African Soccerscapes: How A Continent Changed the World's Game

Alegi, Peter

ISBN 10: 1849040389 / ISBN 13: 9781849040389

Published by C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd, 2010

About this Item

Most items will be dispatched the same or the next working day. A copy that has been read but remains in clean condition. All of the pages are intact and the cover is intact and the spine may show signs of wear. The book may have minor markings which are not specifically mentioned.

Seller Inventory # rev5047824945

Bibliographic Details

• Title: African Soccerscapes: How A Continent Changed the World's Game
• Publisher: C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd
• Publication Date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1849040389
• ISBN 13: 9781849040389
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: Good
• Weight: 270 grams

About this title

Synopsis

From Accra and Algiers to Zanzibar and Zululand, Africans have wrested control of soccer from the hands of Europeans, and through the rise of different playing styles, the rich rituals of spectatorship, and the presence of magicians and healers, have turned soccer into a distinctively African activity. "African Soccerscapes" explores how Africans adopted soccer for their own reasons and on their own terms. Soccer was a rare form of "national culture" in postcolonial Africa, where stadiums and clubhouses became arenas in which Africans challenged colonial power and expressed a commitment to racial equality and self-determination. New nations staged matches as part of their independence celebrations and joined the world body, FIFA. The Confederation Africaine de Football democratized the global game through antiapartheid sanctions and increased the number of African teams in the World Cup finals.The unfortunate results of this success are the departure of huge numbers of players to overseas clubs and the influence of private commercial interests on the African game. But the growth of the women's game and South Africa's hosting of the 2010 World Cup also challenge the one-dimensional notion of Africa as a backward, "tribal" continent populated by victims of war, corruption, famine, and disease.

About the Author

Peter Alegi is Associate Professor of African History at Michigan State University. He is the author of Laduma! Soccer, Politics, and Society in South Africa. Alegi co-hosts the "Africa Past and Present" podcast -- the most widely accessed academic podcast about African affairs (http://afripod.aodl.org).