Comments on: Playing the Francophone Advantage in Africa: A Colonialism Review / Africa Cup of Nations Preview

By: Mediating South Africa 2010: Parting Thoughts and Sources | Pitch Invasion

Mediating South Africa 2010: Parting Thoughts and Sources | Pitch Invasion — Mon, 31 May 2010 16:48:17 +0000

[...] several pieces related to January’s African Nations Cup in Angola (on China building stadiums, on a hypothetical ‘Francophone’ advantage, on my experiences working in Angolan refugee camps, a sort-of response to the Togo bus tragedy, [...]

By: A World Cup Miscellany: Group A | Pitch Invasion

A World Cup Miscellany: Group A | Pitch Invasion — Sat, 15 May 2010 15:16:19 +0000

[...] of the ‘Year of African Soccer,’ to be followed closely by the U-17 World Cup in Nigeria, the African Cup of Nations in Angola, and soon the mega event of them all: the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Drawing [...]

By: Playing the Francophone Advantage in Africa: A Colonialism Review / Africa Cup of Nations Preview « Scissors Kick

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 21:36:10 +0000

[...] Playing the Francophone Advantage in Africa: A Colonialism Review / Africa Cup of Nations Preview “Part of the brilliance of the Africa Cup of Nations is the way it puts the diverse stories of the continent on vivid display. Consider, for example, the contrasts in the tournament opener on January 10th when host Angola plays Mali. Angola’s story is one of hope for the future—having only recently emerged from a 27 year civil war after decades of Portuguese colonialism, Angola is flush with natural resources, one of the fastest growing economies in the world, four glistening new soccer stadiums built by Chinese friends, and immense potential both on and off the pitch.” (Pitch Invasion) [...]

By: A Socio-Historical Look at the Africa Cup of Nations | The Final Third

A Socio-Historical Look at the Africa Cup of Nations | The Final Third — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 18:56:54 +0000

[...] This is a great read… check it out. [...]

By: Andrew Guest

Andrew Guest — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 17:43:13 +0000

Thanks for the comments–I actually agree with Gouaf, except I’d call those ‘exceptions’ rather than ‘ommissions.’ I did think about them. Particularly with Nigeria it seems important to note that the country has more than twice as many people as any other in the cup of nations (Nigeria has around 155 million, where the next biggest is Egypt with around 77 million). So I think they have a built in advantage in terms of the size of their player pool to counter what I think is a contemporary Francophone advantage–neither is a perfect advantage, but advantages none the less. Although it is also interesting to note that as far as I know very few children of Nigerian immigrants play for Nigeria ((in contrast to the many children of immigrants that play for Mali, Algeria, etc.). There are some of course (it looks like Dickson Etuhu was born in England, for example), but not as many as you might expect. (As a side note, that’s a good thing for fans like myself who appreciate having the services of Oguchi Oneywu for the US).

I also agree that domestic infrastructure and leagues matter (and again, not coincidentally, Nigeria’s league is actually not bad compared to many other sub-Sarahan versions). So infrastructure and a league like Egypt’s can clearly be the difference compared to a place like Cameroon. But since most African countries don’t have a league like Egypt’s (and since some countries with relatively good infrastructure–such as South Africa–are not quite footballing powers), I still think the peculiar circumstances of much of African football combined with recent FIFA rule changes has created a Francophone advantage (however slight!).

By: Tom Dunmore

Tom Dunmore — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 15:47:13 +0000

Gouaf — I don’t think Andrew omitted Nigeria, they are discussed in the fifth paragraph and included in the table. What do you mean?

By: gouaf

gouaf — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 08:19:43 +0000

Two rather glaring omissions:

1- Nigeria, English-speaking (their lawyers even wear British-inspired wigs), with 7 UK-based players;

2- the correlation between the state of soccer-related national infrastructure and the size of the foreign-based roster. There lies the difference between Egypt and Cameroon.

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 02:54:00 +0000

Great article. So many interesting and profound points that I don’t know where to begin! Have linked to it in my tournament preview so hopefully more will read it.

By: Playing the Francophone Advantage in Africa: A Colonialism Review … | Angola News

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 23:35:42 +0000

[...] reading here: Playing the Francophone Advantage in Africa: A Colonialism Review … Share and [...]

By: A. Ruiz

A. Ruiz — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 21:11:46 +0000

Good article, and the Fire fan in me wishes Bakary Soumare and Mali succcess.