Portal:Football in Africa

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Introduction

Cameroon's Benoît Assou-Ekotto jostles for possession with Mustapha Allaoui of Morocco

Football is the most popular sport in Africa. Indeed, football is probably the most popular sport in every African country, although rugby and cricket are also very popular in South Africa. (Full article...)

Football was first introduced to Africa in the early 1860s by Europeans,[1] due to the colonisation of Africa. The first recorded games were played in South Africa in 1862 between soldiers and civil servants and there were no established rules for the game at this time;[2]" Initially, there were various forms of playing the game, which included elements of both rugby and soccer. It was not until October 26, 1863 that the "rules of association football were codified."[2] The first official football organization in Africa, Pietermaritzburg County Football Association, was established in 1880.Teams were being established in South Africa before 1900, Egypt and in Algeria during a similar time period. Savages FC (Pietermaritzburg, South Africa), and Gezira SC are the oldest African football clubs that remain in existence. Both began play in 1882 followed by Alexandria SC (1890), CDJ Oran from Algeria in 1894 and CAL Oran from Algeria too in 1897. By the 1930s, football was being played in Central Africa. In 1882, the first national governing body on the content was formed, South African Football Association (SAFA). SAFA was a whites-only association that became the first member of FIFA in South Africa in 1910.[2]
Egyptian Olympic football team, 1928
As Africa is a highly superstitious continent many African teams depend on witch doctors for success.[3][4][5][6][7] Activities that witch doctors have performed for teams include cutting players, placing potions on equipment, and sacrificing animals.[8]
Nigeria national football team during a match against Catalonia
The Nigeria national football team represents Nigeria in men's international football. Governed by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), they are three-time Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) winners, with their most recent title in 2013. In February 2024, the Nigerian national football team was ranked 28th in the FIFA rankings. The team has qualified for six of the last eight FIFA World Cups, missing only the 2006 and 2022 editions. They have reached the round of 16 on three occasions. Their first World Cup appearance was the 1994 edition. The team is a member of FIFA and Confederation of African Football (CAF).

Selected biography - show another

Vincent Enyeama with Lille in 2014
Vincent Enyeama is a Nigerian footballer who currently plays for Lille in the French Ligue 1 as a goalkeeper. He was also a member of the Nigerian national team from 2002 until October 2015, serving as its captain from 2013 until his retirement from international football. He is his nation's most capped player of all time, ending his international career with 101 caps.

Enyeama began his career with Enyimba, with whom he won the CAF Champions League twice. After three seasons with Enyimba and one with Iwuanyanwu Nationale (now known as Heartland), Enyeama moved to Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv in Israel. In his first season at the club, the team qualified for the final of the Israel State Cup and achieved fourth place in the Israeli Premier League, which qualified the team for the UEFA Cup.

Enyeama signed for Hapoel Tel Aviv in 2007, helped the team avoid relegation and reach the state cup final during a poor 2007–08 season. He won the "Player of The Year" award in 2008–09, and in 2009–10 Hapoel won the double. On 18 August 2010 he scored his first goal of the 2010–11 season with a penalty against Red Bull Salzburg in the Champions League qualifiers.

In June 2011, Enyeama moved to Lille in the French Ligue 1 for an undisclosed fee on a three-year contract. He made his debut on 18 October 2011 against Inter Milan in the 2012 UEFA Champions League group stage, where Inter managed a 1–0 victory. In August 2012, Enyeama agreed a one-year loan deal with Maccabi Tel Aviv and was presented to the media by Maccabi's Sports Director Jordi Cruyff at 8 August 2012. Upon his return to Lille, club manager René Girard picked Enyeama as his first-choice goalkeeper ahead of Steeve Elana, who had been the first-choice goalkeeper when Rudi Garcia was the club manager.

Selected image - show another

Football in Dakar, near the sea.jpg
Football in Dakar, near the sea.jpg
Credit: ImerEtrof

Football in Dakar, Senegal, near the sea

Subcategories

Category puzzle
Category puzzle
Select [►] to view subcategories

Related portals

More sports portals

WikiProjects

Topics

Open tasks

Associated Wikimedia

The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:

More portals

Sources

  1. ^ "The History Of Soccer In Africa". NPR.org. 2010-06-09. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
  2. ^ a b c Alegi, Peter (2010). African Soccerscapes. Ohio University Press. pp. 1–2. ISBN 9780896802780.
  3. ^ Frimpong, Enoch Darfah. "Ghana news: A world of superstition, frustration and disillusionment - Graphic Online". Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  4. ^ Lacey, Marc (8 August 2002). "Kangemi Journal; For Spellbinding Soccer, the Juju Man's on the Ball". The New York Times. NY Times. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
  5. ^ "World Cup Witchcraft: Africa Teams Turn to Magic for Aid". National Geographic. Archived from the original on July 10, 2006. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
  6. ^ Andy Mitten (September 2010). The Rough Guide to Cult Football. Rough Guides UK. ISBN 9781405387965. Retrieved 2016-04-02.
  7. ^ "African Nations Cup overshadowed by hocus pocus | Football". The Guardian. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  8. ^ Kuper, Simon (2006). Soccer Against the Enemy: How the World's Most Popular Sport Starts and Stops Wars, Fuels Revolutions, and Keeps Dictators in Power. Nation Books. p. 123. ISBN 978-1-56025-878-0.