New Challenges:

Just before the World Cup Ivorian defensive midfielder Gnégnéri Yaya Touré announced that he had agreed to leave Barcelona to join Manchester City. There will be stiff competition for places in the Sky Blues’ midfield as well. Touré Yaya, as he is known, will be the highest paid player in the English Premier League with a contract reportedly worth more than £200,000 per week.

However, Yaya is a thoughtful young man with a social conscience. Along with his older brother Kolo Touré, Yaya is one of the few Muslims playing top flight football in England and never forgot his roots – grinding poverty that taught him the value of money. His hunger wasn’t just for success.

He has eight siblings and could easily have been lost to football due to nutritional issues back then. Now wealthy beyond his wildest dreams, Yaya left Barcelona for football reasons as well. He wants to help Manchester City achieve success and manager Roberto Mancini is set to build his team around the talented midfielder.

Commitment:

His rival for a starting place in Barcelona’s midfield, the Malian international Seydou Keita is three years older and regrets his friend’s departure. Keita comes from a talented family too. Like Momo Sissoko, he is the nephew of Mali’s greatest player Salif Keita. Both are in the same age-group, Muslims and want to use their fame to help those less fortunate than themselves.

Yaya’s former team-mates told him he was crazy to leave, but he had won plenty of trophies with the Catalan club and needed a new challenge. He also never forgot his origins. Coming from poverty, he wants to help people in his country by establishing a foundation along with his brother.

Academies:

He is a product of the phenomenally successful academy at top Ivorian football club ASEC (Association Sportive des Employés de Commerce) Mimosas, which he joined in 1996 aged 13. Five years later Yaya left for Europe. He played in Belgium, the Ukraine, Greece and France before joining the Catalan greats and finally earned a mega-contract with Manchester City.

Yaya remembers what a good academy can do. “Before I came here I had to play in the academies and there are very nice things,” he told us. “They told me I would make it and I want to say thank you. A lot of players came through the academy.” Most of la Côte d’Ivoire’s national team came through that academy in fact.

He wants to see more of them in Africa, but believes that they need to incorporate social projects to benefit ordinary peapole as well. European clubs should follow Feyenoord’s example at Gomoa Fetteh according to the talented midfielder.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he said. “It certainly benefits, because life in Africa is very difficult and I know you have a lot of good talent in Africa, so young. Some people come through and do very well. We [Barcelona] have academies in Mali and Cameroun I think and in other countries, which is very nice because they have young talent who get to play football eventually. I think it is very nice for them.”

Supporting Women:

Yaya is a thoroughly modern African footballer. Unlike many players he supports women’s football. When Feyenoord established their academy for boys in Ghana eleven years ago, Nana Agyeman-Rawlings, wife of the controversial former President of Ghana, Jerry Rawlings, called for an academy for girls too.

Sadly her plea fell on deaf ears, but does Touré Yaya think that even now academies should be established for girls in Africa? “Yes of course,” he told us. “I think it’s very nice what she did. I think women’s football should be developed. It’s very nice what she did.”

Over a decade after Mrs Rawlings’ calls for help to develop opportunities for girls in her country through were ignored, African women’s football has found a new champion. And now Gnégnéri Yaya Touré – a thoughtful footballer with a social conscience – has the resources to really make a difference.