Africa - Most popular for 2007
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...you find this one on the internet. Not the goalscorer (who goes with your basic shirt over head
celebration) but the goalkeeper who favours something entirely different. The video is from
brilliantly named Congolese club TP Mazembe Englebert's 2-1 African Confederations Cup win away to
Cameroon's Astres Douala last month.
In the second of our series on ultras in unusual places (see the first on a group of English ultras
here), we look at the first ultras group in Egypt, founded just this year but already responsible
for a series of remarkable choreographed displays. They support Al-Ahly, the side from Cairo, Egypt
who are perhaps [.
Over on World Cup Blog, I've been slowly but surely getting very very excited for the 2008 African
Cup of Nations in Ghana. But excitement turned to anger this morning when I read this story in The
Times, about the Ghanaian government "cleaning up" the area around the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi.
That doesn't [.
As easy as it is to criticize referees it also is easy to recognize that they have a difficulty
job. They have the pressure of having to make snap decisions that could impact the outcome of
games. Snap decisions like whether or not a player that looks like a dude should be allowed [...]
If you're ready for a fashion show, the line starts behind me. Not missing an opportunity to
piggy-back on the African Cup of Nations in Ghana, Stephen Appiah is set to try his hand in the
clothing business. His line, StepApp, debuts next Monday throughout Africa, followed next month by
Europe and the U.S. One of my favorite players at Germany '06, Appiah becomes the first African
soccer
My husband thinks I'm insane. Just because, on a lazy Sunday where we have no plans, I drag myself
out of bed and head to the computer at 7:00 a.m. to follow a liveblog of the World Cup draw. He
obviously has misplaced priorities. Seriously, if you're a fan of international footie, [...]
A few quick recaps of some of the games you may have been watching this weekend: US U-17 2-0 Brazil
U-17 in the Nike friendlies. The Brazilian youth don't have much practice at losing, so they're not
very good at it. Tempers were already starting to fray after the US went up 1-0, but things [...]
You would think things would be cheery-happy in South African football these days. The World Cup is
heading their way, and the national team could lose every game between now and June, 2010 and still
qualify. Gotta love that host nation automatic qualification thing. Alas, these are not happy times
for South Africa's [.
The end of the year is a time for looking back at where we've been. And where I've been is... Well,
mostly here. Since its birth a little over a year ago, this site has been my favorite place to
waste productively spend my time. Today I decided to take some [...]
Africans are not only passionate about African football but are also keen followers of European
football. We address this issue in today's edition of African Talking Point.
Exclusive: The Rise Of European Football In Africa - Good Or Bad?
zoom - galleria
Arsenal, Manchester United, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Barcelona, just to name a few, are
all popular names in Africa.
Well, what is there really to say? If you saw the Copa America final, you know how and why things
went down the way they did. While I was sad for Argentina, kudos to Dunga and Brazil, I feel that
he has his team on the right track for South Africa in 2010. If anything, the match showed the
evolution of the verde-amarela. They had a great game-plan, attack Argentina where they're most
FIFA used ad campaigns like the one above? The French might be on to something here, maybe the use
of gay imagery is the sure fire way of luring visitors to the southern tip of Africa in 2010. I
guess someone thinks it works, this is an ad for the upcoming Rugby World Cup in France. It's
currently running in Britain. Advertizing Paris [The Daily Dish] -ac
There are two teams left in the U-17 World Cup with Spain and Nigeria set to meet in the final on
Sunday. It has come as no surprise that one of the top players in the tournament has been Spain's
Bojan Krkic. The Barcelona youngster appears to be the real deal. Another [...]
Very few things in this world promote a healthy lifestyle and inspire the dreams of children quite
like alcohol. While the phenomenon of hooch is often blamed for the plight of Native Americans,
Aborigines and essentially all of British culture, Ghana and Chelsea star Michael Essien disagrees:
"I am very excited to be Guinness's first football ambassador, and truly feel proud to be part of
the
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmnjV5juzw4 What would the world be without Japanese game shows? A
sad and lonely place with no evidence that playing soccer with binoculars for eyes is one of the
toughest things to do in life.
Some of the games were so fantastic this weekend that they needed to be recapped. So we're doing
just that from here on out. Saturday Bayern Munich - VfL Wolfsburg That big "whoosh" coming from
Germany this weekend was Ottmar Hitzfeld's massive sigh of relief after Franck "I Heart Italy"
Ribery and his one-man show saved his bacon [.
Every once in a while, stories pop up in the Western press about odd goings-on at a soccer match in
a remote part of the world. These stories contain sordid details of spells placed by witch doctors,
animals sacrificed by fans, or objects burned by those seeking to affect the outcome of a game.
The sporting world has its share of backroom deals that call into question the integrity of games.
It is about time that someone steps forward and offers a more transparent way forward. No more
payments under the table. No more match fixing done behind closed doors. Let's put things out in
[...]
Pitch Invasion, a football blog with a focus on international "supporter culture," is running an
occasional series examining the lives of ultras in unusual places. Only in its second installment,
the series is well worth a read, and today's post, from "A," one of the founders of Egypt's first
ultras group, is fascinating.
A group run by a former Cameroonian soccer player estimates that there are over 7,000 African boys
currently living in France illegally. The lure of a professional contract has led them to a life in
the shadows: Many of the boys have paid 3000-4000 Euros [$4,084-$5,445] for visas and plane tickets
to so-called agents that have duped them into believing that a club contract is waiting for them.
