"I was a 'moving around' child. I did all kinds of sports, from surfing to tennis to football, and I think I really found my place in football and a bit in surfing."
Tuesday 4 June 2024, Canterbury High Street, United Kingdom
Who are we talking to? Ines
Who is the interviewer? Stephen
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STEPHEN: Good morning. I'm here interviewing…
INES: Ines.
STEPHEN: Alright, so the first thing I would like to ask is what are you passionate about and why?
INES: I'm passionate about football. I'm also passionate about traveling, I guess.
STEPHEN: Football and traveling alright. Would you ever like to whilst pursuing football—actually, football is really good for traveling, so are there places that you would like to travel to?
INES: I'd like to travel to South America. I don't know how football is there, but Spain is a good place also to travel to for football and the industry of football
STEPHEN: Okay, and who inspired you to, like you know, get into football, or was it just your own?
INES: My father inspired me to get into football at a young age because he was a coach and I also really enjoyed it, I think from the start.
STEPHEN: In what ways was it hard for him to coach you? Or was it just like, did it feel easy?
INES: I think it felt easy because I was a really I was moving, I was a “moving around” child. I did all kinds of sports, from surfing to tennis to football, and I think I really found my place in football and a bit in surfing as well. That's on the side.
"Weirdly, I like passing more than I do scoring. Very weird, because my passes are a bit better than my scoring (Laughs)."
STEPHEN: Okay, let's talk a bit more about surfing. I know you said football, but like what about surfing really spoke to you?
INES: [The thing] about surfing is that you get to be at the beach almost 24/7. I grew up in Senegal. After school, sometimes you could go to the beach, be with some friends, or be in the water. There are not really like big fish or like sharks in that water, so it was even more
STEPHEN: Fair enough, and in terms of football now, your main thing, what would be your dream within the world of football?
INES: My dream within the world of football. At first I thought at a younger age, I thought it would be to be a football player. But then, the more I played or the more I was in this industry, I actually really wanted to be, to work in the industry and not be a football player. For example, a manager, football manager.
STEPHEN: Okay, interesting. I'd also like to ask when you were thinking about becoming a footballer, what position would you really have wanted to play?
INES: I wanted to play center. I wanted to play in midfield, actually center mid but I actually found it easier and better for me to play in right as a right wing, because, weirdly, I like passing more than I do scoring. Very weird, because my passes are a bit better than my scoring (Laughs).
STEPHEN: Oh, fair enough. I'd also like to ask if you were to play for a football team, which team would you play for? And a follow-up to that one as well, what team would you want to manage if you were a manager?
INES: Right. Okay, that's a very interesting question. I think I'd want, on a national basis, I think I'd want to play for, the French team, because they're very good, or the American. Well, no, not the American, the French team, but in France. I would want to play for Marseille. I did practice with them a bit, but then I had to leave. And who I'd want to manage? I really want to imagine managing a Spanish team. It doesn't matter which Spanish team. I really think about where I want to live in the future. And it'd be like, yeah, Barça, maybe Barça girls.
"[I wanted] to be a travel journalist. travel around the world and write reviews actually about the places I've been to, recommendations, take pictures."
STEPHEN: Oh, fair enough yeah, that really does sound interesting yeah yeah and, before football, were there any other things you really wanted to get into?
INES: I really wanted to get into journaling, to be a travel journalist: travel around the world and write reviews actually about the places I've been to, recommendations, take pictures.
STEPHEN: Any places specifically where you really wanted to like go or like visit?
INES: I really wanted to go in any country in Asia, South Asia. South America, New Zealand, actually as well. New Zealand was a big to-do list of mine.
STEPHEN: And like anything specific you want to do there?
INES: I really just want to visit and try. I was thinking I have a gap, I'm going to take a few gap years after I finish my uni and I was planning on visiting and working there at the same time. Yeah, working part-time, traveling around the world kind of the world.
STEPHEN: Oh, that's nice. Would you ever consider writing like doing the journalism part, then, of your traveling whilst you're doing those multiple gap years?
INES: Yeah, definitely. I was thinking of writing. I do have a journal at the moment that I write to myself. Yeah, but I do think that I could incorporate it with the traveling definitely.
STEPHEN: Would you say the traveling would reinvigorate your passion for, like you know, writing journalism and really trying to do travel journalism?
INES: Yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely. I'd say I'd see it more as a hobby than as another thing I'd want to do. But yes, I think so.
STEPHEN: Okay, I think that's it. Thank you for your time.
INES: Thank you.
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Photographers: Dante Richardson & Paolo
Photo editor: Dante Richardson
Photoshoot assistants: Hyla Etame, Vanessa Mbeko, & Jolanda Oruni
Interview editor: Hyla Etame
