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Portal:Football in Africa

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Introduction

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

Football is the most popular sport in Africa, alongside basketball. Indeed, football is probably the most popular sport in every African country, although rugby and cricket are also very popular in South Africa. The first football stadium to be built in Africa was the Alexandria Stadium in 1929.

The English Premier League is the most popular sports league in Africa. The most popular clubs in Africa are Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United. (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), L'Oranaise Club (Oran, Algeria) and Gezira SC (Alexandria, Egypt) are the oldest African football clubs that remain in existence. The tree clubs 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]
The Egypt national football team (Egyptian Arabic: منتخب مصر لكرة القدم), nicknamed "Pharaohs" (Egyptian Arabic: الفراعنة), represents Egypt in men's international football, and is governed by the Egyptian Football Association (EFA), the governing body of football in Egypt.

Egypt is Africa's oldest national football team and has won the African Cup a record seven times. Egypt has made three appearances in the World Cup and was the first-ever African and Middle Eastern team to make such an appearance. Their former goalkeeper Essam El Hadary also holds the record for the oldest player to have played at a World Cup.

Internationally, Egypt became a bronze medalist at the 2001 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Argentina.

Selected biography - show another

Wahbi Khazri with Tunisia in 2018
Wahbi Khazri is a Tunisian professional footballer who plays for French Ligue 1 side Saint-Étienne and the Tunisia national team.

Born in Ajaccio, Khazri started his career with local side Jeunesse Sportive Ajaccio before moving to SC Bastia. He received his first call up to the senior squad for their match against Amiens SC on 20 February 2009. After five years in Bastia, Khazri signed a four-year contract with FC Girondins de Bordeaux in July 2014, where he made 64 appearances over two seasons before signing for Sunderland in January 2016.

After making his debut for the Tunisia national under-20 team in 2009, Khazri went on to represent France at under-21 level before switching allegiances again to represent Tunisia at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations. Khazri also represented Tunisia at the 2015 and 2017 competitions.

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Nwankwo Kanu in 2017
Nwankwo Kanu in 2017
Credit: Chensiyuan

Nwankwo Kanu OON (born 1 August 1976) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He was a member of the Nigeria national team, and played for Nigerian team Iwuanyanwu Nationale, Dutch side Ajax, Inter Milan of Italy, and English clubs Arsenal, West Bromwich Albion and Portsmouth.[9]

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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.
  9. ^ "Nwankwo Kanu". Eurosport.com.