Northern European Soccer Politics
Watching the World Cup in Finland and Estonia. Sample: “Finns just aren’t very good at, nor are they voracious consumers of the game.” As for Estonians, read on.
6394 Article(s) by:
Marjorie Ruganda
Marjorie Namara Rugunda is a writer, researcher, and PhD student at the University of British Columbia.
African poets get their own documentary
The friendship of the poets Syl Cheney-Coker and Niyi Osundare is the subject of the road movie documentary, “The Poets.”
Rio sur Seine
When Germany played Brazil in the 2002 World Cup final, who would French fans in Paris root for?
Brazil is Haiti’s national football team
Most national teams have 12 starting players — 11 on the field, and their fans in the stands. Brazil’s has a 13th player: Haitains.
Algeria and the Black Panthers
In the 1970s, Algiers served as refuge to African Americans who confronted US racism with force and had to flee the country. Some Panthers hijacked planes.
The Seattle Afrikan Premier League
Collecting football stories that highlight the world – the African world, in this case – and making the Seattle game global in the process.
Why Argentineans blame Messi when they lose
Argentina crashed out of the 2018 World Cup. It’s not Messi’s fault.
How I met your mother
The author relives his greatest World Cup moment.
Uruguay is playing for you
Despite what happened at the 2010 World Cup, Africans have more in common with Uruguayans.
A World Cup for the people
Even VAR could not save the Africans who withered away in the first round of Russia 2018.
David Goldblatt 1930-2018
The South African photographer has left us. He was one of the most significant artists of his time.
The Contradictions of Boko Haram
Boko Haram capitalized on the problems women face in Northern Nigeria to attract some willingly, while violently forcing others into bondage.
The Football Griot
For a long time most football fans experienced the game via the radio, making broadcasters cult figures. Like Allou Ndiaye in 1950s Senegal.
“Faking” for democracy
What if “fake” as a mode of operating on social media held the key to unlocking democratic debate, as the practice would suggest in Africa?
Bishops, imams, sangomas, pastors and ending abuse
Nearly nine in 10 people in sub-Saharan Africa declare religion as a very important to them. To tackle sexual and gender violence would involve engaging with that fact.
What Else Is There?
The author grapples with how to photograph the lives of her neighbors in a part of North East Nigeria, where Boko Haram is on a reign of terror.
The lessons from Zimbabwe’s land reform for its neighbors
At this early stage, there is little to suggest that South Africa will follow the same path as Zimbabwe.
Ghetto defendants
If the French now have regular, public discussions about race, we have to thank black members of its men’s national football team.
That one time Zambia nearly qualified for the World Cup
In 1994, Zambia was on the cusp of qualifying for the World Cup. After a tragedy wiped out the national team it lost to bad refereeing.
Uganda—a culture that puts women at risk of great violence
A new film and how to change minds about who is at fault for Uganda’s endemic violence against women.