Fuzzy Goo’s Guide (to the Earth)
Playing with words, the original Black Heretic Insider Dambudzo Marechera writes his own rulebook then spits it in your face. More than mere blah blah… I. Blah The rain was smiling through bright blue lips. Fuzzy Goo, at the window, thought of his dog. He loved his dog. The sad rain made him love his dog even more. Rain is […]
Even the Dead
Jeremy Cronin reports of corrupt apartheid-era games; questioning our (in)ability to remember the politricks of the past that shape South Africa’s present. Walter Benjamin: ‘There is a secret agreement between past generations and the present one. Our coming was expected on earth. Like every generation that preceded us, we have been endowed with a form […]
Nothing but… Grobbelaar
A line-up of football stories wouldn’t be complete without Simon Kuper. In a change of formation from his Nothing But… column, we pass back to Kaapstad for a beer-fuelled encounter with Mr Spaghetti Legs, Bruce Grobbelaar . The Seven Stars are just a small Cape Town football club doomed to extinction, but their training ground is special. […]
Banyana Banyana
As footballers and coaches typically spiel, it’s a game of two halves. For the first 45-min, Shina Oludari gives a brief history of women’s football on the continent, revealing that despite the overwhelming favour afforded to the beautiful game and its star male players, African women have put foot on the pitches and proven that passion and skill trump gender. After the half […]
Ready, Willing & Able
Lolade Adewuyi profiles one of the continent’s most successful football coaches – the Big Boss, as he is widely referred to – and considers the arguments for more faith, more respect and more investment in the abilities of home-grown trainers. “I would like to dedicate the [Afcon] trophy to all African coaches. We’re not yet there, this […]