'Faith comes before football'

BBC News

24-03-2025

"For me, faith comes first. It comes before football."As Ramadan draws to a close, Bournemouth's Dango Ouattara is clear where his priorities lie.The forward from Burkina Faso is a devout Muslim who prays five times a day, as well as before and after each game he plays, saying it helps him to "stay humble"."It allows us to refocus on ourselves, to see what we've done well and what we haven't been able to do well," the 23-year-old tells BBC Sport Africa when we meet at his local mosque in Poole."It also allows us to correct ourselves in society too. It allows us to stay on the right path."During our conversation, Ouattara regularly uses words such as "calm" and "stable" to describe the benefits of Islam.A quiet and thoughtful character, verging on shy, there is nothing bling about him. He arrives early for our interview, dressed head-to-toe in white, asking to pray before we settle down to chat."Faith allows me to overcome many challenges, to respect others, to respect choices and religions too," he explains."Whether it's on the pitch, off it with friends or even with my family, it allows me to be calm in my daily life."You have to believe before you can do something."
'The community shows that you're not alone'
This season, Ouattara seems full of belief in his own abilities.Despite not being a consistent starter, he has nine goals in 30 appearances in all competitions for the Cherries, including a hat-trick against Nottingham Forest in January.Those numbers are a vast improvement on last season, when he only scored once.With Andoni Iraola's side competing for European football, Ouattara says the team is "great fun" to play in."The secret this year is that we've had the same squad, virtually the same players and the same coach. It's important to have a group that continues to develop together," he added."You can see every time that the players enjoy it."We're going to do everything we can to go further."Born in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso's capital, Ouattara himself has been on a journey, having arrived on England's south coast via French side Lorient.Signed for £20m ($26m), when he made his debut in January 2023 he became just the second Burkinabe to appear in the Premier League, following on from his national team captain and former Aston Villa forward Bertrand Traore.Still uncomfortable speaking in English for prolonged periods, he confirms language was the main problem when he arrived, but says religion played its part there too."My agent and I were able to find the mosque, so I started to get back into my routine," he explains."And as I came to the mosque, everything went well for me with the football. So I found myself back in the environment I'd left behind in Lorient."It helps because when you find yourself in another town, having the community shows that you're not alone. You have the opportunity to pray with other people, to meet new people."It keeps us focused on religion."
The club chef, getting up early and napping
This year, Ramadan began on Friday 28 February and will finish on Sunday 30 March.The month is considered holy as Muslims believe it marks when the Quran was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.For adherents, fasting plays a key role, foregoing food and drink between sunrise and sunset."I wouldn't say that Ramadan is difficult, it's more mental, because personally I'm used to doing it," says Ouattara."It's more the lack of water. And given that you have to wake up at unusual times to eat, that's more tiring."But he has a cunning plan to combat the fatigue: naps."I wake up at 4.30am, I do my ablutions and I've already got the food which has already been prepared by the club chef."I eat, and after prayers I have time to go back to bed for an hour or so before training."Then after the sessions I say my prayers and sleep for another hour. So the fact that I rest each time means I recover better."
Despite his fast, and when he's not napping, Ouattara's training plan remains pretty much the same."It's even easier when you have the support of the whole team, whether it's the players or the staff."Everyone asks me 'How are you feeling? Is it going well? Is it not too difficult?"They understand me and they encourage me."Although he is the only Muslim in Bournemouth's squad, Ouattara is far from alone as a Premier League player fasting during Ramadan.Indeed, the month has become so high profile that in 2021 the league introduced a new agreement that allows officials to call a halt to games in progress at sunset to allow players to break their fast.It is something Ouattara is grateful for."The initiative of the Premier League is to be congratulated because it's not easy to play while fasting."We hope that it will continue."Dango Ouattara is someone who hears the call to prayer strongly, something that has helped turn him into a player Bournemouth fans can have faith in.