What is the Unity Cup and why could it be a big cultural moment in England?
Brentford's Gtech Community Stadium is about to play host to a rejuvenated tournament of rivalries brought back for the first time since 2004 featuring four nations with large communities in London.
Nigeria, Ghana, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago will face off to see who will be crowned the first Unity Cup winners for 21 years.
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The first semi-final will take place today between Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago (kick-off 7pm UK time), before Nigeria face Ghana on Wednesday (7pm UK Time). The four teams will play again on Saturday May 31 with a third-place game (beginning first at 12.30pm UK time) and a final to crown the champions.
Here, The Athletic's Nnamdi Onyeagwara and Carl Anka explain what's going on.
The original Unity Cup was a tournament held in the summer of 2004 between three nations with large communities in London: the Republic of Ireland, Nigeria and Jamaica.
Three games took place across five days at The Valley, the home of Charlton Athletic.
The first game on May 29 saw a Republic of Ireland side that featured Robbie Keane and Steve Finnan fall to a 3–0 defeat by Nigeria. That Nigeria team had then-Inter forward Obafemi Martins and John Utaka, three years before he would make his move to Portsmouth, lining up for them, with Martins scoring the second goal.
Nigeria then beat a Jamaica outfit boasting Marlon King and Kevin Lisbie 2-0 on May 31, with Utaka scoring the opener. This win secured the Unity Cup trophy for the Super Eagles.
The final game of the 2004 edition saw Ireland beat Jamaica 1-0 on June 2 thanks to a goal from former Arsenal striker Graham Barrett.
Nnamdi Onyeagwara
Nigeria and Ghana are the two largest nations in West Africa that the British colonised. Since gaining independence, a (mostly) friendly rivalry has developed where both nations constantly bicker as to who is better: at everything. Food. Football. Music. Culture. Which country has a more stable electricity grid. Which country has the more attractive people.
Fans call it 'The Jollof derby', referencing the rice-based dish that originated in Senegal but has different variations across West Africa. When the two countries faced each other in a two-legged tie to qualify for Qatar 2022, Ghana won that tie on away goals, leading Nigeria fans to storm the pitch in Abuja.
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Jamaica vs Trinidad & Tobago is arguably the strongest football rivalry in the Caribbean. The two countries are the only teams from the region to qualify for the World Cup in their respective histories. This is a rivalry for cultural supremacy. Reggae v Soca music. Who has the best track and field team? Who makes the best food?
In short: both of these rivalries are about nations with a shared culture and a sibling-like squabble.
Carl Anka
London's diversity is evidenced by the outlook of the city's football clubs, with the different religions and faiths of those in the city and the different cultures, slang and music evident.
In January, England striker Ivan Toney, who is of Jamaican descent, posted a video of Arsenal's England midfielder Declan Rice singing dancehall artist Mad Cobra's song 'Press Trigger' word for word.
And just after Rice joined Arsenal from West Ham United in the summer of 2023, he shared a personal story about his then-team-mate Eddie Nketiah and how the striker would bring a big bowl of Jollof rice, the traditional African dish, to feed the team.
When speaking about what to expect at the Unity Cup, Brentford club ambassador and former Jamaica international Marcus Gayle said: 'This tournament will not only bring together elite footballing talent from Africa and the Caribbean, but also celebrate the deep cultural and sporting connections between these nations.'
With so many football fans in England of West African and Caribbean descent, this tournament will allow them in particular to celebrate their heritage.
Nnamdi Onyeagwara
England, and more specifically London, serves as a meeting point for people across the Afro-Caribbean diaspora.
The capital is home to first, second and third-generation immigrants from all four nations.
Carl Anka
Do not be fooled by the description — this is not a 'friendly' tournament.
Yes, the winner will not lift the World Cup, the Africa Cup of Nations trophy or the CONCACAF Gold Cup, but what is at stake here is much more significant: bragging rights.
Nigeria and Ghana, whose first official meeting was in 1960, will go toe-to-toe again. However, there is no forgetting the never-ending debate over which nation makes the best Jollof rice dish.
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In England, Jamaica and Trinidad also have their own personal battles between nations, largely centred around music. For example, whether Trinidadian calypso, soca, and steelpan music is better than Jamaican reggae, dub and dancehall music.
These debates are fierce whether being had on social media, on the playgrounds of British schools or when those disputes continue into adulthood.
Carl and I agree on many things, but who makes the best Jollof rice is absolutely not one of them!
Simply put, the games being played this week are about much more than just football and victory will mean a lot to the eventual champions.
Nnamdi Onyeagwara
This might be a rare regional tournament where the semi-finals have more cultural importance than the final. As Nnamdi syas, bragging rights will be huge, as these are football rivalries with plenty of spice, but occur perhaps once a year (at best).
The last time Ghana and Nigeria met for a friendly at Brentford's old Griffin Park, Ghana won 4-1, ending a 15-year streak of dominance for the Super Eagles.
Ghana fans stormed the pitch in celebration of the win. If you're of West African or Caribbean descent, you'll want to be at these games, because it makes the gloating all the sweeter for when you next meet friends and colleagues from the opposing side.
Carl Anka
In the current political climate, I hope this tournament will be a timely reminder of the joy that cultural diversity can bring.
It will be a meaningful tournament for British fans of West African or Caribbean descent, but also for those who aren't.
Eberechi Eze, who is of Nigerian descent, helped bring joy to the whole of south London with an FA Cup-winning goal a couple of weeks ago. Cole Palmer is of Caribbean descent and his great-grandparents were part of the Windrush generation. Hopefully, they can both go on and help England lift the World Cup in 2026 and if they are eating Jollof rice and listening to reggae or dancehall music while they do it, then more power to them.
