We all know that with the thrill of the World Cup comes an astonishing array of national, racial, and cultural stereotypes. While we are not yet through the opening round of matches, we are taking a look for posterity’s sake at some of these, seeing how they’ve held up (or not) so far and what… Read More »
The South African magazine Chimurenga has just launched a World Cup project called “Pilgrimages,” sending African writers on journeys to various cities on the continent and beyond to report on the experience of the World Cup there. It will be a great series, I think, and starts with a compelling case for Argentina winning the… Read More »
Allright, I’ve got to come out and admit it: I’m sick of a certain kind of whining about the World Cup. I know this is an odd thing to say: after all I should be sick of all the cheesy, commercialized, opportunistic advertisements, and FIFA propaganda blah-blah about global understanding and rainbows of love showering… Read More »
This summer 32 nations will fight in South Africa to be named the world’s best footballing nation. This summer 63 international matches will take place in 10 top-of-the-line stadiums. This summer the entire country of South Africa will open its arms and embrace the world. This summer 6 billion people will come together and be… Read More »
As the big countdown ticks away, less than 100 days before the World Cup, perhaps Africa’s strongest team, Ivory Coast, is still without a coach. An article in the Zimbabwean brings up the state of African football and its reliance on foreign coaches. In Cote D’Ivoire, the disgruntled Vahid Halilhodžić was unceremoniously dispensed with following… Read More »
An article by Jonathan Wilson in the Guardian today asks an interesting question for those of us who grew up in an era in which West African football was the realm of skilled artists such as Abedi Pele, George Weah, Roger Milla, and exciting teams like the “original” Nigerian Super Eagles who played swashbuckling, imaginative… Read More »
All are welcome: Click here for a map and directions
The Africa Cup of Nations is going on at the moment in Angola, and it could not have started in a better way…in the opening game, Angola was winning 4-0 against Mali after 75 minutes of play…but the final result was an incredible…4-4! [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/5DP96S_veos” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /] Unfortunately, the news preceding the game… Read More »
Check out this preview for Stevan Lovgren’s documentary-in-progress on football in Africa. It looks like it will be a wonderful film, which should be ready sometime this Spring in the lead up to the 2010 World Cup. You can read a bit more about the film on an earlier post on this site and at… Read More »
Stefan Lovgren, a documentary filmmaker who has worked on a many previous films about Africa, is now making one about football in Africa. It focuses in particular on one football academy in Ghana to tell a broader story about African football, the hopes and exploitation of footballers, and the broader context surrounding the history 2010… Read More »
