Ibrahime Sylla is one of nearly 120,000 people who sought asylum in Mexico in 2022. His journey began when he fled persecution in the west African country of Guinea, and it ended with him becoming a soccer player for Liga MX club Necaxa.
While still a teenager he traveled through 10 countries, crossed the remote and inhospitable Darien Gap, and arrived at what he calls his "Mexican dream." In the city Aguascalientes, he is known as "the happiest man in the world."
Football has been a part of Sylla's life since childhood. He kicked a ball against the walls of his house to take his mind off the social problems in his country, which kept him from playing outside.
Sylla's life changed the day he left his house to fix a computer, which he did to support his mother and sisters financially. His mother warned him that being on the streets was dangerous. Disputes between the police and various ethnic groups caused a new wave of violence in the capital city of Conakry, where a military coup d'etat had overthrown the government in 2021. The teenager successfully completed his task, but upon returning home he found himself caught in a confrontation, with threats that pushed him to leave his country.
"They told me that if they found me, they would do something bad to me, that they would kill me," Sylla told ESPN. "From that moment, everything became complicated. I couldn't go out, and it was hard to go to work. I'd go out, and suddenly, one or two people would follow me. It was dangerous for me."
Sylla left Guinea at 17 years of age. On the night of Feb. 25, 2022 a family acquaintance offered to take him to Brazil to escape Conakry. With a backpack holding clothes, personal documents and a phone, he took a flight that stopped in Turkey before completing the journey to South America. He only stayed for a few days because of the distrust he felt from the person who received him upon his arrival, who showed him pictures of weapons. "It made me think that maybe he was also here to finish me off," Sylla said.
On his fourth day in Brazil, after playing soccer, he met a group of five people who offered to let him join them on their journey to the United States, under the condition that he carried everyone's backpacks. In return, they would pay for his lodging and food on their road to the "American dream." He accepted the deal.
With five people's bags, plus his own, Sylla began his month-long journey north through the Americas. After long walks and bus rides, they crossed the border into Bolivia, passed through Peru and Ecuador, and reached Colombia. There they faced the most extreme conditions of the journey when they encountered the Darien Gap. With its thick jungle, mountains and extreme weather, the area serves as a natural barrier for anyone trying to cross into Panama and Central America.
According to figures from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), 250,000 migrants attempted to cross the Darien Gap in 2022. More than 10% of them were unaccompanied minors, like Sylla.
"There came a point where I saw a tent, went in, turned around, and saw an abandoned child, dead. That traumatized me a lot," Sylla said. "Every time I walked, I thought I was going to die. So, when that thought hit me, it made me lose the desire to continue."
In the jungle, Sylla climbed a dozen mountains while carrying all of the. On the last peak he reached, he had a turning point. Exhausted, he froze, his fingers barely holding onto the rocks. His vision blurred, his hearing became muffled, and he thought about letting go. But a pat on the back from one of his companions urged him to finish the mission.
"I might as well abandon it and fall here," he said. "If I die, it's fine, but I can't, I can't go on. I felt very different, and I thought maybe it was a sign of death."
After passing through Panama and Costa Rica, Sylla felt pain in his legs that made it impossible to continue carrying the heavy load. When they reached Nicaragua, one of his group offered help. Without so much weight, he walked through Honduras and Guatemala until he finally set foot in Mexico on April 1, 2022. There, he decided to part ways with the group, not continue his journey to the United States, and instead stay in Mexico.
"For me, it became a Mexican dream instead of an American dream," he said.
According to the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (COMAR), Mexico received 119,078 asylum requests in 2022, but less than a quarter (28,351) were accepted. With the support of UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, Sylla was accepted and he was transferred to Mexicali, and later to Tijuana.
"One of the main rights that must be upheld is non-refoulement, the right not to send back a child because you know they're at risk in their home country," Paola Monroy, head of the UNHCR office in Bajío, told ESPN.
In Tijuana, Sylla settled at a shelter for migrant minors at the YMCA, and a song by Colombian singer Maluma helped him to learn Spanish. He got used to the spicy food; his favorite dishes are green enchiladas and quesadillas.
He was soon playing soccer again, and earned a trial with Xolos de Tijuana, although he didn't make the cut. Moisés Lievano, part of the UNHCR team in Aguascalientes, arranged a closed trial with Necaxa which was coordinated by Edmundo Soto, the club's scouting coordinator. After an hour, they had seen enough to bring him into their youth system.
Sylla, who can play as a winger or a fullback, is training with Necaxa's under-23 team and plays for a non-professional third-division club while he waits for the lengthy process of obtaining his registration with Liga MX to be finalized. Necaxa players are amazed that, despite the hardships he faced in his childhood and journey to Mexico, Sylla jokes and spreads happiness among everyone he meets whether it's Alberto Clark, the director of football or José Hanan, Necaxa's sporting director.
"Wherever Ibrahime goes, he spreads that good energy, that good vibe," Clark told ESPN. "He's a guy loved by everyone at the club."
Sylla works as a data entry clerk to support himself in Aguascalientes. He's about to finish high school and plans to study a degree related to video games or cybersecurity. He even dedicates his time to creating a video game based on hide-and-seek and an app to help physical trainers.
At one point, Sylla thought he would never smile again, but he is able to now in Mexico, his second home. "I always call my life in Mexico my rebirth, like being born again," he said, with a smile.
Editors note: This article is a translated version of the one first published by ESPN Mexico on April 22, 2025.