Defects in Reporting Olympic Defections

English: Olympic medals revealed in Trafalgar Square, London (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Since the Cold War, athletes worldwide have been using sports to defect to countries other than their birth countries. During the time of the Cold War, a number of Europeans would use international sporting events to escape the conditions in their home countries.  In the aftermath of the London 2012 Olympic Games, there have been several reports of “African” Athletes disappearing from the Olympic Village. Many of the stories are sensational or stereotypical, laced with the familiar narrative of ‘Africans’, trying to ‘escape’ poverty, war, and disease.  I have found some of this reporting to be sensational and somewhat removed from the contemporary African experience.

In the cases where journalists referred to similar European defections, authors often cited political ideology over economic as the reason for defection. In contrast, the authors writing about African defections seem to be overwhelmingly attributing the defections to poor economic situations. However, we need to look beyond economic factors in making these claims. In the past, as famously enshrined by the Economist, Africa was often depicted as an economically ‘hopeless’ continent. This is no longer the case. Africa’s economies are on the rise and many more Africans have been lifted out of poverty than ever before. The new economic projections place seven out of the ten fastest growing economies in the world in Africa. Although there are certainly economic woes in African countries, economics is not the only reason these athletes leave. In fact in 2009, an entire Eritrean soccer team ‘vanished’ during a soccer tournament in Kenya. Therefore, the goal is not necessarily to leave the continent for better economic conditions in the Global North.

Additionally, if economic concerns were the over arching reason for athelte’s decisions to defect, than one should expect defections to be srpead out evenly across the continent. The 12 defectors came from countries like Cameroon, Ivory Coast, and Guinea, and Congo. The majority of these missing atheletes came from Cameroon. Cameroon is the 5^th largest producer of cocoa in the world and has oil reserves. Therefore we need to examine what is going on in Cameroon as an independent nation that has lead to seven of its atheletes leaving. Most likely, the economic prosperty from Cameroons natural resources is not trickling down to its atheltes. In other words, political will by Cameroonian authorities to support sports is key. It is not so much the poverty in these nations that drives them away, rather the economic system. Many athletes are not adequately supported by their government in their profession. The infrastructure, training and even moral support is not always readily available to the athletes. Likewise, some of the other defecting atheltes notably came from oil-rich Guniea and the cocoa-rich Ivory Coast (incidentally also one of the financial capitals of Africa). Except for the Coltrane-rich Congo, arguably, economic conditions in these countries are no worse than in other African countries.

Many of the reports also unfairly refer to the monolithic term “African”, thereby branding the entire continent as one country whose inhabitants are all trying to escape poverty. Less than 5 countries out of a total of 54 African nations have been affected by these defections, yet the whole continent has been branded. When one delves deeper in to the countries of origin, one can begin to make a better analysis of this pattern of defection.

Out of the 60 athletes that Cameroon brought to the Olympic games, five boxers, one swimmer and one footballer were reported missing. Numerically, this is not indicative of the type of reported desperation by African athletes to leave their home countries. The fact that Fifty-three Cameroonian athletes planned on returning also reflects 53 Cameroonian athletes that decided not to defect. In a larger context, the same argument can be made for the total number of African athletes that came to the games versus the number of total African athletes that decided to go home.

Many reports have also exaggerated the number of defecting athletes. So far, the official count of missing athletes is twelve, yet there are reports of ‘dozens’ of ‘Africans’ missing. Providing a grossly exaggerated number is disingenuous to the continent as it is simply not true.
Most articles concentrate on the push factors that lead to defection but fail to cite the pull factors. African athletes being wooed by countries in the Global North in order to contribute to their own medal counts. Much like the brain-drain, Africans are being aggressively wooed for their bodies, in what I refer to as an ‘Olympic body-drain’. They are being offered citizenship, training facilities, and contracts that they find beneficial. African athletes should therefore not only be viewed as running away from economic problems back home but rather, running towards economic prosperity.

Much of the reporting about the athletes provides little insight about the contemporary economic conditions in Africa or non-economic conditions that contribute to the defections. Both the push and pull factors need to be discussed. Lumping all African countries together provides for an unbalanced analysis too since we are dealing with individual nations. The journalistic narrative of the defecting African atheletes at this years games has been problematic at many levels. As an
African I hope to see more journalists stray away from this long travelled path.

*This post was originally published  on August 31st, 2012 on Africa on the Blog.

