No normal sport in an abnormal society
Recently, Aubrey Bloomfield, a graduate student at The New School, and I wrote a piece for
SPORTS
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.
In Rum We Trust
The filmmaker, Akin Omotoso, traveled to the 2016 NBA All Star Weekend in Toronto, Canada. This is his diary.
The African Team that Played in Spain’s La Liga
Moghreb Tetouan, now back in Morocco, remains the only African club ever to hold a spot in a top-flight European football league.
A History in Fragments
The recent explosions in the Stade de France was one of the most surreal things to ever take place in a stadium built nearly two decades ago specifically to house history.
What do they know of cricket
White South African cricket writers should stop commenting on cricket as if the game is apolitical or the national team is still as all-white as when the country was first allowed back into international cricket.
When Pelé ended a war
From July 1967 to January 1970, Nigeria was engaged in civil war. Apparently, one person could make the war pause: The G.O.A.T., Pelé.
What Serena Williams communicates on the tennis court
One key to black style is the fact that, relative to white Americans, black people don’t have much room “for make believe.”
Arthur Ashe and the Military Coup
In 1976, the American tennis star, Arthur Ashe, went to play in a tennis tournament in Lagos and promptly found himself in the middle of a coup by Nigeria's military.
Flying to Frankfurt with a Super Eagle
The author writes about a fleeting encounter with the former captain of Nigeria's national football team, Sunday Oliseh.
The Dream is Free
A documentary film follows basketball Serge Ibaka on his return to the country of his birth, The Republic of Congo.
Can Football Still be Political?
Chile's 2015 Copa America win won’t heal any of the political or social issues Chile is dealing with. But that's fine.
Issa Hayatou: MVP?
Is the Confederation of African Football's president advancing the continent's football or entangling it in geopolitics that could backfire and have lasting consequences?
Why would you only watch Canada at Canada’s World Cup?
In some ways all women are the same. We bleed every moon until you hit a
In Praise of Defeat
The only safe thing to talk about in Eritrea, is football. Even the President watches football and is a public Arsenal fan.
Africa is a Radio: Episode #11
Africa is a Radio has a Football (is a Country) focus this week. Things have been
The African Champions League Final
The Juventus team of Ghana's Kwadwo Asamoah, Italy's Angelo Ogbonna and the French pair Patrice Evra and Paul Pogba.
Are corrupt Africans really ruining FIFA?
Of course football administrators in predominantly white countries that aren't Africa have no interest at all in "looking after" their families.
The type of genuine player the world needs to look to
Africa's representatives at the 2015 Women's World Cup are Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire and Nigeria. The latter's chances depends a lot on Asisat Oshoala's form.
The NBA comes to Africa
An interview with the National Basketball Association's Vice President in charge of international affairs, Amadou Gallo Fall, about the NBA's plans for Africa.