the humor of the Ivorians put to the test in three acts

Ivory Coast is in the final of the 34th edition of the African Cup of Nations (CAN) of which it is the host country. The adventure almost turned into a fiasco and humor became a form of resilience.

The Elephants, the Ivorian football team, are in the final of the African Cup of Nations 2024, postponed by a year and which takes place in Ivory Coast. The journey of the Ivorians has been miraculous. To get through the trials of their incredible rise, the inventors of nouchi, a very colorful slang (mixture of local expressions and French), had to draw on their humor legendary.

After the defeat against the Nigerians, the Super Eagles, the Ivorian supporters showed, for the first time, the extent of their sense of derision. And professionals echoed it in their sketches and on television sets. Ivorian comedian Michel Gohou shared his distress after the match lost by Côte d’Ivoire against Nigeria during the qualifiers. The final score of the match had directly led him, according to him, into “a deep coma“. Back on three moments that made people laugh and cry Ivorians.

A bravado leitmotif after the defeat against Nigeria : “This is our CAN…”

Dominated by the Nigerians during their group match, the Ivorians will use a concept that was already circulating : “It’s our CAN…”. In other words, those who pride themselves on organizing “The most chic CAN” decide everything, including their defeat. The slogan is infinitely adaptable, and this gives for example : “It’s our CAN, if we want we win, if we want we lose”. The expression has remained and serves to hide all the reverse.

Ivory Coast and Morocco, a football bromance portrayed with humor

Monday January 22 in Abidjan, for its last group match in the African Cup of Nations, Ivory Coast is crushed by Equatorial Guinea : 4-0. The round of 16 looks to be seriously compromised. Despair falls on an entire people and especially its youth. Humor is no longer enough to overcome defeat. Several buses of the’public transport company are also vandalized. However, hope is not completely lost : the Ivorians could obtain their ticket for the eighth thanks to a defeat, that of the Zambians against the Moroccans ! In a few days, the Ivorians transformed into fervent supporters of the Atlas Lions. The Franco-Ivorian actress and humorist Tatiana Rojo (What have we done to the Good Lord?), alias Amoutati, even made a little video to encourage them. She will make another to thank them for allowing the Elephants to continue adventure.

The victory of the Atlas Lions marks the beginning of a bromance that is expressed with a smile. The Ivorian media relay it, like the Ivorian channel NCI.

On social networks, “Morocco” becomes an acronym, that of the “African Movement for the Mandatory Resurrection of Côte d’Ivoire”. Furthermore, after attiéké (a very popular Ivorian dish made from cassava), couscous is declared a national dish, we can read on the web. The Nigerian comedian Mamane, who appears on RFI and Canal Plus Afrique, summed it up well on (ex-Twitter) this affectionate impulse : “Morocco has achieved the greatest diplomatic coup” by beating Zambia : “win the hearts of Ivorians” and all aficionados of the CAN.

A good dose of self-deprecation after the victory against Senegal

“We’re worthless, but we’re qualified” : closer to an observation than to a denigration, the expression sums up the epic of a team, which providentially will make its way through the competition and reach the final. As the Ivorian news site Koaci recalls, this rallying cry decided by the supporters was born after Ivory Coast’s victory against Senegal in the round of 16. Wednesday 7 February, after their victorious semi-final, the players of the national team have it again sung.

If the Leopards of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) lost in the semi-final against the Ivorians, the Congolese have nothing to envy them in terms of humor. The comedian Kinshasa Herman Amisi had thus asked the Brazavillois (from Congo), opposite, to monitor the Congo river which they share with the Kinshasa, the DRC having qualified unlike the Red Devils of Congo.

Thanks to the African Cup of Nations during which they gave their fans a cold sweat, the Elephants brought up to date, a formula which has long described the economy of Côte d’Ivoire between the years 1960-70. We then spoke of an “Ivorian miracle” to evoke the economic prosperity that the country experienced during this decade. The sporting version of the “Ivorian miracle” is now associated with a rather expeditious method that the song by Tam Sir, which established itself as the anthem of the CAN, had described in anticipation : “Hammer blow”. The Malians have had the sad experience : the Elephants eliminated them a few seconds before the whistle final.