Well, with the clock on now, I guess this means that everything is going as planned and on
schedule... right? You can build your own World Cup countdown clock at home, I just put one
together myself. My George Bush Leaves The White House countdown clock was feeling lonely. 2010
World Cup clock switched on [Sunday Times] -ac
Christmas came early for South African fans this year: Benni McCarthy has agreed to join the
national squad for next month's African Cup of Nations qualifier in Cape Town. McCarthy last played
for Bafana Bafana at the 2006 Nations Cup in Egypt. He blamed the South African FA for demonizing
him during after a pay dispute. Since then, it seems that he's gotten his club career on track,
scoring
The Spanish Federation's announcement last week that Africans would no longer count as non-EU
players passed with little notice (but I thank Joseph for bringing it to my attention). The
decision was made to keep La Liga in line with the Cotonou agreement, ratified last year by the
Spanish parliament, which treats workers from 77 [...]
We've all seen the skilled bit of play-acting perpetrated by AC Milan's keeper Dida after he
received a loving brush on the cheek from a Celtic fan. Of course we all know how that turned out,
as UEFA seem to feel his performance was more suited to Julliard than the pitch. An altogether
humiliating experience for the Brazilian keeper, but it did raise questions of just how fans are
able to get
Club versus country. Country versus club. Country club versus public golf course. Gah. It is so
divisive. How is a player to choose? For Bolton Wanderers El-Hadji Diouf the choice isn't that
hard. It is all about putting country before club except when he puts money before country.
Sepp Blatter has shown a great amount of faith in stubbornly bringing his quad-annual traveling
circus to the country with, according to the UN, the second highest per-capita murder rate, assault
rate and highest rate of rape in the world. On Sunday and Monday the sports front pages will
undoubtedly glow with news of impending [.
Oh, the exciting life of Hayley Roach, the PR and Marketing Officer for the Sheffield & Hallamshire
County FA. One day she's doing PR and marketing stuff in England, the next she's chopping up a dead
cow to feed to lions in an African lion rehabilitation program. Oh! The glamour! (Lions [...
The British Asylum and Immigration Authorities have returned their decision on Alhassan Bangura's
asylum appeal, and the news isn't good for the Watford youngster: If the Immigration Minister
himself doesn't step in himself and allow Bangura to say in England, he faces deportation back to
Sierra Leone.
During the 2002 World Cup, Philippe Troussier was a hero in Japan. He'd coached the national team
for four years, leading them to victory in the 2000 Asian Cup and second-place finish in the 2001
Confederation Cups, and hopes were high that the Frenchman would bring the hosts some sort of World
Cup miracle.
The fine employees of South Africa's First National Bank are ready to try their luck in 10
different drawings the bank is holding between now and 2010. Each drawing will give away 400 World
Cup tickets, 4,000 in all. The tickets made available will be to games at every stage of the
tournament, from the first-round to the final. I'm not sure, but this might just be the best chance
that a person
Here's an interesting article about the tug-of-war soccer finds itself in Nigeria. The country's FA
is looking to remove itself from under government control. But like in most non-western countries,
where the national team is the symbol of the nation, the Nigerian government isn't about to let go
of such a prized asset. But like everything else in this world, it all comes down to a matter of
During qualifying matches for the 1998 World Cup, I had an argument with some friends about how to
pronounce the last name of Costa Rican forward Paulo Wanchope. They said that since Wanchope (who
just signed with the Chicago Fire) was from a Spanish-speaking country, the e at the end of his
last name had [...]
If you're planning on making it out to the World Cup in South Africa, here's a bit of advice: don't
pack any Wacky Tobaccy in your satchel. It looks like it's going to be German Shepard territory in
and around the stadiums in three years time. While it seems that they'll mostly be on bomb/drug
sniffing duty, maybe it'll deter fans from doing whatever damn thing they want.
Though the bidding for the 2010 World Cup saw entries from Egypt, Morocco, and a joint bid from
Libya and Tunisia, FIFA always had South Africa earmarked for the continent's first World Cup. The
2010 host is the only country in Africa who, economically, could even remotely come close to
putting on the world's biggest show. This piece from the Economist puts a bright spin on the
future, but even
September 9, 2007
Associated Press
Nigeria beat Spain in a penalty shootout Sunday to win the Under-17 World Cup soccer
championship.
The Africans won their third title, kicking home three goals in the penalty phase as goalkeeper
Oladele Ajiboye kept the Spaniards scoreless at Seoul FIFA World Cup Stadium. Nigeria also won in
1985 and 1993.
If you've played football at all during your life, you've probably been cut from a team. In fact,
I'm still getting rejection letters from select clubs that I tried out for 20 years ago. Just to
make sure I don't show up again, I guess. But it could have been worse. My humiliation [...]
A relatively small, but growing trend in Europe involves Christian converting to Islam. Despite the
heated "clash of civilizations" rhetoric that 9/11 has provoked, many people are stepping across
the Christian-Muslim divide. Peter Ford wrote in the Christian Science Monitor that "[a]lthough
there are no precise figures, observers who monitor Europe's Muslim population estimate that [.
When your allegiances are with a particular football club, you often spend international breaks
praying that none of your players is injured while they represent their country. At best you want
your guys getting in a little run without doing damage to their bodies. You also hope the players
who aren't playing for [...]
A Congolese player at FC Brussels who walked out after being racially abused by the Belgian club's
president Johan Vermeersch has agreed to return. Zola Matumona quit the club after he and his
fellow players were torn a new one by Vermeersch for a string of poor performances, with the club
president telling him to think about things other than "trees and bananas".
Last week, the media were reporting that the Namibian Coach, Ben Bamfuchile, had resigned to go
back to his mining business. This week, they're reporting that he says he never did any such thing.