Africa's Olympic Medal Count: London 2012

London 2012 banner at The Monument. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Now that the Olympics are over its time to celebrate Africa's successes at London 2012. This year, we saw 10 African countries achieving medals. Overall, Africa's medal count this year was 34,  a decrease from the 40 medals gained at the last Olympics in 2008. Two countries, Botswana and Gabon, won their first ever medals this year. Africa's medals were disproportionally in the category of  Track and Field. As expected Kenya and Ethiopia, dominated this category both amongst African countries and internationally. They brought a total of 18 medals between the two countries for the continent. Kenya achieved 11 total medals in Track and field (compare this to Jamaica's 12 medals in Track and  Field). Kenyan runner, David Rudisha also managed to break a world record in the 800m dash. Other notable achievements were South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius who made Olympic history this year by being the first double amputee to compete at the Olympics along side able bodied athletes. Zimbabwe was expected to win a medal this year but did not bring home any. Zimbabwean swimmer Kirsty Coventry,  who took the world by storm by winning multiple medals at the Beijing Olympics was one of the few hopeful athletes for that country. African swimmers though were well represented over all but only swimmers from Tunisia and South Africa earned medals in swimming events.  The youngest competitors in the Olympics were from Africa. The youngest being the thirteen-year-old swimmer from Togo, Adzo Kpossi. In the next age group, four out of the the seven fourteen-year-olds were from Africa. This included swimmer Joyce Tafatatha of Malawi, swimmer Nafissatou Moussa Adamou of Niger, swimmer Aurelie Fanchette of the Seychelles and fencing athlete Lea Melissa Moutossamy of Algeria. This is  an affirmation that the young talent coming out of the continent are competing in more diversified sports. In addition to Track and Field African countries won medals in fencing, wrestling, swimming, canoeing, and rowing. The Nigerian basketball team qualified for the Olympics for the first time, having beat international Basketball powerhouses in order to qualify for a chance to compete. There team included Nigeria's Diaspora that play professionally and at college level. Although they did not receive a medal, they won one out of four games at the Olympics. A notable mention also needs to be made for the increasing number of athletes in the voluntary African Diaspora that have citizenship or Dual Citizenship in countries outside of their birth country that won medals for non-African countries. Their contributions to sports are also important for the continent although their efforts would be well appreciated on the continent. In order of the total number of medals, African nations awarded with Olympic medals at London 2012 include:

1. 

   English: Beijing Olympic Stadium August 15, 2008 at 9.54pm PDT Track and field event (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

   Kenya, 11 medals (2 Gold, 4 Silver, 5 Bronze) - Track and Field.
2. Ethiopia, 7 medals (3 Gold, 1 Silver, 3 Bronze) - Track and Field.
3. South Africa,  6 medals (3 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze) - Swimming, Rowing, Canoe Sprint, Track and Field.
4. Tunisia, 3 medals (1 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze) - Swimming, Track and Field.
5. Egypt, 2 medals (2 Silver) - Fencing, Wrestling.
6. Algeria 1 medal (1 Gold) - Track and Field.
7. Uganda 1 medal (1 Gold) - Track and Field.
8. Botswana 1 medal (1 Silver) -Track and Field. 
9. Gabon 1 medal (1 Silver) - Track and Field
10. Morocco 1 medal (1 Bronze) - Track and Field.

A South African fan cheers on South Africa (Photo credit: rafiq s)

Overall, according to the medal count of all nations that participated (a count that considers the number of Gold medals first), the rankings were:

1. South Africa #24
2. Ethiopia #25
3. Kenya # 28
4. Tunisia #45
5. Algeria #50
6. Uganda #50
7. Egypt #58
8. Botswana #69
9. Gabon #69
10. Morocco #79. 

South Africa is the leader within the continent in terms of the number of Gold medals it has received although Kenya has won the most total medals on the continent. In general, we have seen a number of gains in the past few years in Africa's competitiveness at the Olympics. Congratulations to all those that represented Team Africa this year!

Africa's Olympic Body Drain (Part Two): Competitive Advantage and Citizenship

DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA - JUNE 03: Zola Budd and Bruce Fordyce finish together during the 2012 Comrades Marathon on June 03, 2012 in South Africa. The 2012 Comrades Marathon is starting at the City Hall in Pietermaritzburg and finishing at the Sahara Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

Taking advantage of Dual Citizenship is important for African nations wanting to have a competitive advantage in athletic games. Being competitive at the Olympics in a globalized world is just as much about having an effective athletic management strategy as it is about the athletic ability of the Olympians. For African countries, getting medals is not just a matter of poor training facilities, or lack of financial resources.Its a matter of leveraging all available or potential human resources. Part of an effective global strategy is is inclusive of all of the nations people and thus increases the chance of a country to bring home medals. Therefore, citizenship matters. In the past few years alone, there has been an increase in African athletes competing for non-African teams. There has also been an increase in non-African nations coveting successful African athletes. There are numerous examples of African players that have changed their citizenship in order to compete at the Olympics i.e. South African born runner Zola Budd competed for England; Kenyan born  runner Bernard Lagat competed for the USA; Kenyan born cyclist Chris Froome competed for Great Britain.  Many countries in Africa have realized that lack of Dual Citizenship is costing them players and  decreasing their competitiveness. Many countries have now taken the important step towards leveraging their athletes. Both Kenya and South Africa now offer Dual Citizenship to their nationals.  It is  in the best interest of these countries in Africa to offer Dual Citizenship so that they can increase their competitiveness at international events through policies that encourage the retention of athletes.

