Jade Le Deley, Jerome Pugmire and Christophe Ena inspired anti-racism advocates and young people in neglected quarters of France by shining a global spotlight on the National Neighborhoods Cup, an unusual soccer tournament aimed at celebrating the diversity of immigrants and casting a positive light on working-class areas with large immigrant populations that some politicians and commentators scapegoat as breeding grounds for crime, riots and Islamic extremism.
AP Paris intern Le Deley uncovered the story and recognized the potential broader impact, and sports writer Pugmire discovered that some major names in the soccer world are quietly helping the tournament. The pair interviewed some of those top players and spent time gaining the trust of tournament organizers, players and fans.
Players wait to take the field prior to the final women’s game of the National Neighborhoods Cup soccer tournament between a team with Congolese roots, left, and a team of Malian heritage, right, in Creteil, France, outside Paris, July 2, 2022.
AP Photo / Christophe Ena
Teammates on the sidelines watch the women’s final game of the National Neighborhoods Cup soccer tournament between a team with Congolese roots and a team of Malian heritage in Creteil, France, outside Paris, July 2, 2022.
AP Photo / Christophe Ena
Substitute players for the Malian team watch the women’s final game of the National Neighborhoods Cup soccer tournament between a team with Malian roots and a team of Congolese heritage in Creteil, France, outside Paris, July 2, 2022.
AP Photo / Christophe Ena
A men’s team of Malian heritage sings their national anthem at the final game of the National Neighborhoods Cup soccer tournament against a team with Congolese roots in Creteil, France, outside Paris, July 2, 2022.
AP Photo / Christophe Ena
Aliou Cisse, who this year became the first Senegal manager to win the Africa Cup of Nations, arrives to attend the final game of the National Neighborhoods Cup amateur soccer tournament between a team with Congolese roots and a team of Malian heritage in Creteil, France, outside Paris, July 2, 2022.
AP Photo / Christophe Ena
A team of Malian heritage, yellow, competes against one with Congolese roots during the men’s final game of the National Neighborhoods Cup amateur soccer tournament in Creteil, France, outside Paris, July 2, 2022.
AP Photo / Christophe Ena
Former Mali and Paris Saint-Germain player Sammy Traore, center, coaches players of Malian heritage during the final game of the National Neighborhoods Cup amateur soccer tournament against a team with Congolese roots in Creteil, France, outside Paris, July 2, 2022.
AP Photo / Christophe Ena
Fans cheer during the final game of National Neighborhoods Cup amateur soccer tournament between a team of Malian heritage and one with Congolese roots in Creteil, France, outside Paris, July 2, 2022.
AP Photo / Christophe Ena
Congolese fans celebrate on the field after a team with Congolese roots defeated a team of Malian heritage in the final game of the National Neighborhoods Cup amateur soccer tournament in Creteil, France, outside Paris, July 2, 2022.
Joined by photographer Christophe Ena, AP was the only international media to cover the tournament, and the only media to put it into the perspective of France’s ideal of a colorblind republic that doesn’t identify people by race or ethnic background. That ideal was intended to provide equal opportunity by treating everyone as simply French; in practice, it has created difficulties for people of color and immigrants recognizing their roots.
The story was widely used in U.K. and U.S. media and has prompted discussion online among French observers; the piece was still being tweeted several days later. And tournament participants expressed appreciation to AP for calling attention to their initiative