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DOTTEDMAG 003 - 'MOTHERLAND'

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Algeria

Angola

Anguilla

Antigua & Barbuda

Aruba

Bahamas

Barbados

Benin

Botswana

British Virgin

Islands

Burkina Faso

Burundi

Cabo Verde

Cameroon

Cayman Islands

Central African

Republic (CAR)

Chad

Comoros

DR Congo

Republic of congo

Cote d'Ivoire

Cuba

Djibouti

Dominica

Dominican Republic

Egypt

Equatorial Guinea

Eritrea

Eswatini

Ethiopia

Gabon

Gambia

Ghana

Grenada

Guadeloupe

Guinea

Guinea-Bissau

Haiti

Jamaica

Kenya

Lesotho

Liberia

Libya

Madagascar

Malawi

Mali

Martinique

Mauritania

Mauritius

Montserrat

Morocco

Mozambique

Namibia

Navassa Island

Netherlands

Antilles

Niger

Nigeria

dotted.mag

ISSUE 003

NOVEMBER 2022

motherland ......



CONTRIBUTORS

Aji Thompson

Adam Khan

Charlie Hutton

Daniel Noruwa

Deji Awoyemi

Émile-Samory Fofana

Gabrielle De Cordova-Harris

Gary Cassidy

Nadim Bart-Williams

Peter Kenny Jones

Shivam Pathak

FRONT COVER PHOTOGRAPHY

Sylvernus Darku

LOGO DESIGN

Olawale Ademuyiwa

FOUNDER & CHIEF EDITOR

Aji Thompson

ART & EDITORIAL DESIGN

Bamidele Awoyemi

REACH US ON...

INSTAGRAM

@itsDottedline

TWITTER

@itsDottedline

WEBSITE

www.dottedline.site

Brought to you by Dottedline

Reproduction of editorial content, graphics or images is prohibited without prior consent

A word ......

Welcome to Dottedline! We aim to push

Performance and Promotion solutions to the

Football World.

Pushing P....

The mission for #002 was to raise awareness

of the business industry within football around

Europe, the US, Asia & China. Our topics ranged

from organisational structure, recruitment,

finances, broadcasting, gaming, branding &

operations.

Though we shared some great stories, we felt that

a large part was neglected; the Motherland (Africa

& the Caribbean).

Celebrating culture is very important to us. It allows

one to learn, and gain perspective on aspects that

were unclear in the past. With that said, we’re

happy to introduce you to 003 - Motherland.

003 - Motherland focuses on bridging the gap

through conversations, topics and views between

the diaspora of African & Caribbean people with

those who still currently reside there. This issue

contains both written and visual/audio experiences.

Celebration of the African & Caribbean culture

through football.

We’ve covered a number of countries across Africa

& the Caribbean islands, working with 10 writers

from across the globe. But even then, with over 80

different nations, for us it’s clear that the richness

of stories and perspectives can’t all be captured in

just one issue.

The front cover is by a Ghanaian photographer by

the name of Sylvernus Darku.

We’ve also included French-Malian Émile-Samory

Fofana’s photography work, including his latest

collection ‘Champions League Koulikoro’.

Interested in participating in the memories bank?

Message your voice note to the email below. Don’t

forget to follow us on social @itsDottedline.

Aji Thompson.

AJ@Dottedlinepro.co.uk

dottedline.

Hello and welcome to Dottedline. We push data,

technology & creative content to the Football

World. Steadily pushing P - Promotion and

Performance.

Performance - High-performance is something

we encourage. We provide interactive tools that

allow players to set targets, visualise, monitor and

analyse playing performances.

Promotion - Creating opportunities and giving

people their flowers is at the heart of what we do.

Through Dotted.Mag we were blessed to create

editorial opportunities for upcoming creatives/

creators.

DOTTED.MAG

Dotted.Mag is an tool which operates under our

Promotion pillar. It aims to offer insight and provide

content around other perspectives on current

ideologies in Football.

...... DOTTED.MAG ...... ISSUE.003 ...... NOVEMBER.2022 ...... MOTHERLAND ......

...... 02

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A glossary ..... an interactive mag .....

A breakdown and clarification of a few of the

terms that come up in Issue 003

CAF

Confederation of African Football

ANC

African Nations Championship (also referred to as CHAN, used

interchangeably)

FRMF

Fédération Royal Marocaine de Football

TP Mazembe

Tout Pouissant Mazembe (All Powerful Mazembe)

FIFA

Fédération Internationale de Football Association

Sessions

In digital terms, this refers to how many times a user has

engaged with the website or app within a certain time period

Simply put, Dotted.Mag can be used like any other

mag. However, we’re keen to create opportunities

for our readers to engage and interact with

content on a deeper level; enriching insights and

knowledge for all.

Thats where the QR code comes in

Located on pages throughout this mag are QR

codes like this on the right hand side. By grabbing

your smartphone and scanning the code directly

with your camera (or any QR code app if you

prefer), you’ll be taken to the Dotted.Mag website

where you’ll be able to access additional material

...... DOTTED.MAG ...... ISSUE.002 ...... JUNE.2021 ...... BUSINESS ......

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Contents ......

finding home away from home

commander in chiefs

The other Afcon

09

17

23

Fans are everywhere

(Capturing the Obsession)

afcon 2021:

the sideline stories

47

53

barbados 4-2 grenada

29

How 'little Spain' conquered?

71

fans are everywhere

(the numbers)

Jay Jay Okocha

Africa's Path to the World Cup

33

38

41

julian wade

Montserrat

Reggae girlz on the rise

76

79

85

motherland ......



Finding Home Away

from Home ......

By Deji Awoyemi

To change association:

(a)

A player may, only once, request to change the association for which he

is eligible to play to the association of another country of which he holds

nationality.

(b)

A request to change association may be granted only in the following

circumstances....

Depending on your dictionary of choice, the term

“motherland” can mean many different things.

From where you were born to the country you feel

most connected to; from your place of origin to

where you feel the strongest emotional link, asking

somebody what their “Motherland” is bound to

provoke a range of responses.

What we can agree on is how both physical and

mental aspects come into consideration when

we try to explain what the motherland means to

us. However, from a sporting perspective, these

nuances become even more complex, forcing

the hand of athletes who usually have to pick a

nationality and stick to it.

'What is the motherland?'

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How to switch your football nationality

1

request to switch by

national association

2

SUBMISSION

REVIEWED BY FIFA

4

decision

communicated to

member associations

player permitted to play

for new association

APPROVED

3

Decision by players'

status committee

5

grounds of decision

can be requested

DENIED

4

decision

communicated to

member associations

6

appeal to court

of arbitration

A SENSE OF BELONGING

To play for a country at international level

represents a commitment and display of belonging

that eclipses club level. Rather than belonging to

a club which represents a region, you belong to

a country and take on everything that it means.

Belonging cannot be interpreted in one way but

it is an emotional feeling that is unique to every

person, and in this case, every player. But before

being footballers, these players are regular people

who deal with the same complexities that we deal

with in our identity.

For example, take two people of Nigerian origin

born in London (we will name them Person A and

Person B). Person A might describe themselves

as “Black British”, identifying their blackness

but connecting with their birthplace before

referencing their origins. Person B who has the

same right of abode/citizenship status as Person

A might describe themselves as “Black African”,

or simply “Nigerian”, as they see their origins as

a more fundamental part of their identity. There

is no correct answer here, and rather, this shows

the influence that duality can have on our sense

of belonging – a core part of identifying what “the

motherland” is to you. Again though, sport has no

place for sentimentality, meaning that rules around

“sporting nationality” force you to pick a side.

Have you ever been asked “where are you from?”

and not known whether to respond with your

origin country, where you currently live or where

you were born? Does your answer depend on who

asks the question? These questions will overtly

or covertly go through a player’s mind when

considering whether they will switch their sporting

nationality. Playing on the pitch is one thing but

adapting to a changing room and going away

with an entourage of people you might not speak

the same language as could be as tough as the

physical and tactical rigours of the game itself. But

on the flipside, maybe a switch could help players

connect more to their culture, and ultimately, a

fundamental part of themselves?

LOGISTICS

“A person may have two or more legal nationalities,

but every athlete can only have one sporting

nationality…When the athlete has made [their]

choice as to [their] sporting nationality, the

possible benefits of dual nationality will disappear

in sports.” – CAS Advisory Award, 1998

“No nationality, no eligibility” – FIFA Congress,

September 2020

The rules here from CAS and FIFA are clear. Leave

your duality at the door and pick a side. For those

of us who would be eligible to play for multiple

nations internationally, a tough decision must be

made which “locks” your allegiance to one country.