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 31: Tony Skinn #4 of Nigeria shoots in the Men's Basketball Preliminary Round match between Lithuania and Nigeria  in London, England. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

Many countries strategically provide citizenship to African athletes as an incentive for these athletes to immigrate to their country and compete for them in the Olympics. They offer the athletes additional attractions like training facilities or an opportunity to qualify for the Olympics in cases where they would not have qualified in their own countries. In the USA alone, fifty athletes migrated to the USA between 1992 and 2008 to compete for their Olympic team that previously competed for another country. At the London 2012 games, over 40 foreign-born citizens ran for the United States. This 'body gain' increases the chance for the USA to earn medals, money, national pride and prestige that comes with winning Olympic events. For the African countries that have lost a potential Olympic medal athlete, this is a tremendous loss.  Many African athletes also strategically maintain the citizenship of their country-of-origin or acquire citizenship of new nations so that they can compete in the Olympics. Nigeria was able to send its first qualifying Basketball team to the Olympics 2012 due to the contributions of Nigerian Dual Citizens in the USA.  Both Nigeria and USA recognize Dual Citizenship. As Dual Citizens with both U.S.A and Nigerian citizenship, these athletes are able to compete for Nigeria or USA. However, basketball is very competitive in the USA and there is a saturation of qualified players therefore it is more difficult to qualify in the USA team. Many of these players therefore opted to try out for the Nigerian Olympic basketball team (D'Tigers) and where able to qualify to compete alongside other Nigerians. A handful of the players were from the NBA professional league, the remainder were from college. Nigeria benefits by having a Basketball team comprised of all of its best athletes and qualifying for the first time in this event. It also benefits by having athletes compete for them at little or no cost to Nigeria. 

Olympics in Barcelona (Photo credit: cliff1066™)

Although Nigeria's defeat by the USA's dream team was the focus of many, Nigeria's ascendency to the Basketball arena was commendable.  They managed to establish Nigeria as a Basketball powerhouse.They beat established teams like Lithuania, Greece and the Dominican Republic to qualify for the Olympics. Even though the team did not bring home medals for Nigeria, they won one out of four games. They also  lifted the profile of African Basketball. The world hasn't seen the last of teams like D'Tigers that are made up of all of Africa's human resources.  Addressing issues of citizenship for all their nationals as part of an athletic strategy is important. Dual Citizenship is important for competing at the international level and building a winning country brand.  If African nations want to increase the number of medals that they have, African nations need to leverage their athletic human resources. This will create a situation where both players and the country can benefit. It is a step in countering the 'body drain' of our athletes. It will also create a situation where more Olympic medals can be awarded on the African continent ... and one where more happy Olympic memories can be created for Africa.

Related articles

• Olympic Body Drain (Part One): Olympic Strategy and Citizenship
• Africa's Olympic 'Body Drain': Matters of Citizenship

Africa's Olympic Body Drain (Part One): Olympic Strategy and Citizenship

Special Olympics (Photo credit: MikeBlyth)

The Olympics is the biggest global sporting event that offers countries an opportunity to show their talents. It allows nations to brand or promote themselves through sports in a way that expensive advertising cannot – It is what a sport like basketball has done to raise the profile of the USA, or short distance running for Jamaica or long distance for Ethiopia and Kenya, respectively. Winning a medal at an Olympic game is the root of envy from other nations. It is a source of pride from the country's citizens. National glory is important for the people of a nation. It is therefore an arena where questions of citizenship are important and can quickly become contentious. The Olympic Charter requires that an athlete is a national of the country they compete for. However, there are restrictions for athletes that change or switch citizenship whereby an athlete a losses citizenship from one country in order to gain citizenship of another country. There is a three year time frame that needs to pass in order for these athletes to compete for a different country. Exceptions to this rule can be made though by the Olympic governing bodies. Dual Citizens though have no such restrictions and can compete for either country where they hold citizenship. 

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 27: Richard Banda is the  First Gentleman of Malawi and a former Olympic athlete for Malawi. He arrived in England for the London 2012 Olympic Games to support the Malawi athletes   (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

Malawi is one African country that doesn’t recognize Dual Citizenship. For a country like Malawi that has had Olympic athletes compete but no Olympic medals, lack of Dual Citizenship laws means that Malawi is decreasing its opportunity of becoming a medal bearing country. Athletes that have two Malawian parents but live outside of Malawi are prevented from competing for Malawi at the international level after the age of twenty-one. Football (soccer) players like Tamika Mkandawire, who has one Malawian parent but is a British citizen, is not able to compete for Malawi even though he plays for a professional league in Europe. Although an athlete like Cate Campbell, a Malawian-born Australian Olympic swimming medalist, does not have Malawian parents, she should have the option to compete for Malawi (Even if it is under a special category of Dual Citizenship for those without Malawian parentage but has an exceptional talent). There is little doubt that Campbell must have used some level of Malawian resources in the first nine years of her life whilst physically living in Malawi. Therefore it is in the best interest for Malawi to leverage the use of those resources for the benefit of Malawi. This includes human resources. Lack of Dual Citizenship also means that there is an increasing chance for up and coming Malawian players to be poached by other countries and thereby creating a situation where Malawi trains athletes but their contribution to Malawi can not be maximized. We need to consider that the ‘body' drain is just as real and just as problematic as the ‘brain drain’ on the continent. Malawian Athletes such as swimmers Joyce Tafathata and Charlton Nyirenda or runners Mike Tebulo, and John Kayange are more inclined to switch citizenship in order to advance their careers due to aggressive recruiting by the Global South. Rather than abandoning Malawian citizenship altogether, Dual Citizenship would allow these players to compete for Malawi when needed. Countries like Malawi need to have an Olympic strategy that is beyond the physical aspects of the game. The Olympic games are not just about competing harder, they are about competing smarter. 

