of arriving by boat to play La Liga after being “signed” by a taxi driver

The heart of Aboubacar Bassinga It’s still going at 1.6 km/h. A little over two weeks ago, it debuted on First division with the UD Las Palmas. He played the last minutes of the first day against Sevilla. With the 26 on his back, at 19 years old and in front of his fans. So far, it is the story of a young player who realizes his dream of making his debut with the first team of the sporting elite.

Luis Carrion gave him the final instructions and Abouas his teammates call him, entered the field for the first time at the stadium of Gran Canaria. “In front of him Seville “I was shocked. Seeing myself in front of all the fans… was exactly what I had started to dream about after arriving on the island,” the player recalls. A story among many others in Spanish football. from Bassinga It has great peculiarities.

Four years ago, in February 2020, on the eve of the pandemic, Aboubacar Bassinga, aged 14, boarded a small pirogue and crossed the dangerous Canary Islands Route to arrive at the Arguineguín dock -Gran Canaria- from its Ivory Coast Natal. Without knowing a word of Spanish. The initial idea was to travel to France, where one of his relatives had settled.

But he arrived in Gran Canaria and settled in a centre for unaccompanied foreign minors. “When I arrived, it was difficult for me to be away from my family and adapt to the culture,” he explains. Even though he always had “the dream of playing football”. And his life changed thanks to the ball. in the park John Paul II, in Siete Palmasenjoyed the most important party of his life.

He was playing with friends when a taxi driver spotted him and, captivated by the young man’s skills, called him Manuel Rodriguez ‘Tonono’director of training and recruitment of UD Las Palmas, came to see him. “He was with me in difficult times and I thank him for everything he did for me, he is a wonderful person,” says Bassinga Tonono.

UD Las Palmas, concerned about legality to avoid federal sanctions, included him in its training teams and at the same time obtained the bone certification of his age, after a test carried out in Madrid. As soon as he turned 18, he signed an employment contract and obtained a residence.

While the bureaucratic tasks were being carried out, Bassinga could not compete, but he trained and participated in friendly matches. “His appearance should not remain an anecdote, in a football match. It represents an important step towards the elimination of prejudices and stigmas,” said the magistrate who handled his case in an interview with La Provincia.

An unstoppable rise

The footballer went from Las Palmas D to the Juvenil team and from there to the first team. “I am fulfilling a dream. Now it is time to continue working.” In addition to the ball, he studies cooking in the morning in order to complete his complete training process. “I have to have a plan B. I follow the advice that my coach gave me to sleep with the ball and wake up with the books,” he says.

This Thursday, before the the real MadridBassinga will have a new opportunity to continue adding minutes. In the match against the current champion, on which all the cameras are focused. From Ivory Coast to Spain by boat. And from the fields of the park to the stadium of Gran Canaria by a taxi driver.