A FIFA Congress in September 2020 aimed to

reform the rules regarding nationality changes

which means that decisions can be reversed, but

the process is long-winded. You are tied to your

“sporting nationality” when you have participated in

an official competition match (regardless of age),

meaning that an appearance at an U21 European

Championships for England could stop you

representing Trinidad and Tobago at a CONCACAF

Gold Cup tournament further down the line.

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Cases can be disputed in sporting courts and

applications made, but this forms part of a very

drawn-out process depending on the football

association in question. The case of Ravel

Morrison, switching to Jamaica after totalling 4 U21

caps for England in the 2013-14 season has been

a few years in the making, but the gap of 6 years

between playing for England U21 and representing

Jamaica shows how drawn out these processes

can be. The logistics and admin do take time, but

tweaks to the process will ensure players wishing

to represent the nation of their “motherland”

can do so with minimal stress. The process can

become a struggle of how far somebody is willing

to go to represent their country, which in the

case of some players, is very far. However, the

protracted process that comes with these changes

will put some players off. For those of us who have

been to the Nigerian Embassy, stress is part of the

package when applying or renewing citizenship.

Football has a way of being a leader, but also

resorting to archaic methods which hinder

its development. This becomes clearer when

comparing some of its rules to other sports -

particularly track and field athletics. Here, athletes

follow the transfer of allegiance rules. These

outline that to change your athlete nationality,

you must follow the following criteria decreed

in 2018; a minimum 3-year waiting period must

pass before you transfer representation from one

nationality to another, the receiving country must

show evidence of citizenship/associated rights

for the athlete, no transfers can occur before age

20, no more than 1 transfer can take place in an

athlete’s career. The IAAF ’s straightforward criteria

allowed the Liberia Olympic team at Tokyo 2021 to

benefit - with American born and based athletes

becoming able to represent their country of origin.

Joseph Fahnbulleh, a 200m sprinter who had never

left the US until the Tokyo Olympics, competed

for Liberia - reaching the 200m final and setting a

national record for the country. Along with Ebony

Morrison, an 100m hurdler, and the influence of

Telfar Clemens’ kit design to gain exposure for

the team, the ease of nationality transfer in other

sports suggests that football could do with more

simplification in their convoluted processes.

When you watch players such as Riyad Mahrez

and Sebastian Haller describe their experiences of

international football, they sound unique, exciting,

and different to what the cultural norms around

football in Europe dictate. Does the hassle become

worth it when you score in front of 30,000 fans to

send your nation to the World Cup? I’d have to ask

Alex Iwobi, but I can guarantee that he and many

others would go through the stress of switching

sporting nationality all over again to experience

a moment like that. There isn’t a price that can

be put on memories that live with families and

communities. In areas of Africa and The Caribbean,

the art of local storytelling is intrinsic to the

culture and to local communities. Therefore, the

opportunity to develop a legacy, either individually

or as part of a team, presents a way to gain

tangible value from a career which can become

monotonous in week-to-week club football.

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Finding Home Away

from Home

Ultimately, the lasting impacts of “playing for

the motherland” are immeasurable. It will mean

different things to different players, and it would

be negligent to assume that there is one universal

feeling that describes it. The logistics are tough

and the deep questions about identity can trigger

deep reflection on who they are, and where they’re

from. Balancing personal ambitions with family

aspirations is another thing that can get in the

way. Yet one thing that all players who have made

the switch can agree on is the uniqueness of their

experience.

Long may this continue, as dual citizens playing

for their country of origin gives dual-nationals or

diasporans a chance to connect to ‘home’ through

people with similar backgrounds to themselves.

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Commander-in-Chiefs ......

By Shivam Pathak

'Might you be beginning

to guess where this is

going? Well, it doesn't

quite go as the cliche

script would have it....'

south africa

(region/nation)

In 1970, football in South Africa was segregated

and disorganised. Unsatisfied and in search of selfmade

success, one man decided to found what

is now the country’s most popular team, making

an enemy of his former employer in the process

Some seven kilometres out from Johannesburg’s

Central Business District lies a footballing

behemoth. In fact, it is a behemoth with a capacity

of around 95,000 people, which has been

the venue for some of the greatest moments

of South African history. The First National

Bank Stadium, as it is known for sponsorship

purposes, is better known to locals affectionately

as “Soccer City” - even though it has played

host to Nelson Mandela’s first speech since

being released from prison, international Rugby

Union Test matches, and even Coldplay.

Of course, the stadium has its preferred common

moniker for a reason. It came to international

prominence during the 2010 FIFA World Cup, where

it hosted eight matches - from the opener, where

Siphiwe Tshabalala famously put his nation in

front against Mexico, to the infamous quarter-final

between Ghana and Uruguay, and the Final, where

Spain were crowned champions of the world.

kaizer chiefs

est.1970

93 TROPHIES

INCLUDING

13 LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIPS

41 CUPS

1 CONTINENTAL CUP

south africa’s most succesful club

...... DOTTED.MAG ...... ISSUE.003 ...... NOVEMBER.2022 ...... MOTHERLAND ......

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What often goes under the radar when discussing

this city is the local football that is played here.

Their main clients are one of South Africa’s most

successful and internationally renowned teams,

Kaizer Chiefs F.C. They even give their name to

the British rock band of the same title (albeit spelt

differently), and with four Premier Soccer League

titles to their name, they are certainly a force to

be reckoned with in the South African game. Their

origin story, however, explains why they have a

bitter rivalry with their noisy Jo’burg neighbours.

A brief history of

Kaizer Motaung & the chiefs

1960

Professional debut for

Orlando Pirates

1968

Named ‘Rookie of the

Year’

1969

Leaves Pirates to

form Kaizer’s XI

1971

‘The Chiefs’ join the

new National

Professional Soccer

League (NPSL) for

black players only

1974

Kaizer Chiefs win

their 1st league title

1944

Kaizer Moutang is

born in Soweto

1968

Joins Atlanta Chiefs

in the North American

Soccer League

1969

Rejoins Orlando

Pirates in senior

management role

1970

Founds Kaizer Chiefs

1971

Finishes 2nd in

league to Orlando

Pirates

The Soweto derby, named after the district in

Johannesburg where both of the involved teams

are located, is played between the Chiefs and the

Orlando Pirates, who are based just a 10-minute

car journey away from the FNB Stadium. The

Orlando Stadium opened in 1959, and it was where

a budding young forward, Kaizer Motaung, made

his debut for the Pirates just one year after. Might

you be beginning to guess where this is going?

Well, it doesn’t quite go as the cliche script would

have it. Motaung struggled with injury in Orlando,

and never got a serious break into the first team. It

was when Kaizer was in his mid-twenties that over

in the United States, the North American Soccer

League was starting to take shape; he was lured

over the pond by newly appointed Atlanta Chiefs

manager, Phil Woosnam (later made League

commissioner), as he hit the ground running and

had rebuilt a path back to the top of the game.

In spite of this, things weren’t quite right for the

now 26-year-old winger. Motaung played soccer

with the Chiefs until 1969, before deciding to head

back to his home pastures, where he found himself

entangled with the Pirates’ senior management.

He had been drafted into his former club, in a

consultant-like role, tasked with resolving internal

issues because of his newfound experience with a

top team elsewhere - but there was mutiny about

the Orlando squad. Players were concerned about

contracts that paid based on matchday ticket

sales, and a few members were suspended due to

playing a friendly elsewhere without permission.

This was all too much off-field bother for Motaung,

who decided to found his own team instead.

He headed just west of where he made his debut

in Orlando. Originally calling his squad Kaizers

XI , a year later he settled on Kaizer Chiefs, a

nod only to himself, but also the Georgia-based

soccer outfit where he had been able to rebuild a

footballing platform.

Matters were not all going to be smooth sailing for

Motaung and his new squad, however. As a Black

player, Motaung knew that his squad were going

to enter a racially segregated football league - his

nation was, at this stage, deep into Apartheid.

While Motaung was soaking up the stateside

sunshine, the Football Association of South Africa

was continuing to propagate the government’s

position of racial segregation: only fielding white

players in the national side, operating two national

leagues on a race divide, and dealing with their

subsequent ejection from Africa’s central football

board and a ban from the Olympic Games. That did

not stop a steadfast Motaung, though - registering

his side to the newly established ‘Castle League’ ,

for Black players only. In their first full season the

Chiefs finished second, with a familiar face pipping

them to the title.