Related articles

• Africa's Olympic Body Drain (Part Two): Competitive Advantage and Citizenship
• Africa's Olympic 'Body Drain': Matters of Citizenship

African Madness: Marching towards the NCAA

LOUISVILLE, KY - FEBRUARY 12: Peyton Siva #3 of the Louisville Cardinals shoots the ball while defended by Baye Moussa Keita #12 of the Syracuse Orange during the Big East Conference game against at the KFC Yum! Center on February 12, 2011 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

As I was watching the American NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) college basketball tournament, dubbed  "March Madness", I noticed that the team I was supporting, Syracuse University, had a player with the same last name as great African musician, Salif Keita. I knew instantly that this player was a son of the continent.Typically, I am used to seeing several African players in sports like soccer (what the rest of the world’s calls football), rugby, and of course, track. As the tournament went on, I noticed a number of names that stood out as possibly being of African origin. I started to wonder how many players were of African descent in the tournament. There seems to be a noticeable growth of the number of Africans playing in the NCAA (see full list of African players in division one of the NCAA). In looking at the compiled list of Africans in this year’s NCAA tournament (see below), it looks like players from West Africa make up the majority of this category - with Nigeria taking the clear lead. Other players from Senegal and Cameroon are also represented in strong numbers. There is a noticeable absence from players from Southern Africa (Countries like Botswana, Namibia, Malawi, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and Zambia) There is only one player from this region represented who is from South Africa. In part, it seems to be representative of breakdown in numbers of the wider African immigrant population in the U.S.  The  list of African players in this year’s NCAA consists of  54 African student-athletes. When considering the numbers of Africans in the U.S., this is a significant proportion. This includes African-born immigrants and non-immigrants as well as first generation Africans in America. It is going to be interesting to watch how many of these players  will march towards the professional league, the NBA. 

It seems that there is corresponding large boom in the popularity of basketball in Africa, particularly and the (voluntary) African diaspora.

Day 4 Basketball (18 August 2010) (Photo credit: Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Game

Although there has been a tradition of basketball on the It seems that there is corresponding large boom in the popularity of basketball in Africa. continent for a long time, basketball in Africa has marched forward. Basketball however has not reached the same frenzy and madness centered around soccer, but is making its mark. Basketball is probably slower to penetrate in Africa because it requires equipment (the hoop) that cant be easily improvised. In  soccer  one can use two bottles, sticks ... etc.. (there are endless possibilities ) to create goals. Basketball is also largely dominated by America and the NBA. An African basketball tournament that has also been taking place in Africa since 1961 officiated by the International Basketball Federation or Fédération Internationale de Basketball (FIBA) - Africa. Many African teams also participate in basketball in the Olympics. However, the NBA arguably remains the most prominent of the basketball tournaments. Therefore penetration to the NBA is no easy feat. Similarly, playing for the NCAA is very competitive. It will be useful to keep track on this recent surge of players and how they will influence basketball on the continent. It is worth considering though if it is the growing popularity of the game that’s influencing the number of players that are choosing to play the game. Whether it’s African players influencing the popularity of the game or the popularity of the game influencing a rise in players, basketball is having an impact on Africans.  It will be useful to also keep track of how many of these player play in the NBA in the future.

Dikembe Mutombo playing with the Houston Rockets (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I was able to locate one list of African basketball players in the NBA compiled in 2008 (See I’m an African in New York). I was not able to find an updated list therefore some of the players on the list may not be playing in the NBA any longer. However, this list includes the players like: Luol Deng, Chicago Bulls  (Sudan), Desagana Diop, Dallas Mavericks – (Senegal), Ike Diogu, Indiana Pacers  (Nigeria), Kelenna Azubuike, GS Warriors  (Nigeria), Emeka Okafor, Charlotte Bobcats  (Nigeria), Thabo Sefolosha, Chicago Bulls (South Africa), Dikembe Mutombo, Houston Rockets (DR Congo), Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Dallas Mavericks (Ghana), Michael Olowokandi, Boston Celtics (Nigeria), Mouhamed Sene, Seattle Supersonics (Senegal), Pape Sow, Toronto Raptors – Senegal, Ime Udoka, Portland Trailblazers (Nigeria) and Didier Ilunga-Mbenga, Dallas Mavericks (DR Congo).  In the next four years there should be more players that will join this list of Africans in the NBA. Below is a list of the African players in this year’s tournament and the countries they represent (the names in bold are rising stars likely to make the draft:

West Region (U.S.)

