Beyond game day
Ultras or extreme fans of football clubs in Morocco use their collective identity to push for social and political demands.
SPORTS
Pirates and Chiefs
Why do football matches between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates matter more than any other sporting event in South Africa. Even more than when the rugby Springboks play.
Arabs and Africans
How the African Cup of Nations shows up Arab-African identity and cultural politics on the continent.
Algerian football success is a double-edged sword
Algeria reached the African Cup final for the first time in 29 years after defeating Nigeria. It can't be divorced from politics back home.
Yes We Can—Football and Nationalism
The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt and football’s peculiar hold on national identity.
Egypt’s authoritarian football
Egypt got knocked out in the Round of 16, but the hosts have been hamstrung by multiple events, including the military's control.
Can women’s football be a game changer?
Queer identities, widely accepted on the pitch in women's football, may be the way to challenge gender norms in some societies.
They’re our Black Stars. We have to support them
The last time Ghana's men's national football team won a tournament was thirty-seven years ago. The team is beginning to feel like yet another failing state institution.
I, Surya
The story of Surya Bonaly, and her unwillingness to yield to racist demands and expectations in the sport of figure skating.
Running is work
What a documentary film on running can tell us about Ethiopia's development trajectory.
The marginalization of African runners
The international body governing track and field announced that the longest distance race to be held will be the 3000 meters. We know who will benefit least from this change.
The World Cup and international relations
Who gets to host future editions of the men's soccer World Cup is not just big business, but also a bargaining chip in international relations.
Rwanda’s £30 million Arsenal sleeve
The Arsenal 'Visit Rwanda' sponsorship deal is government image management 101.
The President’s Footballers
Star players in Cameroon's national soccer team have always doubled as PR pawns for the protracted rule of the country's aging and hard-line head of state.
The Rugby revolution is not being televised
Rugby in South Africa is generally understood to be a white sport, but contemporary statistics reveal that a great many more black people than white people play rugby there.
Taking a Mallett to SuperSport
When former Springbok Ashwin Willemse walked off a SuperSport TV set, he forced conversations on racism in South African rugby and its sports media.
A Black queen in the Seattle Reign
Organized US Soccer is perceived as middle class and white. Seattle, Washington wants to break with that via its professional women's team.
Pogbacité
Is France's World Cup championship team a bellwether for France's political future?
Everything ends with a song
The author, French: "When the game is over in Russia, I’ll go play another at the field down the street. I’ll find a song to sing on the way."
The Respectable French
The 2010 World Cup was tumultuous for France; both an athletic failure and a site of social conflict. The French Football Federation doesn't want to repeat it.