On May 26, 1993, in Munich, Basile Boli wrote one of the most memorable pages in French football. In the Champions League final, the Olympique de Marseille defender, despite a knee injury, responded. After refusing to leave the field, he gave his team a historic victory against AC Milan thanks to a masterful header.
This legendary goal allowed Marseille to become the first, and still only, French club to win this prestigious competition. Originally from Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Basile Boli has since that day been a symbol of Marseille's courage and success, immortalized by the famous slogan: “Forever the first.“
Years after his unforgettable exploit, the Marseille city continues to celebrate its hero. This Thursday, January 2, 2024, there were many who paid tribute to the hero on the occasion of his 58th birthday. However, if the inhabitants of Bouches-du-Rhône remain admiring of the player and his historical impact, those of Oise seem much less enthusiastic. The legend of French football arouses a certain disappointment…
Basile Boli: his project falls through
The reason? An aborted project that left a bitter taste. According to information from PurepeopleBasile Boli in fact nourished the ambition of transforming the Noyon camp into a sports-study school. “A sports-studies school which you enter from the age of 14. We accompany the kids until they graduate. When they are good, they go to football, otherwise they continue in the sports economy. The school is located in Noyon, in Oise.“, he detailed on the set of Twelve strokes of noon. A promising project which, unfortunately, never saw the light of day.
“The building which is right in front of us was the one for the locker rooms and the well-being of the players. And here, we were to find four football fields which were to be built by Boli“, recently deplored Pascal Dollé, vice-president of the community of communes of Pays Noyonnais, on France 3.
263,000 euros in debt
In June 2022, a sales agreement was however signed between Basile Boli and the local authority. Only here it is, “Basile Boli never provided the funds“, confided Pascal Dollé to Oise Hebdo last May. “We didn't see a cent after signing our promise of sale, maybe he didn't manage to raise the money as is sometimes the case in projects of this type..”
“He was given an ultimatum in June 2023 to find out if he really wanted to carry out the project. It had been going on for 5 years. The ultimatum ended in October. We received a letter at the beginning of October stating that he wanted to finalize the file and since then, nothing. So we stop there. The notaries do what is necessary to close the file. Nobody claims compensation and then there you go…“, he added on the Three.
According to The Chained Duckthe closure of Basile Boli's project would have left a debt of 263,000 euros to a Parisian architecture firm. Despite attempts to obtain a refund, the player would not respond to subpoenas, letters or calls. The project, which had raised hopes among football fans and parents of interested children, left many disappointed.
Especially since the former athlete finally made the decision to open his school… in the south.
