Identity And Nation In African Football: Fans, Community And Clubs (global Culture And Sport Series)

The editors are indebted to several people who made it possible to complete this book. We especially acknowledge our families who provided time to help us work diligently on this book and meet the deadlines of the publisher and those deadlines that we had set to complete the work. We especially thank Andrew James of Palgrave Macmillan for understanding the importance of writing this book at this time. Our sincere thanks go to the people who helped to review the chapters submitted for this book. They include Michael Pfahl, Ritchard M'Bayo, Kehbuma Langmia, Martha Saavedra, and Paul Darby. Their comments helped the contributors improve their work. We also thank Bonga Bonga Gaily, son of Paul Bonga Bonga, for making it possible for us to interview his father and complete Chapter 15. Also in reference to Chapter 15, we also thank Emmanuelle Assy for transcribing and Ms Nicoletta Barbarito for translating the work from French to English. viii Contributors Front Matter....Pages i-xii Africa, Fandom, and Shifting Identities: An Introduction to Football and Identity ....Pages 1-16 Front Matter....Pages 17-17 Blurring Touchlines of Empire: The Diasporic Identities of Arthur Wharton and Walter Tull....Pages 19-35 It’s All About the Beautiful Game of Football, or Is It? On Television and Football in North Africa....Pages 36-49 Rooted in History: Politics, Identity, and Ultras in North African Soccer....Pages 50-66 The History and Identity of East African Football within the African Context....Pages 67-80 Front Matter....Pages 81-81 Performing Luo Identity in Kenya: Songs of Gor Mahia....Pages 83-98 A Centennial Rivalry, Ahly vs Zamalek: Identity and Society in Modern Egypt....Pages 99-115 Nigeria: Rangers, Igbo Identity, and the Imagination of War....Pages 116-132 Reinforcing Divisions and Blurring Boundaries in Johannesburg Football Fandom....Pages 133-151 Front Matter....Pages 153-153 Shifting Identity and Cameroon’s National Football Squad: Indomitable Lions to Tamed Lambs....Pages 155-164 Fields of Dreams and Champions: A Case Study in Kenyan Girls’ Football....Pages 165-182 Oh Lord, You Are the Lord who Remembered John Obi Mikel....Pages 183-197 Front Matter....Pages 199-199 CAF: Perennial Struggle in Crises of Identity....Pages 201-213 From Stadium to Bars: Transnational Media and African Fan Identity....Pages 214-235 Online Football Fan Identities and Cyber-fandoms in Zimbabwe....Pages 236-253 From Leopoldville to Liège: A Conversation with Paul Bonga Bonga....Pages 254-268 Back Matter....Pages 269-272 The 2010 South African World Cup launched African football onto the global stage and its footballers are increasingly present at the best clubs in the world, yet it is rare to find compelling scholarship on the subject of African football. This book brings some of the top scholars on African football together to produce a collection that covers the diverse regions of the continent and diverse football topics. Focussing on aspects of identity, it spans issues of race, radicalization and self-identification, exploring the imagined continuation of war in support of a Nigerian club, the use of songs in support of a club and an ethnic community, and the effects of transnational broadcasting on supporter identification with football in Africa. This collection provides a valuable contribution to debates about African sport and identity and also contains an interview with one of Africa's first migrant footballers, Paul Bonga Bonga The 2010 South African World Cup launched African football onto the global stage. This volume brings together top scholars on African football to explore a range of issues such as gender, identity, nationalism, history, cyber-fandom, the media and fan radicalization. Focusing on identity in African soccer, explores issues of race, radicalization, and self-identification in players and supporters