1. Teeng Akol Western Kentucky (Sudan)
2. O'Karo Akamune (Nigeria)
3. Kene Ayigbo Western Kentucky (Nigeria)
4. Melvin Ejim Iowa State (Nigeria)
5. Alex Oriakhi Uconn (Nigeria)
6. Ehimen Orukpe Wichita State (Nigeria)
7. Osamuede Egharevba Wichita State (Nigeria)
8. Teddy Okereafor VCU (Nigeria)
9. Victor Oladipo Indiana (Nigeria)
10. Christian Kabongo New Mexico State (Congo)
11. Bandja Sy New Mexico State (Mali)
12. Tshilidzi Nephawe New Mexico State (South Africa)  
13. Brice Massamba UNLV (Congo)
14. Deuce Bello Baylor (Nigeria)  
15. Michael Gbinije Duke (Nigeria)

East Region (U.S.)

1. Baye Moussa Keita Syracuse (Senegal)
2. Chudier Pal North Carolina Asheville (Sudan)
3. John Nwannunu North Carolina Asheville (Nigeria)
4. Victor Ojeleye Kansas State (Nigeria)
5. Festus Ezeli Vanderbilt (Nigeria)
6. Steve Tchiengang Vanderbilt (Cameroon)
7. James Siakam Vanderbilt (Cameroon)
8. Steve Moundou-Missi Harvard (Cameroon)
9. Ugo Okam Harvard (Nigeria)
10. Cheikh Mbodj Cincinnati (Senegal)
11. Alexis Wangmene Texas (Cameroon)
12.  Myck Kabongo Texas (Congo)
13. Okaro White Florida State (Nigeria)
14. Youssou Ndoye St. Bonaventure (Senegal)
15. Guy Landry Edi Gonzaga (Cote d’Ivoire)
16. Mathis Keita Gonzaga (Mali)
17. Chido Onyiuke Loyola MD (Nigeria)

Midwest Region (U.S.)

1. Osas Ebomwonyi Lamar (Nigeria)
2. Mogboluwaga Oginni Creighton (Nigeria)
3. Moussa Gueye Alabama (Senegal)
4. Retin Ojomoh Alabama (Nigeria)
5. Michael Eric Temple (Nigeria)
6. Bak Bak California (Sudan)
7. Jordan Omogbehin South Florida (Nigeria)
8. Eso Akunne Michigan (Nigeria)
9. Moses Ayegba – Georgetown (Nigeria)

West Region (U.S.)

1. Jamal Olasewere Long Island (Nigeria)
2. Kenny Onyechi (Nigeria)
3. Robinson Odoch Opong Long Island (Kenya)
4. Hippolyte Tsafack Memphis (Cameroon)
5. Gatete Djuma Long Beach State (Rwanda)
6. Gorgui Dieng Louisville (Senegal)
7. Youssef Mejri Davidson (Tunisia)
8. Frank Ben-Eze Davidson (Nigeria)
9. Chris Otule Marquette (Nigeria)
10. Charles Abouo BYU (Cote d’Ivoire)
11. Nyandigisi Moikubo Iona (Kenya)
12. Will Yeguete Florida (Cote d’Ivoire)
13. Assane Sene Virginia (Senegal)

(see detailed list, including stats)

Yes, Africa Can Unite!

Ghana is the last African team playing in the World Cup, and now enjoys the support of the majority of Africa. This leads me to point out a popular misconception - the one that depicts the idea that African nations that do not support each other and only seek self interests. Whilst no two nations can support each other 100% of the time, African nations are not warring all the time either and do know when its important to support each other ... when it comes to football (soccer). When Ghana qualified in their group and no other African nation went through to the next round, the rest of Africa threw their full support behind the Ghanaian team. In spite of the tendency of Africans substitute the three syllable 'Gha-nai-an' and opt to call their African counterparts four syllable 'Gha-na-ni-an', we all knew that their was no mistaking that it was the people of Ghana that they are now supporting. In an earlier post, Why African Teams Can't Suceed In A World Cup, I commented on an American sports commentator's view that part of the reasons African teams fail is due to ethnic, or in his words, 'tribal' fighting. I went on to dispute that, since from a sociological perspective, in inter group relations theories, when groups band together in a common goal, they tend to unite. Similarly, we can see the same thing happening in the World Cup.

Generally speaking, in sports, African people will tend to support the next African team before any other team in sign of solidarity, albeit being staunch fans of the English Premier League and other nations like Brazil. It is also interesting to note, that we do not see North Americans (USA and Canada) similarly throw their full support behind Mexico which is the last team representing that region. Now that USA is out, we see no massive support of U.S citizens for their neighbors. For South Africa, it has meant seeing the now generation of white South Africans, throw their support for Ghana as well, hence identifying themselves with Africa according to Alexandra Hudson's article 'World Cup fires African identity of young whites'. This is a significant shift because it shows the transition in self-identity in South Africa amongst South Africans of all shades. Many white South Africans are descendants of the Dutch, Portuguese, Greek and Italians and identify with this heritage. Whereas in the past they correctly, identified themselves with their rich multiple heritage, now it seems like the order in which they do is shifting. They see themselves as South Africans first, Africans second, and their ancestry third. This is the same trend we see for hyphenated-Americans in the U.S that see themselves as Americans first.

