An investigative report by the Mediapart website revealed that numerous managers of the National Technical Directorate (DTN) and the French Football Federation (FFF) approved the "principle of discriminatory quotas" in November 2010. Their objective? To limit the number of players of West African and North African origin.

South African football mourns the death of Eddie Lewis. He died of cancer on May 2 in Johannesburg at the age of 76. The Englishman played for Manchester United, Preston North End, West Ham and Leyton Orient (1952-1963) before arriving in South Africa in 1970. Lewis coached Wits University a white team to a famous 3-2 victory over Soweto giants Kaizer Chiefs in the 1978 Mainstay Cup final.

Keme Nzerem of Channel 4 News in the UK returns to South Africa. It will be interesting to see how the various media address the legacy of Africa's first World Cup in the weeks ahead.

Guest blog post by Mohlomi Maubane in Soweto, South Africa
One of South Africa's iconic tournaments, the Telkom Charity Cup, is no more. PSL chairman Irvin Khoza's announcement this week brought down the curtain on what was arguably one of the most loved tournaments in the country.

The 2011 Women's World Cup in Germany is fast approaching. Meanwhile, Tanzanian women are already on the road to Canada in 2015.

The Anderson Monarchs are talented students and gifted athletes who are creating a level playing field for girls everywhere. The team plays on a modest pitch and has virtually no money. But they have something special, a sisterhood that is supported by their community of parents and their coach.

Two of Bahrain's top footballers, Ala'a Hubail and his brother Mohammed, have been arrested for participating in anti-government demonstrations. "The dismissals are widely believed to have occurred at the behest of the government," writes James Dorsey over at the mideastsoccer blog. 200 Shi'a sportspeople in the Gulf kingdom have been suspended as the hardline Sunni government continues its repression campaign against the democratic reform movement.

Uruguay's fee for materializing on the Ice in Estonia.

By Hikabwa Decius Chipande in Gaborone, Botswana
Saturday, March 26, 2011, was a day of jubilation in Gaborone, the capital city of Botswana. The Zebras Botswana's national football team –- made history by qualifying for next year's African Nations Cup in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.

Indi Cowie a 16-year-old soccer phenom from North Carolina can freestyle with the best. "The family garage is her laboratory," notes the New York Times Magazine. "There are times when there's an enormous bang and I wake up at 5 in the morning thinking there's an intruder in the house," says Indi's father, Logan Cowie.

Saud Abdul Ghani, head of the Mechanical Engineering department at the University of Qatar, recently unveiled a special plan for the 2022 World Cup: remote-controlled artificial clouds over the stadiums!
Powered by four solar engines, the man-made clouds would be made of ultra light carbon fiber in an attempt to bring some relief to fans in the stands and players on the field from temperatures expected to reach 122 degrees Fahrenheit (50 Celsius) during the Qatari summer.

Gerard Akindes and Paul Darby at Ohio University (2005)

On Friday, March 11, the Institute for the African Child and the Center for Sports Administration are hosting the 7th Sports in Africa symposium at Ohio University. The program including my keynote address will be webcasted from 1 p.

While putting together a post on Gaddafi and football, I received a poignant reminder of the century-long history of African political leaders' involvement in the game. Richard W. Msimang, a founder of the African National Congress in South Africa, played football in school in South Africa and in Britain where he lived for a decade and then in 1929 was a founder of one of Johannesburg's leading black football associations.

By Mohlomi Maubane
The 2010 World Cup was heralded as the dawn of a new era in South African football. This new epoch was to be devoid of the old amateurish ways in the local game where officials "forget" to perform rudimentary tasks like erecting corner kick flags for an international match.

African Activist Archive, Michigan State University

When Chris De Broglio told me the sad news of Isiah Stein's passing I knew very little about this brave Cape Town-born activist. All I could remember was that he was an exiled South African, a former executive committee member of SANROC, the heart and soul of the anti-apartheid sport boycott, and that his sons had played professional football in Britain.