These two sides did not meet for the first time in

the League, however. Although historical evidence

of tournaments in the late sixties is hard to come

by, there does exist a record of a game played

in the ‘Rogue Beer Cup’ in 1970 - an invitational,

sponsored by a local brewery, played in a straight

knockout format. A prize pot of 1,000 Rand (about

£3,600 in today’s money) was up for grabs for the

winners. Both sides had lost their semi-finals, and

had their first head-to-head engagement in the

third place play-off. The Pirates ran out winners

by six goals to four, with silky midfielder Percy

Moloi scoring once - his son, Tebogo, made his

debut with the team the year Percy died - and was

appointed the Pirates’ assistant manager in 2011.

The Pirates came up trumps in the league in 1971,

one point ahead of the Chiefs. This then-fledgling

rivalry is now, half a century on, arguably South

Africa’s biggest. The South African Premier Division

doesn’t always attract the biggest attendances

(as indeed football plays understudy to rugby and

cricket in the country), but the highest numbers

per season often belong to matches between

these two sides - a local rivalry, fuelled not only by

the fact they are two elite sides, but a wonderful

backstory to boot.

The intensity of the rivalry between the two teams

remains fierce - and both sides and their fans

are aware of two separate incidents in 1991 and

2001 respectively, both seen as two of the darkest

moments in African sporting history. When the

sides met for a friendly in Orkney, South Africa

in the former year, 42 people died in a crush as

thousands more attended the match than there

was capacity for. A decade later, 43 lives were

lost due to similar overcrowding at the Ellis Park

Stadium, during a League match between the

pair - both incidents resulting in nationwide

football being suspended, as well as widespread

investigations into fan safety.

Although both tragedies are major blots on the

rivalry, they by no means take away from the

colours, music and fanfare that meetings between

the two produce. Before matches, fans line the

streets of Johannesburg, separated amicably,

attempting to outdo their opposite number

with vuvuzelas, drumming and chanting, often

supported by local musicians who pull out all of

the stops to ensure team coaches are serenaded

generously all the way from hotel to stadium.

Currently, Kaizer Chiefs are managed by Stewart

Baxter - who, for want of a better word, could

be described as a footballing journeyman. Like

founder Motaung, who coached the team during

two spells, this is Baxter’s second outing in Soweto.

It was his first term in office that was the more

illustrious, however : winning two titles in three

years before being dismissed in 2015. The Pirates’

only British coach, Joe Frickleton, had stewardship

over the Buccaneers in 1995; he had come out

of coaching retirement to take up the job, having

managed the Chiefs ten years prior, which some

could loosely interpret as some sort of reversal

of Motaung and his Chiefs’ origin story, though

Frickleton did not manage to last a year in Orlando!

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commanders in

chiefs

Albeit not the most glamorous league in the

footballing world, and probably not the ultimate

aim for many budding ballers in South Africa, the

two teams have seen some cult figures come

and go from both coaching and playing positions

nonetheless. After Kaizer Motaung himself, the

Chiefs most famous player to the international

footballing average Joe is probably the

aforementioned Siphiwe Tshabalala, who scored

in vain during a 3-2 loss away at the Pirates in

March 2012. On the other side of the field was the

legendary Benni McCarthy (remember him?). The

only ever South African to win a UEFA Champions

League, the stocky forward fired home from 10

yards on the rebound, to cause rapture among the

home support. In a career that involved winning

an Eredivisie, a Primeira Liga as well as Big Ears,

McCarthy described that derby as his favourite

match of his career.

In Soweto, professional football has developed

a greater public standing. Everyone knows

about the allure of the game to youngsters, on

the streets and grassroots fields - but in South

Africa, professional football has perhaps only ever

captured the public appeal at flashpoints, more

specifically when the famous Bafana Bafana enjoy

international success. The club scene continues to

steadily climb - but the Soweto derby has been a

constant. Drawing consistent attendance, flair and

historic moments, it is not one that perhaps basks

in the same worldwide esteem as the Manchester

Derby, El Clasico or the Derby della Madonnina -

but given all the boxes that it checks, it really one

day should.

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The other African Cup of

Nations ......

By Deji Awoyemi

'you won't be seeing

Sadio Mane, Mohamed

Salah or Vincent

Aboubakar at CHAN....'

57% continental participation

31 out of 54 nations since inception

I’m sure you enjoyed the action at AFCON 2021

in Cameroon. From shock eliminations in the

early phases to Sadio Mané’s decisive penalty

kick to hand Senegal their first AFCON title, the

tournament confirmed that African football really is

the home of entertainment, subplots and passion

for the game – regardless of what some European

journalists might tell you.

But were you aware that this isn’t the only Nations

Cup that takes place on the continent? I’ll forgive

you for not being privy.

The African Nations Championship, or CHAN

(Championnat d’Afrique des Nations) is an

international competition between African nations

just like our familiar friend AFCON.

THE DIFFERENCE?

Only players from a nation’s domestic league can

participate...

DR CONGO

X2

TUNISIA

MORROCO

X2

LIBYA

4 winners in 6 editions

since establishment in 2009

confederation of african football

est.1957

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3 KEY RULES:

HOME BASED

Only players who are based in their home country’s

domestic league are eligible to play

EVERY 2 YEARS

Following the same format of most continental

competitions, the tournament is held biannually

HAS A WORLD IMPACT

Despite the being considered by as ‘friendly’ due to player

restrictions, all tournament matches from qualification to

the final have an effect on the nations’ FIFA World Rankings

A MINI GLOSSARY .....

Term

Term

CAF

Confederation of African Football

ANC

African Nations Championship

(also referred to as CHAN, used

interchangeably)

FRMF

Fédération Royal Marocaine de

Football

TP Mazembe

Tout Pouissant Mazembe (All

Powerful Mazembe)

Competition rules even go as far as barring a player

playing somewhere else in Africa from competing,

meaning that players such as Tunisian star Yousef

Msekni would be ineligible as his parent club

Al-Duhail are not a Tunisian team. Rather than an

Ivory Coast team featuring players from Milan or

Manchester United - players can only be selected

from domestic teams like ASEC Mimosas and Africa

Sports d’Abidjan in Ivory Coast’s case. The rules

show there can be no doubt of CAF’s desire for an

international tournament for local talent to shine.

ESTABLISHMENT

In 2004, then CAF president Issa Hayatou

decided that African continental football needs

improvement to ensure that the domestic leagues

realise their potential. He wanted the best

domestic players (who scouts further abroad still

lack knowledge about) to have the platform to

showcase their skills whilst gaining international

experience. President Hayatou hoped that by doing

this, domestic associations could make more money

and football associations would see the benefit of

reinvesting domestically. The amount of money

and focus invested into local leagues varies greatly

across the continent. However, with 2018 CHAN

winners Morocco receiving a payout of $2.5m,

such money could have a transformative impact on

domestic based players in Africa when currencies

are exchanged. With the correct management

and planning by competitors, prize money could

be reinvested into grassroots football support,

league administration or other areas which do not

involve refinancing debts or embezzling funding.

LOCAL COMPETITION FOR LOCAL PLAYERS

As we’ve already learnt, the rules on local based

players mean that you won’t be seeing Sadio Mané,

Mohamed Salah or Vincent Aboubakar at CHAN.

However, is the competition a better reflection

of the domestic African game? Being able to rely

solely on players within the country could suggest

some truth in this. Results show that the rules do

favour smaller and medium sized nations in Africa.

Of the six editions of CHAN played, Morocco and

DR Congo have both won two competitions each

(Morocco in 2018 and 2021, DR Congo in 2009 and

2016) which is no coincidence when considering

the strength of their domestic competitions.

At the time of Morocco winning in 2018, 4 of their

starting XI for the final played their club football at

Wydad Casablanca, the reigning CAF Champions

League winners at the time. Another 5 of their

starting XI players were at Raja Casablanca,

the most successful Moroccan club in the 21st

century and FIFA Club World Cup finalists in

2013 - indicative of the high-quality players at

the two biggest football clubs in Morocco. In

Africa, the Botola Pro (Moroccan Premier Division)

is considered the strongest domestic club

competition on the continent, and this showed

itself again in 2021 when Morocco took the CHAN

title for a second time. The Fédération Royal

Marocaine de Football (FRMF) was ranked #1 in

Africa at this point, showing that victory at CHAN

indicates a strong league at domestic level.

