Sean Henry Jacobs

Eduardo Galeano once described Diego Maradona: " . . .  a short-legged bull, [who] carries the ball sewn to his foot and he’s got eyes all over his body."

Sean Henry Jacobs

Sean Henry Jacobs

A biopic on the life of Liberian football legend George Weah, a star at PSG and AC Milan and Ballon d'Or in 1995. One question is which actor will get to play the lead role. Idris Elba, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Djimon Honsou and Chiwetel Ejiofor are all good candidates.

Sean Henry Jacobs

In soccer tournaments like the World Cup organized around nations, your nationalism expands as your nation gets knocked out.

Sonja Sugira

US writers about soccer beginning to display the same kinds of sports-commenter crypto racism that has been pretty standard issue in Europe for quite a while.

Sonja Sugira

Africa is not just represented by five nations in the World Cup. Its diaspora is also here courtesy of Euro-American and South American squads.

Sean Henry Jacobs

Researchers claim to have found evidence that vuvuzelas can lead to permanent hearing damage. But it won't stop the "tradition." Neither will FIFA

Sean Henry Jacobs

Sean Henry Jacobs

I am in South Africa for two weeks to go to a few matches and soak up the atmosphere of the 2010 World Cup. I'll try to keep a diary.

Sean Henry Jacobs

I am spending the opening weeks of the 2010 World Cup in Cape Town, South Africa. I have tickets to a few games. The main aim is to be among football people.

Herman Wasserman

The chicken fast-food chain’s latest television commercial, riffing on the World Cup, satirizes stereotypical Africa yet risks reproducing the very tropes it mocks instead.

Sonja Sugira

Mexican broadcasters are no different from their Euro-American counterparts, in peddling outdated stereotypes about Africa.

Sean Henry Jacobs

For the next month we'll be bombarded with commercials riffing of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. There'll be lots of "African" themes.

Sean Henry Jacobs

Commercials tied to the 2010 World Cup sell brands through a tired global template of African-ness: poverty as texture, hardship as atmosphere, resilience as spectacle.

Sean Henry Jacobs

Has Bono made what is the best TV (you can also watch it on Youtube) commercial in the history of the World Cup?

Sonja Sugira

A brand of football trickery and showmanship have only reaped bad results on the field for South African teams, but is also a great dance.

Sean Henry Jacobs

There's a lot of hype around Didier Drogba, including that he stopped a civil war in Cote d'Ivoire. How much truth is there to that story?

Sonja Sugira

Hugh Masekela and his son, Sal, together explore the people, culture, landscapes and history of South Africa.

Sean Henry Jacobs

If the metric is how many African players are on the pitch, then your team in the 2010 UEFA Champions League final is Inter Milan.

Sean Henry Jacobs

Here for your reading list: 10 things I have read quickly, seen or watched, listened to, been forwarded, did not really have the time to think about properly.