month; since the creation of the first team until now, we have recorded approximately 145 matches. Talking of tournaments, the youngsters from 16 to 19 years old took part in their first international tournament in Bamako in Mali with me as Niger’s team coach for the youngsters, under the management of the Confederation of African Rugby. The tournament took place from 06 to 08 July 2006.
In charge of the children, my role was to maintain and make sure that the game’s rules were respected and ensure the continuity of this atmosphere bringing together children from various horizons. My role also involves bringing physical and material support, whenever possible, to those who need it most. Also to show the world that rugby is like other sports: a sport of life in which one builds and shapes himself in order to succeed. The Academy established, my first worry was to find the means to make it sustainable and the aim is that one day, we may have a real Rugby School.
Apart from training on the ground and teaching the rules of the game, we teach values; morals standards (mutual respect, family respect, wisdom, …); hygiene (taking three showers a day, cutting one’s nails, combing one’s hair, wearing sandals and clean clothes, …); prevention; inoculation; literacy campaign (school support through reading,
mathematics, languages, …); respect of life in a community (creative games, group work such as washing jerseys, discussions on various community topics); nutrition; tolerance; forgiveness and encouragement are values that come in addition to those mentioned previously. Besides we have at our disposal a small straw hut of video games for children and a football table. Indeed, our goal is to teach children to manage small ventures, which will enable them to become tomorrow’s Directors or Managers.
Niger, just like most of Western African countries does not have a rugby culture; at least until 2005…
The practice of rugby was for a long time the expatriates’ domain. In Niger for example, the year 2005 sounded the knell of a real beginning for the practice of rugby with national players and also with the establishment of Niger’s Rugby Union. At the time, there was only one club recognised locally (the ZEBUS) that also represented Niger during international competitions. Hence, the idea of developing rugby among the youngsters came. At the time, I was going from one village to the next for the initiation of youngsters, most of them aged between 10 and 18 years old. The objective was clear; it was the discovery of a new game: rugby. It was also clear that in order to get there, sponsoring that we cruelly lacked at the time, was required … Despite this, I carried on with my work for four good years all the while hoping for support, especially financial. In fact, I was not really expecting help from anywhere. I was only doing what I had to do because the children enjoyed it so much.
Early in 2011, a total of 130 youngsters (aged between 7 and 13 years old) are selected to follow a three-year programme (2011, 2012 and 2013) with as a follow-up, 12 contributors; 6 for School Support and 6 for Sports Education. A medical consultation is planned during 2012. The 10 years of efforts given to the children have begun to bear their fruit. The youngsters I had initiated in 2002 have become educators and it they now work to bring their know-how to the younger ones."
Bah Traoré Zoumaro
Since 2007, the Rugby Academy gets the support of the Association "les enfants de l'ovale".
To contact the Rugby Academy of Niamey:
Association Humanitaire de Développement : Académie de Rugby VT
Registered Office: Niamey rive droite – République du Niger
Phone: (00227) 94 32 58 02 ou 90 52 56 98.
Email : JLIB_HTML_CLOAKING
G.Fontana
Translation : Nelly Orvain
Crédit photo : Bah Traoré Zoumaro