DR Congo shows a similar pattern. Their first title

in 2009 featured 7 TP Mazembe players in their

starting 11: the winners of the CAF Champions

League at club level the following year, and FIFA

Club World Championship finalists v Internazionale

in 2010. In their 2016 victory, their starting XI in

the final featured players from a greater range

of clubs including Motema Pembe, AS Vita Club

and FC Saint Eloi. The difference here was DR

Congo was the #3 ranked association in Africa at

the time of winning. TP Mazembe’s dominance

in 2009-10 was notable, but the Vodacom

Ligue 1 (Congolese Premier division) had clearly

strengthened from 2009. Players from a wider

range of clubs suggest a more evenly contested

domestic league and a clear pattern begins to

emerge here. Investment into a strong domestic

league = greater chance of success at CHAN level.

With the competition still in its infancy, it will

take a few more years to decide on its lasting

legacy. However, the increased chances for

local players to show their talents must be

appreciated. In the 6 editions of the tournament

so far, 31 out of 54 nations have taken part,

meaning 56% of CAF members have already had

a chance to play at the unique competition. In

contrast, the UEFA European Championships

has seen 35 out of 55 nations compete in the

championship finals which started back in

1958. A simple comparison with international

tournaments from other governing bodies around

the world shows the effectiveness of CHAN’s

model of achieving continent-wide accessibility

and representation in a short space of time.

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The other African Cup

of Nations

It is imperative for the standard of African domestic

football to improve, as exposure to competition

football will build the experience and knowhow

of players. Official FIFA recognition of the

tournament in 2016 also means that players

competing here are considered full internationals,

which comes with far-reaching benefits.

Caps can contribute to a range of factors

immigration points systems when looking

to play abroad, with a few caps at a FIFA

recognised tournament suggesting that the

player is an outstanding athlete. With this

consideration, transferring abroad (when the

time is right) will help bring more income to

local clubs. From here, a cyclical model would

further capitalise on their appearances at CHAN

with bigger fees and more recognition for

players who perform well at the tournament.

Although CHAN is a little-known competition,

the tournament’s uniqueness and local football

emphasis is commendable. Other football

federations worldwide should consider the

benefits of this model and look to implement

similar strategies in ways that suit them

socially, culturally and financially. Hopefully

this would go some way to ensuring that local

football talent isn’t drained from associations

without the right level of compensation.

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Barbados 4-2 Grenada ......

By Peter Kenny Jones

grenada

barbados

'The person who came up

with these rules must

be a candidate for a

madhouse....'

Golden goal, silver goal, away goals, MLS 90’s

penalties and plenty more methods have been

introduced to football over the years in an attempt

to add a new layer of excitement or jeopardy to the

game.

In truth, football has done pretty well without any

of these intrusions but perhaps one of the most

interesting and ill-perceived ideas came to a head

in January 1994. Barbados was hosting Grenada

in a game that made a mockery of a so-called

innovative new idea and created a truly unique

scenario.

barbados

since establishment in 2009

grenada

since establishment in 2009

caribbean football union

representing organisation

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To try and make the qualification for the 1994

Caribbean Cup (sponsored by Shell, and ultimately

won by Trinidad and Tobago) more interesting, a

few new rules were introduced. These were:

No game could end as a draw

If after 90 minutes the game remained

level, a period of extra time would

commence

During extra-time the golden goal rule

was in place

If a goal was scored in extra-time, not

only would it immediately win the game,

but it would also be worth two goals

Finally, if there were no goals in extratime,

the game would be settled with a

penalty shootout

So, this meant that if a team won 1-0 in normal

time, it would not be worth as much as winning

1-0 but scoring the goal in the extra period. The

natural instinct of all players would always be to

win the game that was in front of them and not

tempt fate by allowing a game to remain level, to

allow it to enter extra-time.

However, as is the case with the end of any

season or group stage competition, when it gets

to the concluding games there are always a

variety of mathematical solutions to solve how

each team can or can’t win or survive relegation. In

what was probably just an interesting, yet clearly

not fully thought through, idea by the competition

organisers – it all ended in a moment of clever

calculations to solve a qualification quandary.

Barbados were hosting Grenada and knew that

they needed a win by two or more goals to ensure

that they qualified from their group. The favourites

and hosts of the game had a task on their hands

but stepped up to the plate and were leading the

game 2-0 with less than 10 minutes of the match

remaining….

What happened next? You guessed it, Grenada

provided a sucker punch goal that put them top of

the group and had the Barbadians on the cusp of

a disaster. Presumably a member of the coaching

staff had their abacus, fingers and toes, maybe

even a calculator to hand and worked out a way in

which they could get back into the game and into

the illustrious sixth edition of the Caribbean Cup.

Instead of trying to win by two goals in the final

minutes of the 90, the order was given for the

Barbados players to score an own goal. This way

they had the extra period to score just one goal

and it would count double, as per the tournament

rules and thus a better chance of the desired twogoal

victory for qualification. It was certainly some

ingenious thinking, and it would remove any stress

of again having to hold onto a lead that they had so

recently let slip.

With three minutes to go, goalkeeper (the former

Livingston man) Horace Stoute began casually

passing the ball with defender Terry Sealey. Why

wouldn’t the Grenadians stand back and allow this,

they were minutes away from qualifying as group

winners and so allowed the strange behaviour to

continue and watched the clock wind down.

The own goal order was then fulfilled and Sealey

smashed the ball into the back of his own net.

2-2, extra-time and the chance for Barbadian

redemption had been presented thanks to an own

goal from their own centre-back and the quick

thinking of everyone involved.

It can of course be seen as poor sportsmanship

by completing such an act but who is really to

blame here, Barbados or the organisers of the

competition?

There’s a reason this game is remembered so

many years later and will probably always remain

as a reminder to not mess with the rules that have

served the game so well, for so many years.

Back to the eastern Caribbean Island, Grenada

had now realised that they could score a goal in

either net themselves and the game would not

enter extra-time and nor would Barbados have

their two-goal lead (just as you were thinking the

Grenadians were the moral winners here). Their

remit was now to score a goal at either end of

the pitch and end all this madness. You can only

imagine the hilarity and absurdity of watching one

team defend both goals, whilst the others tried to

score at either end themselves.

In what is one of the hardest to believe aspects

of this whole unbelievable tale, Grenada couldn’t

score a goal of any kind for three whole minutes.

In a game that has a painfully small amount of

video footage, this would have been a period of

football that is almost certainly completely unique.

The thought of any tournament organiser being

present for the affair is equally as ludicrous. Surely

anyone who had created the rules that had led to

a moment like this, would have wanted the floor

to swallow them up as they watched their genius

idea ruin what should have been a great game of

football. Thankfully for them and everyone except

the Grenadians, the 90 minutes ended at 2-2 and

a football match could soon start again.

Barbados were buoyed by finding a loophole in the

rules, scoring their own goal, and then protecting

both nets – all for this period of extra time. With

the home fans on side and the lure of a place in the

Caribbean Cup waiting, they went for the jugular

and tried to win the game as quickly as they could.

After just four minutes, they got what they wanted,

and Trevor Thorne’s driven left-footed shot found

its way into the back of the net.

Golden goal and full-time. 3-2 became 4-2 thanks

to the goal counting double and there ended one

of the most baffling games to have ever been

played.

Grenada were confused and out. Barbados were

devious and through, their reward was winless

participation in the 1994 competition. It was not

worth the drama for their ultimate reward but

the way in which they made a mockery of the

ridiculously conceived rules ensured it would

never happen again. It was a strategy that would

have been replicated elsewhere, Barbados were

possibly just the unlucky bad guys of a terrible rule.

It’s certainly a story from Caribbean football

that will never be forgotten and is perhaps best

concluded with the words of James Clarkson,

the Grenadian manager: “The person who came

up with these rules must be a candidate for a

madhouse”.

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Fans are everywhere ......

with the use of Instagram,

Twitter, YouTube & even PL

clubs making their recent

debuts on TikTok, it means

that fans are much closer

to the game, clubs and

players alike

Football is the universal language which connects

all countries and regions together. The Premier

League is often touted as the best league in the

world and with its worldwide audience, it would be

hard to argue against that. There are many reasons

which influence this and when looking at Africa,

the football greats who have made the league

what it is today play a major role.

I’m sure many remember the day Nwankwo Kanu

managed to turn a game around with Arsenal

trailing 2-0 to score a hat-trick. We’ve also had

many more great African players who have played

and currently play for giant clubs, more recent

players such as Yaya Toure, Riyad Mahrez & Mo

Salah. Chelsea are also well known for this with

the likes of Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, John

Obi Mikel and even the great Celestine Babayaro

before Abromavich acquired the club, making

them a highly watched club in the motherland.

