The dream of European football glory turned into a nightmare for an 18-year-old Senegalese goalkeeper and his family, exposing a disturbing trend of exploitation targeting Africa's most promising young athletes.
A Mother's Final Phone Call
Diodo Sokhna's last conversation with her son Cheikh Touré was filled with unease. The vibrant optimism that had characterised his departure had vanished, replaced by a subdued voice that hinted at the horror to come. Shortly after that call in October, the messages she sent to his phone went undelivered, marked only by the dreaded single tick on WhatsApp.
The devastating news came from an unknown number. A man with a foreign accent coldly informed Sokhna that her son was dead before abruptly ending the call. "I screamed. My son was dead and I am broken," she recalls. "They killed my only son."
The Deadly Deception
Touré had believed he was travelling to Morocco for club trials where he would meet agents and international coaches. Instead, the promising goalkeeper from Dakar was taken hundreds of miles away to Ghana, where his captors forced him to call home and demand ransom money.
His mother remembers the desperation in his voice as he pleaded for 850,000 west African CFA francs (approximately £1,100) for his release. "Do what you can to send it to me," he begged.
Sokhna managed to scrape together 650,000 CFA, hoping the remaining amount wouldn't cause problems. Soon after sending the money, Touré stopped responding entirely.
Unknown men later dropped his body at a hospital in Kumasi, Ghana, claiming he had been in a car accident. However, Ghanaian police reported finding wounds on his neck and stomach, suggesting a more sinister end to his short life.
A Growing Crisis in African Football
Touré's tragic death represents an extreme example of a widespread problem affecting aspiring footballers across Africa. While exact numbers remain unknown, evidence indicates that fake agents and illegal football academies are increasingly trapping young talent with promises of trials and contracts abroad.
A 2023 survey conducted by the international players' union Fifpro revealed alarming statistics. The study of more than 250 footballers across several African countries found that 70% had received unsolicited approaches from agents promising career opportunities.
Even more concerning, 56% of those promised trials never received them, while 44% were denied contracts they expected to sign.
Zimbabwean footballer Marshall Munetsi, who plays for Wolverhampton Wanderers in the UK, described the situation as "more than a crisis." He recounted how three players arrived in France expecting trials, only to be abandoned at the airport with nobody to meet them.
The Economics of Exploitation
According to researcher Abdelkader Abderrahmane, who focuses on transnational security in north Africa, criminal networks have created sophisticated operations involving unscrupulous agents, scouts, poorly run academies and corrupt officials who facilitate visa processing.
These networks prey on the dreams of young athletes and their families, who see football as a rare opportunity to escape poverty. The promise of salaries reaching €20,000-€30,000 per month in north African leagues proves irresistible to many, particularly as these leagues serve as potential stepping stones to European clubs.
"Their families see it as a way out of poverty so they push their kids to travel without knowing that they are pushing them to extreme poverty, extreme misery and into danger," Abderrahmane explains.
The scams typically begin with agents approaching young players at local academies, boasting of their success in placing other players in European clubs. The catch comes in the form of upfront fees, which in Touré's case amounted to 220,000 CFA francs (£300).
Beyond the Glamour: A Son's Simple Dreams
For Cheikh Touré, the motivation wasn't fame or luxury but love for both football and his mother. His TikTok account featured videos of football drills on Dakar beaches and heartfelt posts about his mother, adorned with heart emojis.
"All that interested him was football, his attachment to the ball. His passion was only for football," Sokhna remembers. "He wanted me to be healthy and wealthy, to travel to Mecca."
She describes her son as inherently trusting, a quality that may have contributed to his tragic fate. "He was a good son, he was good to everyone he met. He loved and trusted everyone, perhaps it was this naivety, this excessive trust in his peers, that caused him all this harm."
The Senegal football federation has confirmed that authorities in both Senegal and Ghana are investigating Touré's death, describing him as a victim of "a network of fraudulent recruiters who lured him out of the country."
As families across west Africa continue to dream of football success for their children, Touré's story serves as a stark warning about the predators waiting to exploit those dreams.
