Award-winning Nigerian writer, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has revealed that she had a mild crush on Ghanaian footballer, Michael Essien.

According to her, she developed the crush for Michael Essien after the Black Stars defeated the United States at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany

Chimamanda made the revelation in the introduction she wrote for a picture book, Africa― The Future of Football, authored by a photographer, Pall Stefansson.

In a video she posted on her Instagram page, she read the introduction out loud to her followers:

“I watched the game with my best friend, Uju, often shouting and then hugging each other when Ghana finally beat the United States.

“You know some of our boys started playing this game without shoes’, Uju said. ‘Our boys’ were, of course, the Ghanaians.

“A small consequence of that game was my developing a mild crush on the Ghanaian player, Michael Essien, as much for his looks as for his dexterity.

“But the larger and more important consequence was my realisation that sports allowed us, black Africans, to address historical and political grievances in the most cathartic way.”

Watch video below:

 

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I’d almost forgotten that I wrote this introduction some years ago! Really lovely to re-discover it — and this book of beautiful photographs by @pallistef, with a forward by @didierdrogba.

A post shared by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (@chimamanda_adichie) on May 26, 2020 at 9:36am PDT

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