On a soccer report on Al Jeezera News channel a few days ago, I saw them interviewing what they called young 'Italian' fans in South Africa whom they asked to do a soccer cheer. These Caucasian boys were dressed in their Italian fan gear for the Italian match, but when asked to sing to show their Italian team spirit, they sang 'shosholoza' (A South African/Zimbabwean call and response song made popular by migrant workers) and it occurred to me that these were in fact, Italian-South Africans. Not to say that the World Cup had performed miracles in South Africa and that everyone is singing Kumbayaa, but we need to recognise that African identity is also taking shape in Africa. All Africans whether white, east or south asian, black, western, eastern, southern, or northern African can feel a part of this inclusive continent. Yes, we can all unite -- well, at least around a little white Jabulani ball.

Why Hasn't Asia Won A World Cup?

It is understandable that since the World Cup 2010 is in Africa this year, there is a greater focus on the record achievements of Africa teams. This focus though is not unique to this year's cup. Every four years we anxiously place our bets on which country will realistically win the cup this year, and then place out bets idealistically to see which African team may bring home the trophy for the first time. Yet, World Cup after World Cup  we see repeated performances with familiar conversations about why an African country has not won the cup. Year after year, African teams are analyzed, individual players assessed whilst Asian teams rarely get mentioned and virtually go unnoticed. It is as if no one expects Asians to excel in soccer but everyone expects Africans to excel in soccer. One can examine how preconception may be a contributing factor to this particular question.

Albeit athleticism being a positive stereotype, it is a double edged sword for Africa- on one hand it speaks volumes that a continent that reveres soccer and produces top class players, has yet to win a tournament. So we do need to inquire about the lack of a cup on the continent. At the same time, it speaks volumes of the low expectations of Asian players, who are largely overlooked in terms of competitive sports like soccer, football, basketball, and are not expected to do well which is a stereotype that they have the burden of carrying.  African players, in contrast, are viewed as athletic, and natural athletes who can play the game, but lack the 'discipline', and mental focus to translate that talent to a win.

The continent's 'talented' players are scattered all around the world - it is the one time that visas pursue Africa instead of the other way around. There is an expectation for African players not only to be good at  soccer, but to excel in it, and when this doesn't happen, the world tends to ask, 'why hasn't Africa ever won a World Cup?" to this, I will respond, "well, why hasn't Asia ever won a World Cup?"

US Resturant Owner Serving Lion Meat Burgers As A Tribute to the World Cup

"Arizona restaurant serving lion meat burgers"
Associated Press: 6/23/2010
PHOENIX — An Arizona restaurant owner dreamed up a novelty meal to give customers a South African experience during the World Cup 2012 being held in South Africa. Serving burgers made with African lion meat has generated protests from animal rights activists.

Cameron Selogie says his Il Vinaio restaurant in Mesa has received a bomb threat and more than 150 e-mails from protesters. He says African lions are on the protected list, but not endangered.
The restaurant ordered 10 pounds of African lion meat from a USDA-regulated, free-range farm in Illinois, which Selogie says he researched to make sure they were humane. It's mixed with ground beef, and the restaurant says it's serving about 15 burgers a day
USDA spokesman Jim Brownlee says lion meat is an uncommon dish, but he knew of no prohibitions against it (Information from: The Arizona Republic, http://www.azcentral.com/)

(Re)brand:

I remember reading about Uganda and the famous stories of Idi Amin eating Lion heart for virility and strength. Those particular aspects of Amin’s unique and outlandish habits travelled amongst Ugandans and the British because it was not the norm in Uganda to eat any Lion part. Similarly, in African Folklore and traditional tales about Africa, one always heard the brave young hunter or warriors had killed a Lion, and that they made clothes or jewelry from the body parts, but it was never followed by ‘and the village had a feast and ate for days’. I have never heard of Africans eating Lions as a common practice. If this happens, it is certainly not as widely known as this unfounded belief or claim about the way we eat. So without any witnesses to this meat eating habit or any traceable names of ethnic groups that eats Lion meat, the basis of such a statements derive from where exactly? The restaurant owners statements seems to be an illogical series of assumptions, ‘oh, the must eat Lions in Africa, since Africans eat anything and Lions are in Africa”. I have yet to hear of a specific ethnic group in Africa that does this as a practice.


I searched my memory files, I Googled it, I asked my friends from Uganda and Kenya and no, not even the hunter-gather ethnic group, the Masai's who are most famous for their feats in hunting kill Lion as a source of meat. According to the Masai Association, Masai's kill the lions for the mane, tail and claws but never for the meat. The Mane and tail are beaded and returned to the hunter to wear on special occasions. The claw is used in a similar manner. Killing of the Lion is usually done as a rite of passage (not so much in present day culture since Lions are now in a ‘protected’ class – not ‘endangered’ class). I would imagine that they would prefer to leverage their energy on the domesticated cows that they herd, rather than running around the hot Savannah in summer trying to catch a huge, fast and dangerous Lion. Even catching game that’s easier to catch like rabbits, kudos, antelopes, quail, etc is rarely practiced amongst the Masai's. If none of the brave hunters of one of the most infamous hunter–gatherers ethnic groups does not kill Lions for meat, then I doubt that the burly politicians in the African cities and towns or the sedentary villagers that trade in the market have acquired a taste for this meat either over the years. There are some restaurants in Africa like Carnival in Kenya, and Game in South Africa, that are specialty restaurants that serve uncommon game meats but Lion is not even on their menus. I have heard that the South African one serves Zebra, Giraffe (which is considered Kosher by the Jewish Rabbi's) and Alligator, but there is little difference with that practice and a restaurant in the US in the South that may serve crocodile, or the real-life restaurant in Chicago that does serve Lion meat ribs. So, even if someone finds and isolated case of Lion meat being served (and please comment below, if this is the case), one cant apply this to any whole ethnic group, country or, even worse, continent.


