Afrika Spectrum Vol. 41 (2006) 3 Special Issue: The other game: the politics of football in Africa   Bestellen / Subscription:

Table of Contents (pages) / Inhalt (Seiten):

Editorial

Susann Baller
Editorial. The other game: the politics of football in Africa (325-330)

Articles

Bea Vidacs
Through the prism of sports: why should Africanists study sports? (Abstract) (331-349)

Michael G. Schatzberg
Soccer, science, and sorcery: causation and African football (Abstract) (351-369)

Cynthia Fabrizio Pelak
Local-global processes: linking globalization, democratization, and the development of women's football in South Africa (Abstract) (371-392)

Raffaele Poli
Migrations and trade of African football players: historic, geographical and cultural aspects (Abstract) (393-414)

Reports

Peter Alegi
The Football Heritage Complex: history, tourism, and development in South Africa (415-426)

Jigal Beez
Wenn der Präsident zum Kicken bittet: Fußballcartoons aus Ostafrika [Football cartoons from East Africa] (427-442)

Bechie Paul N'guessan
Les enjeux sociaux et politiques du ballon rond. Mobilisation populaire autour de l'équipe nationale de football de Côte d'Ivoire en 2005-2006 [Social mobilization around the Ivory Coast's national team from 2005-2006] (443-453)

Obituary

Leonhard Harding
A baobab has fallen - Joseph Ki-Zerbo (1922-2006) (460)

Bibliography 'Football in Africa' (461-478)
Book Reviews (479-489)
New Publications (491-492)
Index Afrika Spectrum 2006 (493-501)
Authors (503-504)

Articles

Bea Vidacs
Through the prism of sports: why should Africanists study sports?

Download

Abstract: Sports and especially football animate the lives of millions of people in Africa. Yet, until recently the social sciences have paid very little attention to these activities on the continent. The first part of this paper provides a brief overview of social scientific writing in English (and to a lesser degree in French) about sports and argues that the field has been understudied on the continent. It continues by delineating some of the reasons why this is so, ranging from the weaknesses of sports studies, to perceptions of academics of what is a fitting subject for scientific inquiry, to seeing sport as irrelevant for the solving of the problems of underdevelopment. The second part provides an analysis of one particular case, that of the Cameroonian government's handling of three World Cups and the Cameroonian population's varying responses to it, with the intention of showing the relevance and fruitfulness of paying attention to sport in Africa.

Keywords: Africa, Cameroon, sport, anthropology, football, politics, society, World Cup

Michael G. Schatzberg
Soccer, science, and sorcery: causation and African football

Download

Abstract: This article treats two modes of political causation. First, the contemporary scientific mode that most social sciences simply take for granted and assume, quite unthinkingly, to be universally applicable and valid in all circumstances. Second, because the discussion uses African materials and empirical examples drawn from the realm of football, the article also explores a mode of causation based on the active manipulation of supernatural forces that in much of Africa is usually called witchcraft or sorcery. The essay begins with a general examination of how these two modes of understanding causation play themselves out in African football with examples drawn largely from the 2002 World Cup. It then presents a more focused analysis of one match between the national sides of Uganda and Rwanda that occurred in 2003 to demonstrate the interplay of science and sorcery in a more 'controlled' manner.

Keywords: Cameroon, Senegal, Uganda, Rwanda, witchcraft, World Cup, African Cup of Nations

Cynthia Fabrizio Pelak
Local-global processes: linking globalization, democratization, and the development of women's football in South Africa

Download

Abstract: In our ever-increasing global world, it is becoming more difficult to understand local and national experiences of competitive athletes without reference to global processes. This is clearly the case when it comes to the global sport of football. This paper takes up the issue of local-global connections within football in Africa by examining the development of and the shifting power relations within South African women's football during the 1990s. The concurrent processes of democratization and globalization make South Africa a particularly intriguing context in which to examine local-global linkages. This analysis is based on multiple sources of data including qualitative interviews, self-administered surveys, archival documents, and direct observations of women's soccer in South Africa. Future directions for research to increase our understanding of contemporary African women's sporting experiences are discussed.

Keywords: South Africa, women's football, globalization, democratization, local-global connections

Raffaele Poli
Migrations and trade of African football players: historic, geographical and cultural aspects

Download

Abstract: Professional football clubs worldwide are recruiting an increasing number of African players. While the underlying vested interests for profit and business are important, it is on a cultural level that this phenomenon has its greatest impact. The African football player as a popular icon, ambassador and mediator, is invested with a triple role, which is often difficult for him to assume. Indeed, of the multitude of young candidates who exile themselves for football, only a handful of them manage to pursue a successful career. However, due to the prevailing context of media over-exposure of football, millions of young Africans dream of leaving their country by playing this sport. In many sub-Saharan African countries football is being increasingly considered as a separate career path altogether.

Keywords: Africa, football, migration, international trade, labour