Mali's 'obsession' with Football (soccer)

It is no doubt that the most popular sport across the continent Africa is football (soccer). The obsession with football specifically in Mali arose in 2002 when Mali was chosen as the location to hold the African Cup of Nations. This event is sanctioned by the CAF (Confederation of African Football). This cup is held every two years in Africa. Most towns and cities have mens professional and semi-professional teams that compete in a national league in hopes of finishing at the top if their division to make it to the African Cup of Nations. When the cup entered Mali in 2002, fan groups of the sport rapidly increased. As the Mali national team began to succeed in the cup, the fan base grew more and more each game. Salif Keita is the most notable Malian soccer player to have ever entered the sport. He led the national team to several cup victories over his professional career. He had later gone on to play in France for AS Saint-Etienne  because the soccer leagues throughout Africa are not as developed as the ones across Europe. Therefore we see this continual trend of the top African soccer players continuing their career to the leagues in Europe because they are able to earn more money by playing professionally in the European league.