Love And Football

Ladislau Sousa, Angola

Ladislau Sousa is a grassroots football player from Luanda, Angola. He is also a Chelsea fan, works for the Ministry of Finance, and is developing a new service called ‘Fair Play’, allowing Angolans to organise football matches.

Can you introduce yourself and tell us about your football life? 

My name is Ladislau Sousa, I am a 28-year-old football fan from Angola, and work for the Ministry of Finance. I am just another football fanatic, as football is the most important thing on earth for its ability to connect people. I have met so many people that became important to my life through football.

I have loved the game since I can remember, and I never go a week without a kickabout. I play football with friends and co-workers at least 3 times a week and here 5-a-side is the most popular game, because we do not have many 11-a-side pitches. I rarely go to stadiums here, but I watch about two matches per day on TV (from all over the world).

I am Chelsea through and through. My LIFE DREAM is to be the owner of Chelsea Football Club. As soon as there is another opportunity to acquire part of the club, I will.

What did you try to show with the photos? Was there any wider meaning with the photos?

The photos were taken in different public spaces within the capital city of Luanda in Angola, where I live. Since there is a BIG deficit of football fields in Angola, anywhere that people can fit two goals can and is used as a field, especially by the younger people. All of the people are amateur teams, playing against teams from the same neighbourhood.

I play football myself every week - mostly futsal on hard surfaces and 7-a-side on turf. I wanted to show the football being played by most people around the country, which is usually on sandy surfaces and unevenly shaped fields. That is the kind of game we grew up playing, with small goals and the number of players varying from 3-a-side to 12-a-side, depending on the number of players available and the size of the field. 

I wanted to portray the most realistic scenario one would find in search of a typical football game in Angola. We approach the beautiful game with a lot of passion. All we need is a bit of space, a ball and a partner, and ultimately that is all we need to be happy.

There was also a tournament, where the team in black and yellow were the hosts. Their name is Doutromundo, inspired by Borussia Dortmund, as "Doutromundo" in Portuguese means "from another world" (de outro mundo). 

My favourite photo is of the free kick being prepared with the boys forming the wall. Even though it is a very unique looking and shaped field, you can instantly tell what is going on - the wall tightening up the angle, a defender trying to bully the opponent out of the box, the set piece specialist placing the ball carefully, and of course the crowd's anxiety and expectation. It is a beautiful summary of what we all love about football.

Why is football so important for Angola and its people?

Football is one of the most important things in life for me and it is a feeling shared by billions of people around the world because of the emotions the game can give you. While we are playing, there is nothing else going through our minds other than the ball, your teammates, and opponents. It is a perfect therapy for anything. The feeling of scoring a goal or making an assist or even preventing a certain goal is something unique and just so valuable. Angolans share this passion as it is the most popular sport in our country.

What does football mean to you?

I tell my friends (and even my wife) that regarding pleasures in life, football comes first, even before sex or alcohol. My first and only tattoo is of a small football on my right leg. I value football so much because it is a true way to connect people, make long lasting and genuine relationships, it is therapy, it is a tool for exercise and wellbeing, it is pure joy, it is being part of a global community. Football is LOVE.

What are your ambitions?

I am currently developing a project to help connect people who want to play but find barriers such as lack of fields, lack of players to form teams, lack of equipment and so on. The project will create a platform, firstly on social media and later on a dedicated site, where we can match up amateur teams that are looking for opponents, based on location, type of field they are willing to play (turf, hard surface), median age, and also keep a record of results to rank the teams and make the matches more competitive. 

I came up with this idea because myself and many people I know have this difficulty regularly, where we want to play but cannot find available opponents. Sometimes there is no field available, and sometimes games did not happen because there was no ball available. I wish to start with this project in Luanda and it is something I feel really passionate about. I take huge pleasure in making sure that football games happen, even when I am not involved in playing myself.

What is the future for football in Angola and in your community?

Angola still lacks a lot of investment, especially in grassroots football. The best performance by the men's senior team was qualifying for the 2006 World Cup, where we were in the same group as Portugal, Mexico and Iran. We finished third with 2 points and -1 goal difference. Not a bad performance for our first time but since then we have not been at our best, being unable to qualify for successive African Cup of Nations. 

The bottom line is the government has understandably other priorities so we need big investment coming from private entities or maybe organisations such as FIFA. Amongst the people, so long as we have some kind of space available, the passion for the beautiful game will surely prevail.