In the barber shops and cafes of Little Senegal, the West African enclave stretching along 116th Street in New York City's Harlem, big screens glow with football matches, flags drape from walls, and nearly every conversation finds its way back to the upcoming clash between France and Senegal.
Every third or fourth storefront displays Senegal's green-and-white football shirts, hanging prominently in windows and doorways. Along the avenue, passersby stroll in bucket hats striped red, yellow and green - the colours of the Senegalese flag.
But there is also an unmistakable despondency in the air.
The stark inequities surrounding the tournament - from travel restrictions to exclusionary ticket prices - have dulled enthusiasm and prompted even avowed football fans within the community to ask tough questions about priorities in a tough economic climate.
Tickets for the premier footballing event have reached unprecedented heights. Tickets for sought-after fixtures involving teams like Senegal - the current reigning, albeit disputed, kings of the African continent - are fetching prices well into the thousands of dollars.
