Where once it was diamonds and other precious raw materials, now Europe is plundering Africa of the jewels in its footballing crown.
Africa has long been a human resource pool that Europe has exploited, initially with the slave trade but now also in the football world.
Africans are no strangers to seeking a better life in Europe but that desire is not felt more acutely in any other walk of life than it is on the football pitch.
According to the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) French coach Claude Leroy it is an uphill battle trying to stave off the predatory agents.
”I have already had to keep away the slave masters of football,” Le Roy told Agence France-Presse at the African Nations Cup in January.
”They are all over the place and don’t get me wrong they are not just white, they are also black,” added Le Roy, who posted two staff members by the lifts so the agents could not get up to see his players.
Le Roy admits that it is not for him to decide whether a particular offer is good or not for a player but he does not want them being duped.
”These guys playing in the DRC earn around $30 a match. What do you say to these guys about rejecting contracts with the likes of Anderlecht and the Moscow clubs? As long as it is done transparently and clearly then it is fine.”
However Le Roy, who discovered probably the greatest African footballer of all time in George Weah, said he did not wish to see another generation of African footballers end their days in penury.
That is quite aside from hundreds of players who travel to Europe with the promise of riches, fail their trial, and end up unable to pay their fares home and no-one to look after them.
”I don’t want another generation of 35-40 year-old African players ending up on the streets without any money because they were never given the guidance they needed as to what to do with it.
”Luckily now there are players like Shabani Nonda and Lomana Lualua [two DRC players who play for AS Roma and Portsmouth respectively] who set a good example and have level heads.”
Le Roy’s belief that it is the agents that are the slave masters is not one adhered to by Cameroon legend Roger Milla, who blames another group of people for the ”slavery” of the players.
”It is the parents fault,” said the veteran of three World Cup finals.
”They get lulled into this belief that their son can make a lot of money in Europe and even remortgage their houses so they pay his trip abroad.
”They must stop this and in fact this slave trade could also cease if the players stayed at their domestic clubs and were then seen by genuine agents who acted for a European club and offered them a proper contract.”
Every year, thousands of players leave Africa with the hope of being the new Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto’o or Michael Essien, and all the while supposed agents are benefiting.
With transfer fees for European, particularly Western European players rocketing, the race is on to find cheaper African players of equal ability but who cost a fraction of their European counterparts.
Once an African player makes an impact in Western Europe, though, his price mirrors that of the English, Italian or even Spanish players, so clubs are trying to sign footballers at ever younger ages.
One current example is the protracted transfer saga of Nigeria’s John Obi Mikel. He signed for Manchester United from his Norwegian club Lyn Oslo, only to then claim he was forced into doing so but really wanted to sign for Chelsea.
Rumours of death threats against him and his family if he did not sign for Chelsea surfaced before he disappeared with only his ”agent” John Shittu knowing his whereabouts.
Mikel had another agent, Daniel Fletcher, who brokered his deal to join United from Lyn, he is convinced Mikel is being pressured to cancel his United deal and sign for Chelsea.
The pitfalls and dangers are numerous for African players and the chances of success are small.
Khalil Camara, known as Kalou, a young Ivorian of 17 years, was offered the chance to play in The Netherlands. An Ivorian woman living in The Netherlands offered to take him to her new country for a fee of around €2 200 ($2 775).
He did not have the money and she broke contact with him.
”I have talent but I don’t have any contacts,” complained Kalou.
”Without that, you have to pay for everything, even to attract scouts at an academy to get a place in a team.”
Despite the snub, Kalou still hopes to make it to Europe. Six years ago, he quit school to concentrate on football.
”I have been saving. As soon as I have enough money, I will go. My mother is just waiting for that. My coach has asked me to keep trying to find contacts in Europe.”
Another youngster, 14-year-old Sori Toure, said while playing for Côte d’Ivoire in an international tournament in France: ”We are ready to face any obstacle to play here [Europe].”
He was seduced by the news that a trainee of his age at Marseille can earn €600 ($760) a month, a salary that would be considered a fortune for an adult in Abidjan.
”We don’t want to come illegally, it’s too risky, but if we had family in Europe, we would take our chances.”
He may not be prepared to arrive illegally, but there are many that would, often pushed by their families.
”There is an African saying: a hungry stomach has no ear,” said Andre Ntoma, a Cameroonian agent working in France. ”The one who wants to flee is not reasonable.” – Sapa-AFP