Sports
Football is the most popular sport in Mali. Mali's national team became more prominent, after hosting the 2002 African Cup of Nations. Most towns have regular games; the most popular national teams are Djoliba, Stad, and Real. Informal games are often played by youths, using a bundle of rags as a ball. The country has produced several notable players for the French team, including Salif Keita and Jean Tigana. Basketball is another major sport; the Mali women's national basketball team is the only African basketball team that competed at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Traditional wrestling (la lutte) is also somewhat common, though its popularity has declined in recent years. The game wari, a mancala variant, is a common pastime.
Read more about this topic: Culture Of Mali
Famous quotes containing the word sports:
“I looked so much like a guy you couldn’t tell if I was a boy or a girl. I had no hair, I wore guys’ clothes, I walked like a guy ... [ellipsis in source] I didn’t do anything right except sports. I was a social dropout, but sports was a way I could be acceptable to other kids and to my family.”
—Karen Logan (b. 1949)
“Falling in love is the right adventure for those who dislike sports and travel.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“In the past, it seemed to make sense for a sportswriter on sabbatical from the playpen to attend the quadrennial hawgkilling when Presidential candidates are chosen, to observe and report upon politicians at play. After all, national conventions are games of a sort, and sports offers few spectacles richer in low comedy.”
—Walter Wellesley (Red)