Living for the ball
Ndeye Debo Seck has lost interest in local club football in Senegal. It has a lot to do with how the local game is administered.
Football
‘Any way possible’
A Kenyan football fan reflects on a lifetime of World Cup finals.
When Cameroon’s players convinced themselves they could not win
The reason why African teams struggle in the World Cup has everything to do with colonialism.
Why hasn’t an African nation won the World Cup
When African football officials stop being corrupt and identify and develop young talent, an African nation would have a real chance of winning the World Cup.
Senegal’s jersey
The Senegalese football jersey is a powerful symbol of nationhood and independence.
Senegalese pitch dreams
Football in Senegal is magic. That the team has qualified for their second World Cup, heightens the joy.
France ’98 and a genuine moment of Maghrebi solidarity
Tunisia played England in France '98. English hooligans attacked Tunisians in the streets of Marseille. Algerians came to Tunisians' rescue.
Ghana didn’t qualify for the World Cup, so which African team do I support?
One Ghanaian football fan wrestles with which teams to support in this year's World Cup after the Black Stars failed to qualify.
Giant Russian dolls in Egyptian national team jerseys
Reflections on World Cup fever from Cairo and my Canadian immigrant father's Egyptian football nationalism.
Game of Chicken
Reliving the epic quarterfinal match between reigning European football champions, France, and 1983 Copa America runners-up, Brazil, at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.
The beautiful month
We are exploring the culture and history of the World Cup for the next month while the tournament goes on.
What happens to football dreams when they die
For the Star Boys, a West-African performance collective based in Antwerp, Belgium, the dream of playing professional football in Europe found its revival in theatre.
Football failures mirror Gabon’s sorry state
The image of striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, descending alone from the field after Gabon was knocked out of AFCON 2017 game, tells the whole story of Gabon's malaise.
Every nation needs a team kit
An Australian sports apparel company makes shirts for low profile national soccer teams, including a number of African ones.
What do the Portuguese make of Cristiano Ronaldo?
With the passing of the legendary Mozambican-born Eusébio in 2014, Ronaldo is now the undisputed face of Portuguese soccer.
The Empire Strikes Back
Or how Africa won Euro 2016 for Portugal.
The legacy of Albert Johanneson
Imagine the exposed position black players were in English football in the 1960s: the only black man in the stadium, never mind on the field.
Africa’s Premier League
The story of Africa's long-distance love affair with English football, told by fans in Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya & DR Congo.
Abnormal Sport
In South Africa activists and sports people campaigning to isolate apartheid, declared: “No normal sport in an abnormal society.” That idea has rattled Israeli diplomats.
Football and power in Colombia
Football in Colombia has been, especially since the introduction of pro soccer in 1948, an uncontested panic button for those in power.