News Hit

Africa United: Soccer, Passion, Politics, and the First World Cup in Africa

A Book by: Steve Bloomfield

So far I have struggled to find a book on the history of football in Africa. There was an impressive chapter written by David Goldblatt in his brilliant book The Ball Is Round, but there was nothing on how African football has developed over time.

But then I read Africa United by Steve Bloomfield. One of the most interesting thing about this book is how Bloomfield has opted to ignore the political issues that surround the game and concentrate only on the development and the impact it had on many African countries.

Upon reading this book, it soon becomes apparent that Steve Bloomfield is not a sports writer. He does not talk about the tactical aspect of the game. Nor does he talk about the different pitch sizes and how the poor quality grass in most African stadiums impacts the development of players from the region. His book is more like a travel guide. He talk about his experiences of watching football in the Congo, Sudan and Rwanda, detailing how perceptions of the game are so much different from those of Europeans.

One of the major drawbacks of this book is how Steve Bloomfield simply passed over footballing culture in countries like Cameroon, Morocco and Algeria; however, on balance, the book holds fantastic discussions on football in Niger, Zimbabwe and Kenya.

Inevitably, this book is a great read if you want to know how football is played in the lesser known African countries. However, its complete ignorance of football's political impact on the African continent does leave a lot to be desired.