The message from the captain was short and simple. The hard-fought 1-0 opening victory by his team over Niger on Sunday was "dedicated to the people of Mali", said Seydou Keita. Not simply to them, but to something broader: "It is dedicated to peace."
At the African Cup of Nations, there are sportsmen on duty for several countries with much to preoccupy them.
Algeria makes global news for the hostage crisis. Burkina Faso and Niger brace themselves for a gathering refugee crisis because of instability in the Sahel region, spreading from neighbouring Mali.
And it is Mali's players who perhaps find it hardest to turn their minds from events at home, air strikes headlining international news bulletins, uncertainties and fresh rumours shaping their telephone conversations with their families.
The story moves fast and no Malian can cocoon himself from it or be inattentive to it.
The French government yesterday announced an increase in their military presence in the landlocked country, divided between advanced Islamist rebel positions in the north and a south being defended by a beleaguered national army whom the French intervention is there to support.
Mali's footballers are accustomed to their big moments coinciding with crisis points in the continuing civil - and now international - conflict.
Last February, as Mali's Eagles made their way to the semi-final of the 2012 African Cup of Nations, the sensitive and dignified Keita emotionally used the unexpected success - the team finished third in the competition - to appeal for peace at a time when violence was peaking.
The Mali captain does not make these gestures lightly.
"What is happening in Mali is more important than a game of football," said Keita, in response to the line of questioning that, inevitably, has dominated Mali's campaign since they reached Port Elizabeth, their base in South Africa.
"Yes, we hope that when win a big game, the people in Bamako [the Mali capital] are happy. But they will not be rushing into the streets to celebrate.
"The people in the south are not going to party when they know the north is under fire. When you see a war close to your homes, that makes you frightened. We all have mothers, brothers and sisters there."
Sport can raise consciousness, it can mobilise crowds, and sometimes help unite fractured societies. But it is not a universal balm.
As Keita said: "We are very aware football doesn't change anything in this war. There are people in Mali who don't like football, who don't know what it is. There is no football in Gao [one of the northern towns under rebel control] at the moment, no television there. We have to hope that Mali's allies, be it France or our neighbours, can bring order back as quickly as possible."
Keita would rather his role, as by far the most-garlanded footballer in Mali's squad and their natural leader, need not extend to diplomatic statements.
Keita - once described by Pep Guardiola, his former coach at the Barcelona where he won two European Cups, as "my moral and ethical touchstone" - carries the responsibility impressively.
A good result against Ghana today, would, he said, "bring joy to the people". He added: "But we must do our work without extra pressure. We must feel relaxed on the field and feel any pressure as a positive thing, the pressure to succeed that every competitor needs."
sports@thenational.ae
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Mountain%20Boy
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How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
The Scale for Clinical Actionability of Molecular Targets
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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Basquiat in Abu Dhabi
One of Basquiat’s paintings, the vibrant Cabra (1981–82), now hangs in Louvre Abu Dhabi temporarily, on loan from the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
The latter museum is not open physically, but has assembled a collection and puts together a series of events called Talking Art, such as this discussion, moderated by writer Chaedria LaBouvier.
It's something of a Basquiat season in Abu Dhabi at the moment. Last week, The Radiant Child, a documentary on Basquiat was shown at Manarat Al Saadiyat, and tonight (April 18) the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is throwing the re-creation of a party tonight, of the legendary Canal Zone party thrown in 1979, which epitomised the collaborative scene of the time. It was at Canal Zone that Basquiat met prominent members of the art world and moved from unknown graffiti artist into someone in the spotlight.
“We’ve invited local resident arists, we’ll have spray cans at the ready,” says curator Maisa Al Qassemi of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi's Canal Zone Remix is at Manarat Al Saadiyat, Thursday April 18, from 8pm. Free entry to all. Basquiat's Cabra is on view at Louvre Abu Dhabi until October
Normcore explained
Something of a fashion anomaly, normcore is essentially a celebration of the unremarkable. The term was first popularised by an article in New York magazine in 2014 and has been dubbed “ugly”, “bland’ and "anti-style" by fashion writers. It’s hallmarks are comfort, a lack of pretentiousness and neutrality – it is a trend for those who would rather not stand out from the crowd. For the most part, the style is unisex, favouring loose silhouettes, thrift-shop threads, baseball caps and boyish trainers. It is important to note that normcore is not synonymous with cheapness or low quality; there are high-fashion brands, including Parisian label Vetements, that specialise in this style. Embraced by fashion-forward street-style stars around the globe, it’s uptake in the UAE has been relatively slow.
MATCH INFO
England 2
Cahill (3'), Kane (39')
Nigeria 1
Iwobi (47')
If you go
- The nearest international airport to the start of the Chuysky Trakt is in Novosibirsk. Emirates (www.emirates.com) offer codeshare flights with S7 Airlines (www.s7.ru) via Moscow for US$5,300 (Dh19,467) return including taxes. Cheaper flights are available on Flydubai and Air Astana or Aeroflot combination, flying via Astana in Kazakhstan or Moscow. Economy class tickets are available for US$650 (Dh2,400).
- The Double Tree by Hilton in Novosibirsk ( 7 383 2230100,) has double rooms from US$60 (Dh220). You can rent cabins at camp grounds or rooms in guesthouses in the towns for around US$25 (Dh90).
- The transport Minibuses run along the Chuysky Trakt but if you want to stop for sightseeing, hire a taxi from Gorno-Altaisk for about US$100 (Dh360) a day. Take a Russian phrasebook or download a translation app. Tour companies such as Altair-Tour ( 7 383 2125115 ) offer hiking and adventure packages.
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