We’ll dig a little deeper into the digital space to give

some insight on how the products and services the

Premier League provide helps fans from all over the

world get closer to the game. The data available

will allow you to see where football clubs rank in

African & Caribbean countries and where these

countries stand when looking at engagement

towards the Premier League website & App, as well

as the Fantasy Premier League product.

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Premier League most digital sessions

Fantasy Premier League most Managers

NIGERIA

ALGERIA

XXXX

XXXX

XXXX

XXXX

XXXX

XXXX

XXXX

XXXX

2021/22

XXXX

XXXX

XXXX

EGYPT

XXXX

XXXX

KENYA

GHANA

NIGERIA

XXXX

XXXX

XXXX

XXXX

XXXX

XXXX

XXXX

XXXX

2017/18

EGYPT

XXXX

XXXX

XXXX

XXXX

XXXX

XXXX

KENYA

GHANA

NIGERIA

TOP 5

ALGERIA

TOP 15

EGYPT

TOP 5

2021/22

KENYA

TOP 10

GHANA

TOP 15

NIGERIA

TOP 20

EGYPT

TOP 20

2017/18

KENYA

TOP 20

GHANA

TOP 20

SOUTH AFRICA

SOUTH AFRICA

SOUTH AFRICA

TOP 10

SOUTH AFRICA

TOP 20

We’ll look at two periods within the PL where

engagement on the website, app & FPL is

naturally high due to the start of a new season

and the busy festive schedule with both periods

reaching hundred millions of sessions, we’ll

also briefly touch on the past few seasons to

see if there’s been consistency. For context,

sessions are how many times a user has engaged

with the website or app within a certain time

period and is a great indicator of valued users

spending time on their desired platform.

When looking at African nations in August &

December we saw Egypt ranked in the top

5, Nigeria and South Africa ranked in the top

10, Kenya, Algeria and Ghana ranked in the

top 20. To put this into perspective the PL

record 100+ countries and for these African

nations to make the top 20 shows a great

interest in the league. We also saw Jamaica

and Trinidad & Tobago make the Top 100.

Over the past few seasons we’ve had African &

Caribbean nations maintain a consistency of a

high session count within the hundred millions

of sessions globally. For these countries to

make a feature over the past 4 seasons helps us

know that the fans in Africa ensure great digital

success for English top-flight football as the

interest will naturally go beyond the channels

mentioned. In the 2017/18 season, Egypt, South

Africa, Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya made the top

20 in both August and December. Jamaica and

Trinidad & Tobago stayed in the Top 100 also.

The same also goes for the 2018/19, 2019/20

season & when looking at the 2020/21 season,

with the league starting in September we still

saw all the existing nations mentioned along

with Algeria making its way into the top 20

and top 100 for that month and December.

There are numerous managers all over the world

putting on their Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene

Wenger caps on as they aim to finish high in

the Fantasy Premier League overall and private

league rankings.The start of a new season

and the busy festive schedule will also help

us see how African and Caribbean countries

fare against other countries in the world.

August & December 2021 had over 7m+ &

8m+ managers ready to tackle the season,

during both months Egypt and Nigeria were

in the top 5 countries, South Africa and

Kenya were in the top 10, Algeria and Ghana

were in the top 15 & Jamaica and Trinidad

& Tobago made the top 100. This provides

a great insight into the active engagement

of African & Caribbean nations staying on

the PL website and app to manage their teams,

making use of some of the research tools for

who to captain with FPL Scout and the Podcast.

The 2017/18 season had 4m+ managers in

August and 5m+ in December, 2018/19 had

5m+ managers in August and 6m+ in December.

Both seasons saw Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa,

Kenya and Ghana make top 20 positions for

most managers in the Fantasy Premier League

with Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago sitting

comfortably in the top 100. The 2019/20

season had 6m+ managers in August and 7m+

in December & the 2020/21 season had 6m+

managers in September with 7m+ in December.

In both these seasons we saw the same African

& Caribbean nations along with Algeria finding

its way into the top 20 positions of managers.

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Premier League users Favorite Clubs

Fans are

everywhere

NIGERIA

EGYPT ALGERIA GHANA

KENYA

IVORY COAST

SOUTH AFRICA

When it comes to favorite clubs, The Premier

League has the option of users being able

to choose the team which they support and

have a major interest in when creating an

account. This is for both the website and

mobile app. To put this into perspective we

see millions of users every season make

use of this option and the African continent

mainly makes up a big part of this number.

In the current 2021/22 season (Aug 21- Dec 21)

the following five 5 clubs (in order) come up as

having the most African fans supporting the

club: Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester

City, Chelsea & Arsenal . Early conclusions would

suggest that Manchester United being 1st is

due to their global dominance, having won the

most PL trophies and Cristiano Ronaldo’s return

having its influence. The likes of Liverpool and

Manchester City have star men such as Mo

Salah, Riyad Mahrez and Sadio Mane providing

engaged fans from their nations. Chelsea and

Arsenal have been known to have many African

players over the years and could allude to how

they are still involved in the conversation.

Some fun facts: In the current 2021/22 season,

Liverpool have the most fans in Egypt, Manchester

City have the most fans in Algeria, Manchester

United have the most fans in Nigeria, Kenya &

South Africa, Chelsea have the most fans in

Ghana & Ivory Coast. Arsenal have some work to

do to get those fans back from their glory days.

In the 2017/18 and 2018/19 season the option to

choose your favourite club was still fairly new to

users with a PL digital experience re-haul starting

in the 2016/17 season, this may have played a part

in the difference in clubs fans amongst African

nations when comparing to the current season.

The top 5 (in order) were Liverpool, Manchester

United, Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal.

The 2019/20 season saw a slight change with

Manchester City overtaking Chelsea for 3rd

place but the rest remaining the same and the

2020/21 season’s top 5 was Manchester United,

Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal.

There are a few reasons which could help

us understand the slight changes of fan

dominance across these seasons but that will

be left for you to decide with more research

e.g. players coming to clubs in certain

seasons, club performances and more.

Outro

The African continent takes pride in the beautiful

game and the stats provided shows great interest

in England’s top-flight league. High session counts,

FPL managers and fans of clubs from a PL user

perspective are great indicators of this but there

are so much more digital landscapes and channels

where African nations play their part. Social media

is the elephant in the room here and with the use

of Instagram, Twitter, YouTube & even PL clubs

making their recent debuts on TikTok mean that

fans really are everywhere and much closer to

the game engaging with clubs and players alike.

As leagues, federations, broadcasters and

others become more digitally inclined with

products and services to make football even

more accessible, there’s no telling how many

more fans we could have seasons from now, but

as for now, we hope you’re enjoying the read.

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jay-jay okocha ......

24 appearances

6 goals

76 appearances

32 goals

19 assists

144 appearances

18 goals

8 assists

19 appearances

3 assists

By Nadim Bart-Williams

116 appearances

25 goals

18 assists

113 appearances

20 goals

9 assists

41 appearances

6 goals

“Ronaldinho tried to imitate some of my skills and

dribbles.” How many people do you think can say

this? Well, if you listen to Ronaldinho himself, only

two people.

In a tweet from 2017, the Brazilian icon posted a

picture of himself with Colombian legend Carlos

Valderrama and Jay-Jay Okocha. He captioned

this picture “only 10 shirts I ever admired.”

1990

Enugu

Rangers

1990-1992

Borussia

Neunkirchen

1992-1996

Eintracht

Frankfurt

1996-1998

Fenerbahçe

S.K.

1998-2002

Paris

Saint-Germain

2002-2006

Bolton

Wanderers

2006-2007

Qatar

SC

2007-2008

Hull

City

Augustine Azuka “Jay-Jay” Okocha was born in

Enugu State, Nigeria. Okocha, and like many other

footballers, grew up playing football on the street,

usually with a makeshift ball. In an interview with

BBC Sport, Okocha said “As far as I can remember,

we used to play with anything, with any round

thing we could find, and whenever we managed to

get hold of a ball, that was a bonus! I mean it was

amazing!”

In 1990, Okocha joined Enugu State. Later that

year he went on holiday to West Germany where

he accompanied a friend to football training. His

friend played for Borussia Neunkirchen, a thirddivision

German team. He was asked to join the

training session and impressed the coach so

much that he was invited back the next day and

was offered a contract. About a year later, Okocha

joined Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga.

Okocha’s breakout moment came in a game in

1993 against Karlsruher. He was put through on

goal against at the time a young Oliver Khan. Now,

for us mere mortals if we are put through on goal

we look to shoot and score as quickly as possible.

