Power shortages and limited financial means dictate viewing logistics. Across the city, small shacks with large satellite dishes and generators put out blackboards on the side of the road to announce which live games they will be showing, and how much a seat will cost.
Pivotal games opposing two of the popular teams can fetch up to 40 cents. Most places allow patrons to bring in beer, but that adds to the cost of the activity, so few buy drinks. The atmosphere nevertheless rivals that inside any English pub.
My first football experience, at a second-floor parlour close to the office, was slightly different: They were showing a game between Scotland and Argentina, the play-by-play was in Arabic because it was the Aljazeera feed, and a Dolly Parton CD was playing in the background. Just a sample of Freetown's endearing diversity!
The shack closer to my house is called Filene’s Lounge. A bit of a misnomer since nothing but rows of wooden benches fill the floor space in front of a giant screen. The image is of surprising quality, the sound is crisp, and one of the two electric fans usually works.
It can get pretty hot in there, especially during afternoon games. Football shacks are the only place where I have seen men take off their shirt in public.
On Sunday afternoons and week nights, games of pick-up football bring cheer to neighbourhood fields and a bit of life to sleepy Lumley beach.
The SL National Premier League's season was supposed to start in November. But a sponsorship dispute at the National Stadium is delaying the kick-off. Nobody seems to have noticed. Last week, the U.S. Embassy and the British Council used the field for a friendly. It is also where the Leone Stars would play their home games in the African Nations Cup. But, due to the war and its devastating effect on infrastructure and investment, the country has not qualified in almost a decade.
[This post is dedicated to my friend Brian in Ottawa, who has been patiently waiting for a portrait of football culture in SL.]
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