Figure 1.--Here we see Malian boys boys playing football about 2005. Notice they have a proper soccer ball to play with. That was not always the case ealier. we di not see a lot of other sports, but football was an exception. |
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We do not have much information on boys' activities in Mali. We know nothing yet about traditional play activities. We see a Malian boy enjoying a classic toy, a hoop and stick, on the previous page. As with children all over the world, school is a primary activity. This is limited by poverty and the nomadic life style of many families. Which means tht many children have to work to support the family. Mali is a largely Muslim country which means that it is an activity in which many children are involved. As in many poor countries, sport is not nearly as important as in the developed world. Economic success and sport are related. Poverty means that people neither have the free time or the money to participate or enjoy sport. And some Islamic clerics seek to discourage sport, believing that it detracts from a needed focus on islam. This is less true in Africa where Islam generally takes a more moderate form, at least Sub-Saharan Africa. We see boys throughout Sub=Saharan Africa absorbed with soccer/football. There is not a lot of sport activity but soccer is an exception. Everywhere we see boys (but rarely girls) kicking balls and if balls are not available a substitute.
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