Not Okocha!

He would fake one way and then another way.

Every way he went, Khan went. Eventually, he side

footed the ball into the net. About twenty-three

years later, Khan joked, “I’m still dizzy, even now.”

In an interview for the book Made in Africa, Jurgen

Klopp described this goal as “the most spectacular

goal in the history of German football.” This goal

exemplified how fans would come to see Okocha.

He was an entertainer. It was not enough for

Okocha to simply score a goal, he had to entertain

whilst doing it.

A few years after that Okocha famously flicked

the ball over Ray Parlour. Again, to us nobodies at

home, it was unnecessary to do that, but we are

not Jay-Jay Okocha. He had to do that.

Now Okocha’s legacy is not only one of football

skills. He is the same football player that

Fenerbahçe fans remember as being one of the

legends of their club and their country. He is the

same footballer that former German International

Mesut Ozil called “one of his childhood idols.”

His former Bolton Manager Sam Allardyce once

said, “on and off the field, he was the captain you

asked for.” He was also once named as one of the

top 125 footballers ever, by the one and only Pele.

In Nigeria, Okocha is considered one of their three

best players ever, and many say he is their best

ever. Yes, he never won the award for Africa’s best

player, famously losing out to Mustapha Hadji in

1998. However, awards like that have little weight

in the eyes of the people when your style of

football affects the hearts of the people.

Okocha, famously never won anything at club

level, unlike Nwankwo Kanu, but he did have

international success.

He was part of the Nigerian team that won the

1994 African Cup of Nations and won a gold medal

with Nigeria at the 1996 Olympics.

In the 1998 World Cup, the Super Eagles

disappointingly lost to Spain in the round of

16. However, Okocha’s performances set the

tournament alight. While as a team they were

disappointed, Okocha shone so much that he

was even named as a reserve in the team of

the tournament. So, while Kanu has the awards,

trophies, and key moments, it seems that Okocha’s

ability stole the hearts of the people.

Okocha retired in 2008 after a spell at Hull City

and he currently resides back home where

he continues to work within his community.

He created the Jay-Jay Okocha Foundation

whose primary objective is to use football to

raise awareness of the strategic importance of

Education, Peace, and Unity for economic growth

in Nigeria. Okocha has shown no interest in being

a coach, instead believing his future lies as an

executive. He had previously served as a Chairman

of the Delta State Football Association and he

had once hoped to take over as the Head of the

Nigerian Football Association. Additionally, he

has been sharing his knowledge as a pundit for

Supersport since 2019.

Today’s era of football is different, and is often

described as rigid, robotic and at times lacking in

creativity. Fans and pundits are often quick to give

tactical analysis and goal contribution statistics

to rate a footballer’s greatness and that is why

players like Okocha are a breath of fresh air.

Okocha is different. His legacy is greater than any

statistic. Okocha’s legacy is like few other players

in history because he brought fans to the edge

of their seats. No matter who you supported, you

wanted to see what magic trick he was going to do

next. At times, when he would simply play a pass,

it was a disappointment because we wanted more.

Players like Okocha play with a joy that reminds us

about the essence of the game which is to have

fun. In the history of football, this cannot be said

about many others and that is Okocha’s legacy

which is what makes him such an icon.

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Africa's Turbulent Path

to the World Cup ......

By Adam Khan

The 11th of July 2021 was no ordinary day for

football fans, marking the culmination of more

than a month of world-wide festivities in the

belated European Championships. From Patrik

Schick’s long-range screamer, to a Danish

team uniting through shared tragedy, last

summer’s continental competition truly had it all -

highlighted in the outrageous global viewership.

...... 40

With over 5.2 billion cumulative viewers, Euro 2020

peaked as one of the most-watched broadcasts

in television history, whilst in England alone the

final became the biggest TV event since the

funeral of Princess Diana more than 24 years ago.

Whether in late-night dive bars in the heart of

Seoul, or at a cozy brunch spot on the outskirts

of Los Angeles, the entire globe seemed

to stop still to take in the epic conclusion

unfolding on the turf of Wembley stadium.

It’s no longer a secret that Europe is the

holy-grail of modern football. Boasting the

apex of individual talent, the most exorbitant

wage packets, and a never-ending fixture

list primed for TV audiences, matches from

Europe’s major competitions regularly entertain

upwards of 80 million global viewers.

Even in the international arena where the wealth

of a domestic topflight can’t dictate national

team success, we increasingly see Europe

pulling ahead. Since Brazil’s victory in 2002, no

side outside of continental Europe has been

able to win the World Cup. Italy championed in

2006, followed by Spain, Germany, and France

in 2010, 2014, and 2018. In fact, since the very

first competition in July 1930, not a single final

has featured two sides outside of Europe. That’s

20 consecutive World Championships with a

European nation present in the deciding match!

This historical dominance is reflected

in FIFA’s decision-making today.

54 NATIONS

ONLY 5

CAN QUALIFY

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9.8

23.6

6.4

50

8.9

AFrica

7.1

OF CONTINENT THAT COULD QUALIFY FOR QATAR 2022

Despite the fact that just 55 of FIFA’s 211

confederations stem from UEFA (the governing

body of European football), 13 of the World Cup’s

32 spots are allocated to European nations each

tournament. In doing so, FIFA has practically

eliminated the competitive nature in the European

qualification process. It ensures that UEFA’s key

financial markets are rarely left sulking on the

sidelines, whilst also creating a framework where

the growth of other continental markets is stunted

by the limited qualification spots left available.

Chief amongst those impaired by

FIFA’s European bias is Africa.

With passionate fan-bases, a thriving footballculture,

and a growing list of elite players, football

in ‘the mother continent’ could truly be a force

if granted the necessary recognition from the

mighty house of FIFA. Yet, with just 5 qualifying

spots shared across the largest continental

federation of 56 members, the road to the

World Cup remains a perilous journey for African

nations, full of unforgiving twists and turns.

As early as September 2019, a good 560 days

before the first ball was kicked in Europe, Africa

began its qualification process for Qatar with

two-legged playoffs between the 28 worst

ranked sides within the confederation. It’s a

cruel reality in a region with limited World Cup

spots, that, when even the giants of the continent

aren’t able to sustain regular qualification, the

chances for an underdog are practically 0. Since

the preliminary round was implemented in 2003,

not a single country from this selection has ever

qualified, whilst this time around, not a single one

has even made it to the third, and final, round.

As half of the hopeful dreamers have now been

eliminated, African WC qualification moves

on to its first groupstage. The remaining 40

teams (sides ranked 1st-26th on the continent

and those 14 sides who won their first-round

playoff) are divided into 10 groups of 4, with

only the winner advancing to the final round.

Once again the difficult format sheds light on

the ruthless nature of Africa’s road to the World

Cup. Every mistake or dropped point can prove

exceedingly costly, whereas in Europe (where

groups are divided into 5-6 teams and both the

winner and runner-up remain in contention), early

slip ups can be rectified in the latter matchdays.

It’s why, for example, Scotland were able to easily

clinch a playoff position despite taking just 1 win out

of their opening 4 matchdays, whereas World Cup

hopefuls Guinea all but bowed out of proceedings

with their own solitary victory after 3 gameweeks.

With so much at stake, and every slip-up

punished, the ability to bed in young talent,

or take tactical risks, is almost completely

eliminated. More often than not we see nations

relying on their tried and trusted mantras to

simply get over the line, rather than build a longterm

foundation for a more successful future.

Finally, following the grueling groupstages whose

six matchdays spanned over two years, we move

on to the third and final hurdle: the playoff. Whereas

in Europe the playoff system rewards unsuccessful

nations with a second chance, in Africa it is the

only way for any of the remaining competitors

to seize the opportunity of featuring in Qatar.

On the 22nd of January, in the short break

between the AFCON groupstage and knockout

round, the 10 nations still remaining from the

second round of WC qualifiers were drawn

into 5-sets of two-legged playoff finals. It’s

heartbreak and euphoria in equal measure,

with one competitor realizing the dreams of

representing the entire continent on the World

Stage, whilst the other must tend to their wounds

and hope for better fortune next time around.

All in all, it’s a damning miscarriage of justice

against a continent boasting the top-scorer

in the Premier League, the UEFA goalkeeper

of the year, and some of the most exciting

international sides of the 21st century.

When less than 9% of the continent ever makes

it to the World Cup, it creates a scenario where

the pressure for qualification far outweighs

the ability for most nations to actually achieve

it. This in turn fuels the short-termism abundant

in African football, where coaches are liberally

fired, and the blueprints for success are tossed

out the window when things don’t go to plan.

