Cape Verde is usually described by foreigners as a bit of a melting pot. With the arrival of the Portuguese sailors, what was an deserted archipelago became a spot where the European culture, brought by Portuguese, French, Spanish and Italians settlers, mingled with the African culture, of the slaves brought from the Black Continent.

However, there are differences (and rivalries) between the nine islands. The two opposites are certainly Santiago, the most African island, where “tabanka” tradition reflects the slave heritage, and São Vicente, where Europe left its deeper traces.

This rivalry grew to the point where Cape Verde is usually divided into two groups: the northern islands, Barlavento, which include São Vicente; and the southern islands, Sotavento, the biggest of which is Santiago. If you come from Barlavento, you’re a “sampadjudo” (“without hay”). If you come from Sotavento, you’re a “badiu” (a run-away slave).

Though Cape Verde was a nation long before it was a country, the tensions between African and the European remained. And they are everywhere, whether it’s about setting “crioulo” as an official language, along with Portuguese, or about creating political links with the European Union or the African Union.

And “everywhere” also means football. So, what happens when you create a competition, called “Taça da Independência” (Independence Cup), that pits together all nine islands, along with its political and cultural rivalries?