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Sport, music, culture and art — they are there for us all to enjoy and contribute to, whatever your background. I hope the 2025 Unity Cup is a tournament that exemplifies that.
Nnamdi Onyeagwara
Because these rivalries are more than just football.
These four nations enjoy a friendly bicker about everything. Music, culture, art — the works. The Unity Cup will be an amazing showcase from all four nations about what makes their countries great.
It'll be a fantastic opportunity for those across the Black diaspora (the people living around the world who can trace their roots back to Africa) to showcase their culture and reconnect with old friends and foes. Get back in touch with their roots. Football is meant to be fun. The Unity Cup will be a great reminder of that.
Carl Anka
(Top photos: Getty Images)
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'He has the ability to cover a lot of ground, which isn't always the case (for players with his profile). That's why he's able to play in attack and in midfield. 'And he's young. He turns 20 on Tuesday (June 3). Things haven't happened by accident for him. Everything has been planned and mapped out. And you need that. You can't do without it at a big club. 'He does everything he needs to, but he doesn't rest on his laurels. He's made a very good start. Now it's up to him to sustain it over time.' Doue's emergence also means there are now two DDs in the France setup. 'That's why I picked him!' jokes the other one. Deschamps is sitting in a light and airy meeting room on the first floor of Clairefontaine's training and conference centre, a modern four-storey building of stone, steel and glass that looks down a grassy slope towards the Terrain Michel Platini training pitch. 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I'd prefer to have 10 players from two clubs than 10 players from eight clubs. They have an automatic understanding and what they do with their clubs serves the national team, but it's not always the case. 'And even with the players I can pick — if we take the example of Desire Doue and (Bradley) Barcola — they're in competition! Sometimes they play together, but sometimes one starts and the other one comes on. It's difficult to transpose things. 'In a club, you have the whole week and you're playing matches together one after the other. So it's not the same.' Doue may be the name on everyone's lips this week and Dembele may be the leading French contender for the Ballon d'Or, but Deschamps takes care to make sure his skipper is not overlooked. Asked during a pool interview with journalists from several European publications if Dembele is a credible candidate for the sport's ultimate individual prize, the France coach replies in the affirmative, but then immediately brings up Mbappe, who he believes has had a 'great season' despite Real Madrid's failure to win a major trophy. Deschamps pays a generous tribute to Lamine Yamal and identifies the 17-year-old Barcelona winger as the principal threat to French hopes in Thursday's Nations League semi-final against Spain in Stuttgart, yet again his thoughts quickly turn to Mbappe, who came in from the cold during the March international break after six months without playing for his country. Advertisement 'Yamal is one of those extraordinary players,' says Deschamps, whose side fell to a 2-1 defeat against a Yamal-inspired Spain in the Euro 2024 semi-finals. 'You only ever get two or three of them at the same time. He does it match after match and he's still young. 'But to take the example of other players, Kylian is older, but at 18, he was doing things like Yamal. They're the fuoriclasse, as the Italians say, the hors categorie players, and they're able to make a mark on football very young with what they do.' Deschamps, 56, is approaching the final 12 months of his tenure as France coach, having announced in January that he will step down after next year's World Cup following 14 years at the helm. His tenure has included a World Cup triumph at the 2018 tournament in Russia and victory in the Nations League in 2021, along with runners-up finishes at Euro 2016 on home soil and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. But he has often faced criticism over the stodgy quality of France's football, having notably steered Les Bleus to the semi-finals at last summer's European Championship in Germany without a single one of his players scoring a goal in open play. Although he tends to dismiss the impact of such criticism upon himself, he reveals that his decision to announce his departure was partly motivated by a desire to prevent his players from being caught in the crossfire. 'Everything that is external, it has no importance and no influence on me,' Deschamps says. 'But I felt that despite the results we'd achieved, there was a media environment that was too negative and it could have had an impact on the players. 'I don't think they deserved that. I don't know if it (his announcement) will help with that — it wasn't the fundamental objective — but that's what we've done.' Deschamps used France's Nations League group games in the autumn to enact what he has repeatedly described as a 'reoxygenation' of his squad, with Olise, Barcola and Roma midfielder Manu Kone among the young players to have been granted opportunities. They were decisions that he thinks his eventual successor will likely benefit from even more than he will. 'I made choices during the Nations League qualifiers that were definitely detrimental to me, but I felt that it was the moment to give playing time to younger players in order to prepare them,' Deschamps explains. 'After the World Cup, it will no longer concern me, but I consider that it's my duty to prepare for the near future rather than the distant future.' Advertisement Zinedine Zidane, who has been out of work since the end of his second stint as Real Madrid coach in 2021, is widely seen as the overwhelming favourite to succeed Deschamps. Zidane recently gave his strongest indication to date that he wants the job, telling guests at an event organised by his sponsor, Adidas, last week (as reported by L'Equipe): 'Of course, it's a dream, I can't wait.' But not for the first time, Deschamps stopped short of giving his former Juventus and France colleague a ringing endorsement, saying only that he was 'obviously a natural and legitimate candidate'. Deschamps is already guaranteed to step away from the France fold as both the longest-serving and the most successful men's national team coach in the country's history. But with a place in Sunday's Nations League final against either Germany or Portugal on the line, and a World Cup qualifying campaign to then begin planning, he bats away talk of what kind of legacy he hopes to leave. 'That's not a motivation for me,' Deschamps says. 'It's never been a motivation. I give everything I have for the France team. I did 11 years as a player and if I go to the end, it'll be 14 years as coach. Twenty-five years of my life, you know. 'I'm tied to the blue, white and red jersey, which is the most beautiful thing that has ever happened to me in my life. I'll leave what I leave. Nobody, not even my worst enemies, can take away the results I've had.'
