Marrakesh, Morocco, February 2025. Sitting there in front of Zeitoun Café, sipping on Redbull after a hot day of riding around town, here comes in a distinctly athletic man with Sub-Saharan looks and voice. He pulls out a football from his backpack, sets up his bluetooth with an energetic track, and start performing his ballet with the ball.

This was an opportunity for me that was too good to miss. I set myself up at the best vantage point with my best lens. Seeing me, I believe, he started performing for the camera, a swan dance with his muse.

His name was Abdou, he was a professional footballer from Senegal here travelling in Marrakesh and performing on the streets for a quick buck. The red and green jersey that he was wearing was that of Moroccan National Football Team, and the name on the back was that of Hakim Ziyech, the captain of that team.

Marrakech is a busling vibrant city with a keen inclinations towards the arts and performances, and a lot of it out there on the streets for everyone to witness and admire. Honestly, it could be overwhelming at times.

With style, when he ended the dance, he got a loud applause from the crowd that had gathered around him. He came straight towards me though. I gave him a generous tip, after all I knew I got some decent shots of the performance. We exchanged a few pleasantries and then he went off to the other patrons.

I wish I had the presence of mind then to get some sort of a contact from him send him bak some of those shots. Hopefully he will come across this page someday.