According to the UK Telegraph's Article , the restaurant owner, Selogie, also points out that, "In Africa they do eat lions, so I assume if it's OK for Africans to eat lions then it should be OK for us." "ooh say it again.. Mufasa! Ooh say it again" -- to suggest that eating Lion is a common practice in Africa or any African country sends shivers down my spine. It’s not like you go to the market and order a pound of lion meat, or come home to find a lion paw sticking out of mama's pot. Can you imagine the uproar if during the Olympics held in China, a US restaurant began to serve Dog or Cat patties? How furious would the Chinese Americans and Chinese people be over that move if they do not largley consume these animal.s? While animal rights groups are taking notice of this move, they seemed to have glanced over Selogie’s justification for serving meat – and yes, I will say it again, "In Africa they do eat lions, so I assume if it's OK for Africans to eat lions then it should be OK for us." To them this argument is a lesser point because the belief that Africans eat Lions has just been internalized (if it wasn’t lingering at the back of their minds already) as fact and their main concern is the animal rights aspect of this.

So why aren’t Africans as a community dispelling this or calling for boycotts of that restaurant? The African tendency seems to lean towards sitting quietly in the home and laughing at the ignorance of our less travelled neighbors, shrugging it off because there are bigger battles to fight, complaining to each other (preaching to the choir), or yelling at the wall that doesn’t talk back. Meanwhile, somewhere in the middle of Arizona, a burger-loving brave young American warrior is honoring Africans by eating a Lion burger and perhaps, toasting us with a bottle of JC Leroux.

African Countries Losing On 'Home Soil' During World Cup South Africa 2010

Zakumi the Leopard, the official mascot for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There is a lot of pressure on African teams this year to do well in the World Cup since its on African soil for the first time. Some commentators have noted that since its on 'home soil', the African teams should have an advantage. One thing to note is how all African teams, regardless of nationality, seem to be playing on 'home soil'. Let us not forget that Africa is not one homogeneous country, and whilst South Africa proudly is hailing an African flag for all of Africa, it is also representing South Africa as a nation and brand.

This idea that Africa is one homogeneous country is pervasive and can be seen in the assumption that African teams have an advantage because they are all playing on 'home' ground. When the World Cup was in Germany, were African teams proclaiming that somehow France or Italy had a 'home advantage' because they are playing on 'home' soil in Germany? A French citizen would think one was absurd for making that inference. As mentioned in an earlier post, in terms of the weather alone, South Africa's weather is closer to that of the European teams in terms of the winter weather the teams are currently playing in. Additionally, one can argue that FIFA rulings specifically banned the joint hosting of World Cup Tournaments after Japan and South Korea jointly hosted the games in Asia a few years ago so this is not a jointly hosted event.

There are other factors that makes that claim loaded with the pervasive imagery of Africa being one country, but ask any Ghanaian, Cameroonian, Algerian or Zimbabwean that has experiences xenophobia from South Africans in the last few months, and they will tell you that the World Cup is not in Ghana, or Cameroon, Algeria, or Zimbabwe - its in South Africa and they too, will need to hop on a plane or get a visa to go there.

Why African Teams Cant Suceed In The World Cup

There are many reasons why African teams have not won the world cup. It has been hard to pinpoint the main reason but one commentator attempts to explain 8 main reasons why this is the case.
Fox Sports commentator, Nick Webster, notes that African teams continue to struggle in their own World Cup due to the following:

1. They don't have the infrastructure in terms of domestic leagues.
2. Their players are scattered over the globe.
3. There can be too many differences within the squad based on tribal allegiances.
4. There are examples of money squabbles diminishing the World Cup challenge of an African team (Cameroon in 1994, et al).
5. Coaches come and go at whim, and are usually foreign and usually overpaid.
6. Pele predicted that an African nation would win the World Cup by the end of the 20th century (and anyone who knows anything about Pele's World Cup predictions would know that they are the kiss of death).
7. There is a lack of competition at international level (the African Cup of Nations, while taking place every two years, does not provide enough experience for African national teams, whereas European national teams have tough qualifying campaigns for the European Championships and the World Cup).
8. There appears to be an individual mentality rather a team mentality.

Now, I like to be realistic when it comes to the prospects of African teams in the World Cup. Yes, the prestigious trophy has not been brought to the continent yet for a winning team and yes, we do need to explore the reasons for this in order to correct them. However, are the reasons sited above legitimate reasons or do we also see undertones of popular images (stereotypes) of Africa propagated? I will touch on a few of the points that were mentioned that need to be redressed:

Reason 1. Africa lacks Infrastructure and organization. Does this include the host nation South Africa, in whose fields seem to meet infrastructural guidelines, and who's leagues play in those fields. During the friendlies, I saw fields in Zimbabwe and Tanzania that could have been a field in any country. These fields are used in domestic leagues. I don't think this is a good enough reason. This is like saying that a basketball player from a low income neighborhood can not make the NBA because the hoop, they practice in is in the inner city.

