THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (DRC) is the second-largest country in Africa, and its fourth-most populated. It’s also a place as much enamoured with football as any other African nation, which, given…
Tag: africa
When Egypt beat Tanzania 2-0 in June to qualify for the 2017 African Cup of Nations, it confirmed their first appearance at the tournament after failing to qualify for the last three…
Mandela National Stadium, to give it its official name, sits atop Namboole Hill, on the eastern outskirts of Kampala. Opened in 1997 and built by Chinese contractors, with Chinese investment, it was…
Think of African football and some would cast their minds back to the days of Cameroon at Italia 90. Roger Milla swaying his hips onto a corner flag as the Indomitable Lions…
JANUARY 21, 2006, was a miserable day for Portsmouth Football Club. Pompey travelled to St Andrew’s to play Birmingham City, who were a point and a place below the south coast side…
In 1977, Pelé predicted that an African team would win the World Cup before the year 2000, but this was widely met with scepticism by those who had seen the dismal efforts…
Late in the evening of 27 April 1993, a plane is climbing out of Libreville. On board the Zambian Air Force Buffalo DHC-5D are 18 members of the Zambian national team, four…
This feature is part of The Masterminds FOR A HORRIBLE MOMENT, Stoppila Sunzu’s foot slipped. A huge chunk of Gabonese turf was dislodged from near the penalty spot as his body slipped…
REAPING IMPROVEMENT AND SUCCESS year after year is a tricky scheme to accomplish for even the very best and most capable of managers and players. Simply put, the art of long-standing perfection…
IT HAS BEEN THE MOST UNORTHODOX OF JOURNEYS for Rwanda national team manager Johnny McKinstry as he looks back on his brief but hugely impactful time in the professional. Born and raised in…
Football in South Africa is one of the game’s most cultural and engrossing stories. This is the tale of the game in Johannesburg, one of Africa’s historic jewels.
“I was 16, very young, and very scared.” Fabrice (not his real name) found himself in a shoddy hotel room near Charles de Gaulle airport, where he had arrived from Cameroon a…
This feature is part of A Tale of One City WHEN THE PIERCING RAYS OF THE MORNING SUN creep between the towering minarets and high-rise building on Casablanca’s Atlantic coast, they don’t shine…
IF EVER PEOPLE DOUBTED football’s ability to be a force for good in the world, they could do worse than look at the Cameroon side of World Cup 1990 in Italy. Inspired by…
This feature is part of The Academy Way WHAT DEFINES A GOLDEN GENERATION? It ought to be the glorious manifestation of the very peak of youth development; not just a gem or…
THE DATE WAS 3 JUNE 2007 and Ivory Coast had just defeated Madagascar 5-0 to qualify for the following year’s Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana. Goals from Saloman Kalou, Yaya Touré,…
This feature is a part of A Tale of One City As his tiny chisel chipped away to create the first gap in the crumbling wall, Howard Carter breathed air that hadn’t…
WELCOME TO CASABLANCA, Morocco’s biggest and most densely populated city. To the majority, it is best known as the setting for arguably Hollywood’s finest film; however, the city also plays host to…