One just needs to look at the average managerial

tenure of an African manager to see how

cutthroat the job can be. Despite the latest Africa

Cup of Nations and European Championships

both featuring 24 teams, Africa’s continental

competition gave a platform to just 7 managers

who had spent over 3 years in the job, whereas

last summer’s Euros saw a total of 15 managers

grace the sidelines in the same position.

Cameroon, the only African nation to have

qualified for the World Cup 7 times, is a prime

example of what unhealthy expectations can

do for a country rich with individual talent, and

yearning for inter-continental success.

Since Dominique Colonna became the

Indomitable Lions first ever manager, the

national team’s history has been plagued by

constant turnover and disheartening headcoach

exits. In fact, since Colonna’s 5-year spell

between 1960 and 1965, not a single coach

has lasted more than 3 years in the hot-seat, a

trend reflected in other leading African nations

like Algeria, Ghana, and the Ivory Coast.

Whilst factors such as late salary payments,

and the criminal mismanagement of funds

have all provided fuel for Africa’s failure to

achieve managerial continuity, one must also

return to the limited allocation of World Cup

slots, and the undue pressure it provides,

to gain a full picture of why this sleeping

giant is unable to wake from its slumber.

A similar effect is highlighted when we compare

successful qualifications between the two

continents of Europe and Africa. Since the first

World Cup of the 21st century, 5 European nations

have qualified for every show-piece events,

whilst in Africa not a single one of its 56 hopefuls

have managed to complete the entire quintet.

That’s by no means to argue that routine

qualification would be enough to lead to the

continent’s elusive first title (just look at the

drought England is enduring!), but nations

that consistently qualify for the tournament

are able to build long-term processes which

they can fall back on for the future.

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Africa's Turbulent Path

to the World Cup

So, whilst Pele famously predicted in the early

90s that an African team would win the World

Cup by the year 2000, 21 years later we’re still

yet to see his promise come true. In fact, since

the turn of the decade only two African nations

have even reached the quarter-finals of the World

Cup (Senegal in 2002, Ghana in 2010), and in

the latest edition in 2018 all five representatives

bowed out as early as the groupstage.

Whether this will change following the World

Cup’s expansion to 48 teams remains to be

seen, but it can only be a good thing for a

continent bearing many of the qualities required

of a World Champion, and now simply waiting

on a just opportunity to prove it to the World

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Fans are everywhere ......

Photography by Émile-Samory Fofana

Inspired by the popularity of European Football

Shirts during his travels between France and Mali,

showing fans in their everyday lives expressing

their passion for European Football culture. Emile

describes his project ‘The Champions League

Koulikoro’ as a way to highlight a one-way

attraction and imbalance through Football jerseys.

“Football always acted as a bridge between the two

continents, for me—connecting me to my family

in West Africa whether watching a Champions

League game on the only TV of our neighbourhood

in Bamako or commenting on results in the family

WhatsApp group in Paris”.

Emile grew up very close to Paris, but visited Mali

several times as a youth as he had family over

there. He started to photograph the life of a football

fan in his neighbourhood in Mali - Koulikoro being

a road that connects the neighbourhood where he

would spend his time taking photos.

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"When the jersey of an

Argentinian midfielder, playing

in the British Premier League,

in a club sponsored by a

United Arab Emirates airline,

designed by an American kit

supplier and produced in

China, is worn by an 11-yearold

boy in Mali, it becomes a

matter of geopolitics. Football

mirrors the world's patterns."

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What does it take to

Manage an african nation?

0-0

(4-2 on penalties)

senegal (champions)

team crest

egypt (2nd place)

team crest

Earlier this year the 33 rd edition of the Africa

Cup of Nations was held in Cameroon,

with Senegal winning the tournament

for the first time in their history.

Rather than giving a recap of the events of

the tournament, we at Dotted.Mag chose to

take a different approach—taking a look at the

individuals beyond the field who choose the

players, set up the formations and dictate the

tactics that can lead to failure or success...

The following pages looks at the mangers for each

of the 24 teams which participated in the biennial

tournament to give an insight into their origins,

careers and what led them to mangage their sides.

Afcon 2021:

cameroon

host nation

the sideline stories ......

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Senegal

'les lions de teranga' ('the lions of teranga')

Senegal have entered the AFCON tournament 16

times winning it for the first time this year.

Formation: 4-3-3

Star Player: Sadio Mane

Manager: Aliou Cissé

Aliou Cissé (born 24 March 1976) is a Senegalese

football coach and former player who manages the

Senegal national team.

Born in Ziguinchor, Senegal, Cissé moved to Paris

at nine. He began his career with Lille OSC before

moving on to CS Sedan Ardennes and then Paris

Saint-Germain.

After captaining the Senegal national team to

the 2002 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals, Cissé

transferred to English club Birmingham City for

their 2002–03 season.

Cissé captained the Senegal national team at the

2002 FIFA World Cup. After a 1–0 victory over

reigning world champions France on matchday

one, the team made it to the quarter-finals, where

they lost 1–0 to Turkey.

Cissé is best known for being the first Senegal

captain to reach the Africa Cup of Nations final

in 2002 and the first Senegal manager to win the

tournament in 2022 after getting the last in 2019.

In early March 2015, Cissé was officially appointed

as the head coach for the Senegal national team.

The team qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup on

10 November 2017, with a 2–0 away win against

South Africa.

Cissé coached Senegal at the 2019 Africa Cup of

Nations tournament, helping Senegal to its firstever

final since 2002, a tournament in which Cissé

himself also participated when he was the team’s

captain. However, his Senegal was defeated 1–0 in

the final by Algeria, after losing by the same score

in the group stage, and missed out on its first-ever

African trophy.

In February 2019 Senegal’s Football Federation

(FSF) extended Cissé and his staff’s contracts until

August 2021.

On 6 February 2022, Cissé led Senegal to victory

at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations. In the final they

beat Egypt 4-2 on penalties to clinch their first title.

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Egypt

'the pharaohs'

Egypt have entered the AFCON tournament 25

times and have won the title 7 times.

Formation: 4-3-3

Star Player: Mohamed Abou Gabal

Manager: Carlos Queiroz

Carlos Queiroz is a Portuguese football coach born

in Nampula, Mozambique.

Before management, he had a short career as a

goalkeeper.

As a club manager, his first role was in 1994 where

he was appointed to manage Sporting CP. He

would then work in America for the New York/New

Jersey Metrostars (1996) in the MLS & Real Madrid

(2003) in Spain. He would also famously become

Sir Alex Ferguson’s assistant manager under

Manchester United twice, the first time in 2002 &

then returning in 2004 again.

Carlos’ first position as an international manager

came in 1989 when he took over the Portugal u20

side, winning the FIFA World Youth Championship

twice. In 1991, Queiroz was appointed as manager

of Portugal’s national team, with 14 wins in 31

matches. Queiroz returned to coaching national

teams in 1999, when he took the job as head

coach of the United Arab Emirates, before

becoming head coach of South Africa in 2000.

Under Queiroz, South Africa qualified for the 2002

FIFA World Cup, but resigned in March 2002

before the finals after falling out with the South

African Football Association. He would go on to

have another spell in Portugal in 2008. He led the

last team through World Cup qualifications in 2010.

On 4 April 2011, Queiroz agreed to a two-and-ahalf-year

deal to coach Iran until the end of the

2014 World Cup in Brazil. Queiroz is the longestserving

manager in the history of the Iran national

team, serving almost eight years between 2011

and 2019. In addition, he is the only manager in the

country’s history to lead the national team to two

consecutive World Cups in 2014 & 2018.

In 2019 he became the only European and

African coaching a South American national team,

managing the Colombian national team.

8 September 2021, the Egyptian Football

Association announced the signing of Carlos

Queiroz to replace Hossam El Badry.

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Ghana have entered the AFCON tournament 23

times and have won it 4 times.

Nigeria have entered the AFCON tournament 19

times and have won it 3 times.

Formation: 4-2-3-1

Formation: 4-2-3-1

Star Player: Thomas Partey

Star Player: Moses Simon

Manager: Charles Akonnor

Manager: Augustine Eguavoen

Ghana

'black stars'

Akonnor was born and bred in Nungua, a suburb

of Accra but hails from Ningo Prampram in the

Greater Accra Region of Ghana making him a Ga-

Adangbe.

His first professional years saw him play in

Germany for Fortuna Köln, VfL Wolfsburg, SpVgg

Unterhaching. Later moving to Denmark for the

outfit SC Langenhagen. He has represented Ghana

51x times.

