Family ties drive World Cup fandom for Iqaluit soccer players
Ghana, France, Haiti among teams backed by members of Inuksuk Football Club
Soccer players Oheneba Agyemang, left, Kayden Hyppolite, and Wenzell Djalogue attend an Inuksuk Football Club scrimmage Tuesday at Iqaluit’s Arctic Winter Games arena. Off the field they are watching the FIFA World Cup, which started on June 11 and continues until July 19. (Photo by Daron Letts)
Young soccer players in Iqaluit are gathering off the field to watch the FIFA World Cup soccer tournament.
“We just meet up together,” said Wenzell Djalogue, a centre attacking midfielder on the Inuksuk Football Club’s under-18 boys development team, Monday during a pre-scrimmage interview at Iqaluit’s Arctic Winter Games arena.
The World Cup features 48 teams competing in host cities in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Canada’s games are being played in Toronto and Vancouver.
Oheneba Agyemang, a striker, or attacking player on his team, is cheering for Ghana. He was preparing Tuesday to cheer for the team in its first game of the tournament, which was scheduled for Wednesday evening against Panama.
This year marks Ghana’s fifth World Cup appearance and Panama’s second.
“My parents are from Ghana,” Agyemang said about the reasoning behind his soccer loyalty.
He said he hoped to see Ghana beat Panama in the first game, while describing his overall hopes for the team’s success in the tournament.
“They’re not very high,” he said. “They can make it a bit far, but I don’t think they’ll win it.”
Goalie Kayden Hyppolite said he was also rooting for the country of his parents’ birth — Haiti. This year is the country’s second time qualifying for the World Cup. Its previous appearance was in 1974.
The team’s chances of winning are “slim to none,” Hyppolite said.
“Everyone is thinking that we’re going to get blown out.”
Haiti proved naysayers wrong on Saturday. The team didn’t come up with a win, but only lost to Scotland by one goal.
“Everyone thought we were going to lose 5-1, 5-2, but we only lost 1-0,” said Hyppolite.
Djalogue’s parents are from Togo but Togo is not playing in the World Cup, so he is instead rooting for France. It’s the team’s 17th appearance at the World Cup. France lost to Argentina in the final game in the 2022 World Cup and remains a team to watch at this year’s tournament.
“I like a lot of their players,” said Djalogue about why he backs France.
At the top of his list is French national team captain Kylian Mbappé, who broke his team’s all-time scoring record by scoring twice in France’s 3-1 win against Senegal on Monday.
What are France’s chances of making it all the way?
“They’re pretty high,” Djalogue said.
The FIFA World Cup began June 11 and its final match is scheduled for July 19.
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