Classroom lesson · Sport · 🇨🇮 Ivory Coast

Football - The Elephants

Côte d'Ivoire's team that united a nation

The Ivory Coast national football team in orange jerseys celebrating on the pitch

Photo · Wikimedia Commons

What is it?

Football is the most popular sport in Côte d'Ivoire, played on pitches, in streets, and on beaches all over the country. The national team, known as 'Les Éléphants' (The Elephants), is one of the strongest teams in Africa. They have qualified for the FIFA World Cup three times and won the Africa Cup of Nations twice.

Tell me more

Côte d'Ivoire has produced some of the most celebrated footballers in African history. Didier Drogba is the most famous - he played for Chelsea in England and scored goals all over Europe, becoming one of the most recognisable sports stars in the world. His name is known by football fans on every continent.

The Elephants wear bright orange jerseys and play with great energy and physical strength. They are known for their skill on the ball combined with powerful running. When they qualify for major tournaments, the streets of Abidjan fill with people celebrating, singing, and dancing together.

Football in Côte d'Ivoire is played everywhere - professional stadiums in Abidjan, dusty pitches in small towns, and makeshift goals on beaches and in parks. Children grow up kicking a ball almost as soon as they can walk. The sport is a language everyone speaks, connecting people across all regions of the country.

In the classroom

Walk your class through this in 15 minutes.

Talk together

Discussion prompts

  1. 01Why do you think sport is such an effective way to bring people from different parts of a country together?
  2. 02Didier Drogba became famous all over the world. What do you think it takes for an athlete to become globally recognised?
  3. 03If your country had a national animal as its team nickname, what would it be and why?
Try this

Classroom activity

Design a new kit for the Ivory Coast national football team. Keep the orange colour as the main colour but design a pattern or motif inspired by something from Ivorian culture you have learned about in these lessons. Write a short explanation of the symbolism in your design.