Futbol and characters

Unlike my Mom, who was a great sports lover, with a basement shrine to then-Phillie Chase Utley and a former one to Bobby Clark, I’ve never been much for team sports. I liked basketball and soccer (mostly because you could see the players and there was such grace in their movements), but was not a faithful fan.

Living in Nigeria, football/soccer was often a topic. Sometimes it was personal—once I stopped at the Bukuru police station to pick up my car, which had been in an accident, and was hustled inside to be grilled about a completely different matter. What did I know about pools betting? Well, nothing. I would see betting boards set up in various places, but they were out of my ken. Apparently it was technically illegal under federal law then (but seen everywhere). The police had decided I was Lebanese (they had apparently created the betting business back in the 1950s and still controlled it). Finally, I suggested he talk to my boss and he released me—but inadvertantly created a great story!

I was an active watcher of the 2010 World Cup—I loved Akon’s creative music video and Shakira’s song and the fact that it was in Africa. The Coke commercial that showed Messi (very young!), Didier Drogba, and (mmm) Thierry Henry was as fun to watch as the matches themselves. But the thrill subsided, and my fandom membership slipped away.

This summer’s World Cup not only reawakened me, but enflamed me. I started asking YouTube so many questions about players that my algorithm began favoring futbol over comedians, K-Pop singers, and other staples of my watching. Now I’m following La Liga and interestedly checking which players were still remaining bachelors despite having multiple children to a single woman (yes, futbol gossip more than stats).

They have such high-profile coverage that one gets a sense of their personalities and how they express their heartbreaks on the world stage. I fell for several, but one emerged as a frontrunner to be transformed into a character in Chronicle of the Palm Vol. III—he’s going to be a charismatic con man who cheats but also befriends my main characters. A trickster, which seems in keeping with his mischievous character—I wonder if you’ll figure out who he is. I’m going to name him Nuno.

One of the many exciting matches that marked World Cup 2026