Reason 3. Inter ethnic Fighting (Tribalism). Now, I'm not one to speculate here, but I have never heard of inter-ethnic rivalry disrupting an African soccer teams ability to play a game. Particularly since, from the sociological perspective of  intergroup relationship, participation in common activities to achieve a common task, unifies member of a group, not divide them.  Sports teams are no exception, and they should display a tendancy towards unification of disparate ethnic groups not widening divisions. It may be that in the regular league games inter ethnic rivalries may surface but when playing for the national teams, I sincerely doubt that this is a factor in all countries when one is chosen to play for their country. Thus the reason that many differences in the squad due to tribal allegiance plagues African teams is a fallacy, and reminds us of the stereotype of tribalism and ethnic groups that just cant get along.

Reason 5.  Africans Cant Coach - Are Foreign Coaches the Best alternative? A lot of the teams spend millions of dollars to get a top world class coach but for the most part, we see little results from that coaching. Today, ESPN commentators noted that African teams have not seen much success with European coaches because the coaches have little time to understand the dynamics of the players who play for many disparate leagues abroad and domestically. Only one African team, Algeria, has an African coach in this years tournament. Whilst Algeria's performance was not super ordinary, their coach did not come with a price tag of $2M for one months coaching. Cameroon paid its coach $2M to coach for one month prior to the game and we have not seen a better performance come from them. So is it better for their teams to seek African coaches, who understand the dynamics of African players and those of African players that play abroad?

In the case of Argentina, we see Maradonna, successfully transition from a player to a coach. Why can we not see the likes of Roger Milla of Cameroon, be offered such an honour? He is surely someone whom a win for Cameroon would meet both a professional goal and an emotional goal as a Cameroonian. What about all the other soccer players Africa has produced? This is not to undermine career coaches because yes, not all players can coach, but these players understand the dynamics of international competition and their home countries and may stand the best chance of bringing home a cup. At this stage, African teams have nothing to lose from making the move. We saw Malawi in the African Cup of nations, led by a Malawian coach and former soccer player successfully beat Algeria, a team that qualified for the world cup. This is not to say however, that only African coaches can coach African teams or that coaches need to meet a nationality requirement, but that these former players, at minimum, need to be considered for the job alongside foreign coaches.

Reason 7. Lack of Experience. Lack of international competition may be a factor if the majority of the players in some teams were not playing abroad. Most of Cameroons player play abroad and many players in other teams play with the same players they are playing against during the World Cup. There needs to be another factor that comes to play other than this other than the old 'inexperienced' excuse.

Reason 8. Africans think about themselves. Individual mentality is perhaps, a factor that African teams really need to focus on. Its not simply because players are inherently selfish and don't want to play as a team, but, when being recruited by a league is at the back of the mind of most players, tendency to want to be the star will creep in for some players. We should see less and less of this though from teams that have many of their players that already play abroad and are not seeking their big break.

So Pele has predicted that no African team will win a World Cup until the end of the century. Maybe so, but maybe not. As we have already seen in this World Cup, There seems to be a shift in the World Cup that we are seeing. The once dominant European teams that have a 'tough' qualifying competition at the European Championship that Webster writes about, do not seem so dominant anymore. New teams are arising, and the playing field seems to be following the same route as the their economies, more equitable.

World Cup Commentary - Hot African Weather

This stereotype of Africa being sweltering hot all year round is a hard one for Africa to shake. At the beginning of the World Cup 2010 - South Africa, many of the ESPN commentators were focused on the heat in Africa even as goosebumps grew on their skin.  They became overly concerned with how the heat was going to affect the non-African teams that were not used to the hot African weather. In fact many of the teams came early so that they could practice playing in the African heat. Africa is hot yes, but the problem is that this is winter in South Africa, which means temperatures in South Africa are cold. The irony is that these comments were being made as fans were bundled up in warm clothes, and teams were wearing long sleeved jackets. In fact, the weather was so cold that it snowed in the Western Cape region during the World Cup. They are also predicting snow in Cape Town. I took the liberty of researching ski resorts in Africa, and found that several countries including South Africa and Algeria, have ski resorts (move over Jamaican Bobsledders!) which is a sporting activity that is not usually associated with Africa. There are snow peaked mountains in Kenya, Tanzania and Algeria as well.

Albeit not having snow, Malawi's Mt Mulanje mountains has seen temperature so cold, that one can develop hypothermia. In the non-mountain areas, cities like Mzuzu, Lilongwe, Blantyre also experience cold weather in Malawi. Yes, Africa has the benefit of warm weather almost year round but many countries do have a legitimate winter although some may argue that there is no winter in Africa.

It looks like the sports commentators got a dose of African reality after spending a few days there since I no longer hear comments about how teams are getting acclimated with the heat. In today's Japan vs Holland (Netherlands) game, I simply heard the comment that its is a  "Sunny winter day in Durban, South Africa"