Carlos Alberto Parreira

The recent re-appointment of Carlos Alberto Parreira as coach of South Africa, replacing fellow Brazilian Joel Santana who had been hired on Parreira's recommendation, ignited that perennial question: is a national team, particularly one on the periphery of world football, better served by a local or an outsider?

Click to continue reading...

by FRANCO PANIZO

If you were� upset� at the thought of not seeing Cristiano Ronaldo in action� for a month, you may be happy to hear� the superstar's� latest comments.

Ronaldo expects� to recover from the ankle injury he picked up in Portugal's 3-0� World Cup qualifying win� against Hungary in less than a month, the� amount of time� he was originally expected to miss.

Click to continue reading...

by FRANCO PANIZO

If you were� upset� at the thought of not seeing Cristiano Ronaldo in action� for a month, you may be happy to hear� the superstar's� latest comments.

Ronaldo expects� to recover from the ankle injury he picked up in Portugal's 3-0� World Cup qualifying win� against Hungary in less than a month, the� amount of time� he was originally expected to miss.

Click to continue reading...

Just like there is only one true Mecca, can really only be one true spiritual home of world soccer? Until recently, such a place existed in the form of Wembley Stadium (the most storied grounds in the capital city of the founding nation of the sport? I don't think anybody could compete with that) but the old Wembley was demolished in 2003 and replaced with a new version four years later. Click to continue reading...

The BBC's recent pre-season analysis of "Where the Premier League's players come from" offered a striking picture of the dramatic demographic changes in European soccer over recent decades.� Comparing the EPL's 2009-2010 rosters with the same clubs' 1989-1990 rosters, I was particularly struck by the influx of African players.

Click to continue reading...

"Who do you support?"� For your average American that question, particularly without any context, is almost impossible to make sense of.� But as I learned on a tour of Uganda and Kenya with a group of American educators in the summer of 2008, for a surprising number of Africans (particularly the teenage students we met) it is among the first questions a Western visitor will be asked.

Click to continue reading...

A gnawing and suspicious paradox lies at the heart of African national team experiences in world competition: African teams tend to do much better at the youth level than they do at the senior level.� Take the fact, for example, that African teams have won 5 of the 12 FIFA U17 World Cups (with the 2009 version scheduled to be hosted by Nigeria in October and November), but not a single African team has ever made it as far as the semi-finals of a full World Cup.

Click to continue reading...

Matthew Booth

You don't run into a lot of Irish folks in Africa.� Lots of Canadians, Norwegians, Japanese, and Australians but very few Irish.� Maybe that helps to explain why Sport Against Racism Ireland was among the groups who, during June's Confederations Cup in South Africa, were quick to assume that predominantly black crowds were booing the lone white player on the South African national team Matthew Booth.

Click to continue reading...

The call has been put out. The FIFA World Cup 2010 needs volunteers! Are you up for the challenge? If you can speak excellent English and one additional language, you can answer the call to action. Here's an overview of the open call courtesy of Chad Thomas at African Soccer Renaissance. Make sure you check out his international radio show on SABC 2000. Click to continue reading...

A couple of MLS alums have found new teams. After regaining his scoring touch in Paraguay, Carlos Ruiz has moved from Apertura champs Olimpia to Mexican club Puebla. One of the best strikers in league history, Ruiz still ranks 8th on the all-time MLS goal scoring list.
Puebla recently lost another former FC Dallas player when Ramon Nunez moved to Cruz Azul. Click to continue reading...

West African representation in the top professional soccer league of the United States has grown quickly in recent years. As they reach the highest level across the Atlantic, African soccer players are seeing America as an increasingly attractive option.
Before Aboubakarim Ndaw arrived in the United States late last year from his native Guinea, he had heard about the success of some West African players in Major League Soccer, the United States' growing professional league. Click to continue reading...

The following interview with Nigerian legend and captain of the national team Nwanko Kanu was conducted by African football magazine New African Soccer and reprinted here with their permission. The magazine is free to download. Nigeria went into the Beijing Olympics football tournament confident that they will do well. Click to continue reading...

As could be expected, lots of Gunners in action over the weekend in World Cup Qualifiers, mostly in the UEFA region. As promised, a brief look at each player and his role (if any):

Alexandre Song Billong
Started and played 90 minutes for Cameroon in their 2-1 win over Cape Verde Islands.

Click to continue reading...

Cause and effect. It's something we learned about as young kids.
Now, we get to see cause and effect in motion in the world of professional football.
The cause: The rise of African football, coupled with the advent and wide use of satellite teleivion.
The effect? Click to continue reading...

Sit down before you read this ... This made my mind boggle this morning.
According to this website, whose information has been substantiated by the FIFA website, 120,000 ordinary African soccer fans will receive free tickets to all games during the tournament, including the World Cup Final itself. Click to continue reading...

By 1970's Gooner Tresor Mputu's performances were so impressive for his club TP Mazembe and for his country DR Congo that a host of local and foreign clubs have been very keen to sign him. The list includes Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns and also three Belgian teams as well as Bayern Munich. Mputu, 21, has reportedly already had trials in France and Belgium. Click to continue reading...