An evening with Lamine Yamal’s mother in London

You’ve heard of footballer meet and greets — but what about with their mums?

There is so much excitement around 18-year-old Barcelona and Spain forward Lamine Yamal that his mother Sheila Ebana was the special guest at a Christmas gala organised by a wedding and events planning company in London on Friday.

The most expensive early ticket for the dinner, at the Leonardo Royal Hotel, near Tower Bridge, cost £313.82 ($411). That included Champagne on arrival, a three-course meal, a photo opportunity, an allocated seat on a ‘VIP table’ and unlimited drinks.

The Athletic paid for a ticket, and this is how a weird and wonderful — but mostly weird — evening with Yamal’s mum unfolded.

When The Athletic arrives at the hotel a little before the advertised 7.30pm start time, the red carpet is literally being rolled out — but there is no sign of Ebana.

A smattering of guests are present 10 minutes later when two dancers in headdresses and outfits walk into the lobby area, with various people posing for photos with them. Canapes, including mini burgers, are brought out. This reporter speaks to someone who does not appear to know who Yamal is. He admits he is “more of a rugby man”.

Close to an hour in, the room has filled up, but Ebana is still nowhere to be seen. The fizz and chocolate-dipped strawberries are being served. The enthusiastic woman behind the evening, Jen C. — who runs the weddings and events planning firm of the same name — enters. Soon after, she shouts out, “Sheila Ebana is coming in!”, and attention turns to the double doors behind her.

At around 8.30pm, Yamal’s mother emerges in a black dress with colourful ruffles, looking slightly taken aback. You can hardly blame her — if her teenage son’s rise over the past two-and-a-half years has been staggering, how must it feel for her?

Ebana is from Equatorial Guinea, central Africa, and lived with Yamal near the city of Granollers, a 30-minute drive north-east from Barcelona, after she and his Moroccan-born father Mounir Nasraoui split when their now-superstar son was three. She took a job at a fast-food restaurant to support him, before he eventually moved to Barca’s famed La Masia academy aged 12. You know the rest: Barcelona debut aged 15 in April 2023, a European Championship winner with Spain a little more than a year later when he had just turned 17, and now a global icon.

“For me, she’s my queen and what I love the most,” Yamal said in an interview with the Fundacion Jose Ramon de la Morena in September.

Ebana was introduced to Jen C by a mutual connection, the former Real Betis, Valladolid and Equatorial Guinea midfielder Benjamin Zarandona, who is here with Ebana and another friend called Pablo. Jen C says she is a huge admirer of Yamal’s.

There is a clamour for photos with Ebana. Guests are ushered into the dining room at 8.40pm, and at 9pm, Jen C takes to the microphone, introducing Yamal’s mother “to the best city in the world”. A trumpeter plays Destination Unknown.

Not even a ‘VIP ticket’ gets you a seat at the same table as Ebana, though the organisers said she interacted with all guests throughout the evening.

Each table in the room is named after a London landmark, with The Athletic on Buckingham Palace and others including Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and Piccadilly Circus. Ebana is on the ‘Leonardo Royal’ table. We are, though, given Harrod’s gift bags, whose contents include lemon-and-almond biscuits.

It does not matter, though, as we are soon to discover that the concept of sitting down at this affair is extremely fluid. As soon as the tomato and mozzarella salad starter is served, those same two dancers begin a conga around the room, with Ebana at the back.

It is a fun, if disorienting, atmosphere.

At 9.45pm, the main meal has yet to be served, and a singer is moonwalking.

The meat option of roast chicken arrives as Ebana gets up on stage with Jen C, Benjamin and Pablo. Jen C speaks of “spreading some positivity and love in London” and thanks Ebana for coming. “You’ve given us a global footballing superstar and you’ve honoured us with your presence this evening,” she says.

Both Benjamin and Pablo speak, with the latter telling the crowd in English that Ebana will say “thank you”. When she is handed the mic, Ebana, who does not speak English, only says “muchas gracias a todos” in Spanish — many thanks to everyone.

That is all the audience as a whole hears from her over the course of the night, although nobody seems to mind.

She hands over an award to the mental health-focused football club Minds United after a video message from Arsenal’s Eberechi Eze praising their work. “Tell Lamine Yamal I say hi!” one of the team members says in Ebana’s direction as he leaves the stage.

The conga line during dinner (Tomas Hill Lopez-Menchero/The Athletic)

After a dessert of sticky date pudding, The Athletic looks to see if Ebana might like to speak about her son’s rise. But Pablo immediately tells us we cannot ask questions about Yamal or record the interview. Even when Ebana is asked about how she got involved in the event, she looks to Pablo, who relays a brief message which can barely be heard over the music.

So how did she get involved? The organisers later told us: “Her main intention and interest in attending was simply the opportunity to enjoy the JEN C Events Christmas Gala, which we invited her to come and network with our community.”

We optimistically try to ask her how proud she is of Yamal’s success, and about her role in the photos of him as a baby being washed by Lionel Messi that went viral around the time of Spain’s Euro 2024 win, but receive short shrift. The most she says is that she is enjoying London and that the late-autumn weather has been surprisingly good.

It is a shame, because Yamal’s love for Ebana is plain to see in every interview he gives about his upbringing. You sense nobody knows him like his mother — and that she might have something interesting to say about how her lad can keep his feet on the ground after recent criticism of his off-pitch actions.

With the night dying down at 11.30pm, Ebana leaves, and is followed by a photographer and several other guests into one of the lifts. When another English reporter asks if she enjoyed herself and the question is translated for her, she replies “Yes, in London” in Spanish.

At least she had a nice time.