Made in Ivory Coast: Eric Bailly Walks with Kings but Keeps the Common Touch

Koumassi-Sicogi, the southern district of Abidjan where Manchester United star Eric Bailly grew up, is known locally as "The Venice of Abidjan." The nickname is not a compliment.

Situated on the island of Petit Bassam and separated from the centre of Abidjan by a strait of the Ebrie Lagoon, Koumassi-Sicogi is a bustling, working-class neighbourhood. It is home to the families of men and women drawn to the area by the promise of work in the plastic factories and fisheries of the adjacent industrial zone. It is also an area where urbanisation has not kept pace with the rapid speed at which the local population has mushroomed.

When it rains in Koumassi-Sicogi, the primitive sewer network quickly…