Some football teams are known worldwide, too, for their nicknames.
Among world champions, Brazil is known as the Canarinho Team. England is called the English Team, and Italy, Squadra Azzurra. Uruguay is the Olympian Celeste. Spain is the Fury. France, the Blues.
In Africa, whose countries have not yet won a World Cup, teams often have nicknames related to the animal kingdom.
There is no need for an elaborate explanation for this. Just know that the fauna is very rich on this continent, with a considerable range of animals, many of them wild.
In this way, the teams seek inspiration from the animal symbols of their nations to strengthen morally and mentally the players in the matches, in addition to promoting pride in their fans.
The Indomitable Lions (Cameroon) and Elephants (Ivory Coast) are very famous.
There are also, among other examples, the Atlas Lions (Morocco), Leopards (Congo), Desert Foxes (Algeria), Scorpions (Gambia) and Panthers (Gabon).
All these animals are seen as possessing considerable predicates.
The lion, famous for his bravery, is nothing less than the king of the jungle. The elephant is big, heavy, imposing. The fox is cunning, cunning. The panther is fast, vigorous. The scorpion has a deadly sting.
In this scenario, comparing itself with rivals, the selection of Benin concluded to be in a position of inferiority. The team has been called the Chipmunks since the 1960s.
Not that the squirrel, a rodent, doesn’t have its qualities. He is agile and can climb trees. Benin wanted, with him in the national team, to convey the image of a small country wanting to climb high.
However, after several decades, the characteristics of the squirrel seem to be no longer sufficient for the aspirations of the West African team, which has never qualified for the World Cup and has only played in four editions of the African Cup of Nations.
The comparison with elephant, lion and panther, especially, doesn’t help, because squirrels are small and harmless in front of them – they don’t have the lethality of a scorpion either.
In the view of the local football federation, with the consent of its fans, size became a document, and the significance of the selection, bearing this nickname, was diminished.
“The nickname given to the national team must resonate with the population and reflect our strong ambitions in the sporting world,” the Football Federation of Benin said in a statement.
It became necessary to choose a new nickname. Then the squirrel leaves the scene and the cheetah, another representative of Benin’s fauna, appears on stage.
Also called cheetah, the cheetah is a felid and its main characteristic is speed. It is the fastest land animal on the planet, running at more than 100 km/h.
It physically resembles the leopard, due to its yellowish skin and covered with black spots, and is considered a great hunter.
In a duel between the cheetah and the squirrel for survival, the former has an overwhelming advantage.
“From now on there will be no more squirrels in Benin football,” said Mathurin de Chacus, the president of the Benin federation. “Our players will be called cheetahs.”
With a more “scary” nickname, as former national team player Emmanuel Imorou described to the BBC, Benin hopes to have more courage on the pitch in order to achieve a position of greater respect in football.
Currently, the men’s team occupies the 91st place in the FIFA ranking – which is led by Brazil –, behind 18 other African countries.
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