Yannick Nyanga’s Tears
How a black French rugby player's crying during the playing of the country's national anthem was appropriated for all sorts of rightwing and reactionary politics.
Football
John Terry’s African Alibi
We British like nothing more than a nice inquiry. The exorbitant jail terms meted out to last
Mozambique versus Spain
African fans retain a surprising affection for old colonizers when it comes to international tournaments. Mozambique is no exception.
An ode to Benni McCarthy
Watching a 34 year old Benni McCarthy back in South Africa with Orlando Pirates, leave many observers with a lingering feeling that he could have achieved so much more.
The Aura of Didier Drogba
Didier Drogba is the master of the unruly and the absurd: when he is in form, none of what the other team does matters.
The best sports films have no play in them
Tunde Kelani's "Maami," a tale about a former professional footballer, is bold and stylish film-making, and it deserves a wide audience.
Fabrice Muamba and English football
It's a shame that a player had to suffer from a heart attack to provoke feelings of belonging about him as a refugee and immigrant. It says something about Britain.
The Copper Bullets
Zambia is on course to be Southern African nation since Bafana Bafana in 1996 to win the African Cup of Nations.
Vincent Kompany is from the DRC
What countries do footballers playing in Europe's top five leagues come from? That's not such a straightforward question and answer.
Tunisian Coca Cola
Corporations have tried and succeeded in cashing in on the political revolutions known as the "Arab Spring." Tunisia is the latest victim.
The French advantage
The largest delegation of foreign coaches at Afcon is French and 8 squads draw more players from the French leagues, than elsewhere.
Something in the water
Africa's best football players come from West Africa. That's just facts.
Ingerland, Ingerland, Ingerland
Late last month the English goalkeeper David James wrote in The Observer that he was surprised
Africa gets new football kits
Puma created new kits for African teams ahead of the 2012 African Cup of Nations. At first sight, it looks exciting. Up close, the designers stuck to conservative.
Soccer movies about poor, brown people
African football is often depicted with gloom, while European football is either reduced to hooliganism or celebrated through nostalgic 'greatest hits' and childhood wonder on film.
Nike Chiefs
What if major sports brands like Nike let local football stars - playing who are not big in Europe, but big in national club leagues on the continent - front a campaign?
Getting soft bellies
Our latest Weekend Special includes a lot of football (soccer) and that the United States is “the most Africanized nation in the Western world.”
Didier Drogba, Truth Commissioner
Cote d'Ivoire's newly-appointed commission counts 11 members, with footballer Didier Drogba one of them, representing the country's diaspora.