Caught offside
Some African football fans have been hate-watching Bafana Bafana at the World Cup because of South Africa’s anti-migrant politics. The team’s apolitical stance has left them without a defense.
Blog
Rebranding French imperialism
Although the Africa Forward Summit in Kenya was framed as a partnership, it was actually France desperately looking for a new door into a continent that wants to throw it out.
Always searching
Abdullah Ibrahim was difficult, suspicious, and brilliant. And beneath all of it, he was searching for home.
Bloodsports and empire
The UFC White House event looked like the final triumph of the UFC-Trump alliance. But it was actually something more consequential: the first act in a darker chapter of American politics.
The distance between
The Cape Town Marathon has become Africa’s first World Marathon Major. But can a city that sees itself as an exception to the continent be its marathon capital?
The meaning of Omar Artan
The World Cup was meant to be the culmination of Omar Artan’s remarkable rise. His exclusion from it revealed something equally striking: the magnitude of the admiration he had earned at home and globally.
No stress
Cabo Verde’s national team is at the World Cup for the first time in their history. To understand why they might surprise everyone, you need to understand morabeza.
Kicking out migrants won’t create jobs
The leaders of South Africa’s anti-migrant movement claim that Black African migrants are primarily responsible for unemployment, crime, and failing public services. None of these claims is supported by evidence.
Continuities in exclusion
The refusal of the US government to admit Somali referee Omar Artan is a reminder that the United States has a long history of using sports as a tool of exclusion, especially when it comes to African and African-descended athletes.
The World Cup Senegal can’t attend
Between the visa bond, the digital surveillance requirements, and the 74 percent rejection rate, the Trump administration has made it nearly impossible for Senegalese fans and journalists to attend the World Cup.
Rock Chalk Algeria
Against a tournament shadowed by visa refusals and bureaucratic hostility, the unexpected love affair between the Algerian national team and the city of Lawrence, Kansas, is a welcome reminder of what the World Cup is actually supposed to be about.
South African journalists have a choice to make
Across South African radio and television, anti-immigration framing has become the norm.