Nigeria

'super eagles'

Augustine Eguavoen was born in Sapele, Nigeria

in 1965. His playing career saw him play in Nigeria

(ACB Lagos) before moving to Belgium to represent

Gent. He then went on to play for K.V. Kortrijk, CD

Ourense, Sacramento Scorpions, Torpedo Moscow

and Sliema Wanderers.

Augustine also represented Nigeria and qualified

for their first World Cup in 1994, winning the

AFCON the same year.

His managerial career started in 2009, first for

Sekondi Wise Fighters. Then taking over in 2012 for

Hearts of Oak (2012), Dreams (2014), Ashanti Gold

(2017) & Ashanti Kototo (2018). In 2019, the Ghana

National Team appointed him assistant manager

alongside James Kwesi Appiah. Later appointed as

head coach in 2020 for the 2021 AFCON.

The Ghanaian head coach was appointed on

the15th January 2020 but was sacked on the 13th

September 2021 due to performance, Ghana have

a vacant position after finishing last in their group.

He started his coaching career in 2000 with Sliema

Wanderers. He was then offered the caretaker

coach role for the Nigeria National Team in 2005,

where he managed the 2005 AFCON in Egypt,

finishing third. Augustine then returned to Nigeria

in 2010, first as a caretaker manager and then as

the U23 Head Coach. In October 2020, he was

appointed as the Federation’s Technical Director.

Finally, after the departure of Gernot Rohr, he was

appointed the manager on an interim basis for the

2021 AFCON. Knockout in the last-16 saw him

return to his technical director role.

Sierra Leone

'Leone Stars'

Sierra Leone have entered the AFCON

tournament 3 times and have not won it.

Formation: 4-2-3-1

Star Player: Kei Kamara

Manager: John Keister

The English head coach who played for Sierra

Leone as a player was appointed the manager for

the side in august 2020 after leaving the national

side a year prior in 2019. Sierra Leone didn’t make

it out the group stage placing 3rd in the group.

Ivory Coast

'Les elephants' ('the elephants')

Cote d’Ivoire/ Ivory Coast have entered the

AFCON tournament 24 times winning it 2 times.

Formation: 4-3-3

Star Player: Wilfred Zaha

Manager: Patrice Beaumelle

The French national joined the nation in August

2020, having a spell at Zambia back in 2013/2014.

Cote d’Ivoire/ Ivory Coast made it to the round of

16 but after a 0-0 match, they lost on penalties to

Egypt 5-4.

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Gambia have entered the AFCON tournament for

the first time this year (2022).

Gabon have entered the AFCON tournament 8

times and have never won it.

Formation: 4-1-4-1

Formation: 3-4-1-2

Star Player: Omar Colley

Star Player: Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang.

Manager: Tom Saintfiet

Manager: Patrice Neveu

Tom Saintfiet has coached in several club-level

countries, including Belgium, Qatar, Germany,

Faroe Islands, Finland, Jordan and the Netherlands.

Patrice Neveu is a French native who had a short

playing career playing for Angouleme CFC and E.S.

La Rochelle in France.

Gambia

'the scorpions'

As a national coach, he has worked for several

nations in Africa. Such as the national teams of

Namibia, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Malawi and Togo.

Saintfiet was appointed manager of the Gambian

national team on 18 July 2018. For their first time

entering the tournament they managed to reach

the quarterfinals against Cameroon but lost 2-0.

Gabon

'les pantheres' ('the panthers')

When he retired, he went to manage in France for

Vendée Fontenay Footand Angoulême CFC before

going international for Niger in 1999. After that, he

had a period in China for Shanghai United F.C. He

went back to international football, managing DR

Congo, Mauritania, Haiti & Gabon.

This AFCON tournament saw Gabon into the round

of 16 but losing to Burkina Faso 7-6 on penalties

after a 1-1 match after extra time.

Guinea have entered the AFCON tournament 13

times and have not won it.

Tunisia have entered the AFCON tournament 20

times and have won it once.

Formation: 3-5-2

Formation: 4-3-3

Guinea

'syli national' ('national elephants')

Star Player: Naby Keita

Manager: Kaba Diawara

Kaba Diawara was born in Toulon in 1975. He

was a striker who played for several teams across

Europe, including Bordeaux, Rennes, Marseille,

Paris Saint-Germain, West Ham & Arsenal.

He represented France at the under-21 level in

2004; at the senior level he decided to go back to

his motherland in Guinea to represent them in the

2006 AFCON.

After retirement, he had a short stint as a pundit for

the French network Canal+

His first coaching role appeared in 2021, replacing

Didier Six; Kaba was named the head coach of the

Guinea national football team.. Guinea made it to

the round of 16 but lost to Gambia 1-0 ending their

run.

Lost 1-0 to gambia in the round of 16

Tunisia

'Aigles de Carthage' ('Eagles of Carthage')

Star Player: Wahbi Khazri

Manager: Jalel Kadri

Jalel Kadri was born on the 14 December 1971, is a

Tunisian football coach with a wealth of experience

managing teams domestically in Tunisia.

On 30 January 2022, he was appointed as

Tunisia’s national team manager after being

eliminated from the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations

quarter-final against Burkina Faso. Nevertheless,

he led the team to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World

Cup.

The Tunisian manager took the role in 2022 after

being an assistant for the national side in 2021

with previous club experience in Saudi Arabia. He

took Tunisia to the quarterfinals against Burkina

Faso but lost 1-0.

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Guinea-Bissau have entered the AFCON

tournament 3 times.

Burkina Faso have entered the AFCON

tournament 12 times and not won it.

Formation: 4-1-4-1

Formation: 4-2-3-1

Star Player: Alfa Semedo

Star Player: Bertrand Traore

Manager: Baciro Candé

Manager: Kamou Malo

Guinea-Bissau

'The Djurtus' ('the african wild dog')

Bacio Candé’s spent his football career in Portgual,

playing the second division of Portuguese football

(Segunda Liga) for Estrela da Amadora & Amora.

After retiring, Baciro returned home to Guinea-

Bissau to manage several teams in the Guinea-

Bissau top divsion (Campeonato Nacional da

Guiné-Bissau). Notably, SC de Bissau.

He had seven years as the Guinea-Bissau national

team head coach between 2003 and 2010. But he

returned in 2016. Guinea-Bissau paced last in their

group.

Burkina Faso

'Les etalons' ('The Stallions')

Kamou Malo was born in Burkina Faso in 1958. He

is a police officer by profession; whilst rising in the

police ranks, he also coached the police football

team in Ouagadougou. He also had a ten-year

playing career in Burkina Faso, representing US

Ouagadougou and Étoile Filante between 1981 &

1992.

In 2010 he decided to focus on coaching and had

several roles as a manager in Burkina Faso before

being appointed head coach of the national team.

He took the national side to the 3rd/4th play-off

match against Cameroon but lost on penalties 5-3

after a 3-3 game.

Ethiopia have entered the AFCON tournament 11

times and have won it once.

Cape Verde have entered the AFCON

tournament 3 times and have not won it.

Formation: 4-2-3-1

Formation: 5-3-2

Ethiopia

'the walyas' ('the walia ibex')

Star Player: Abubaker Nasser

Manager: Wubetu Abate

Wubetu Abate was born in Ethiopia in 1978. He

was a player first during the 1990’s for Pulp and

Worket before retiring due to injury.

Following retirement, Abate moved into coaching.

In 2007, following success with Adama City, Abate

was hired as manager of Dedebit. In 2011, Abate

guided Ethiopian Coffee to the 2010–11 Ethiopian

Premier League title. Abate later had stints at

Sudanese club Al-Ahly Shendi, before returning

to Ethiopia, managing CBE, Hawassa City, Fasil

Kenema and Sebeta City. On 25 September 2020,

Abate was confirmed as Ethiopia’s manager,

signing a two-year contract.

failed to make it passed the group stage in this

years AFCON tournament.

Cape Verde

'Tubaroes Azuis' ('the Blue Sharks')

Star Player: Ryan Mendes

Manager: Pedro Leitão Brito (Bubista)

Former Cape Verdean footballer Pedro Leitão

Brito was born in 1970. Also known as Bubista. He

started his playing career in Badajoz in the Spanish

Segunda Division in 1995.

He later joined Angolan side ASA where he spent

six seasons before returning to Cape Verde’s

Falcões do Norte in 2003.

Following his playing career, Bubista managed

domestic Cape Verdean clubs Mindelense,

Académica do Mindelo, Sporting Clube da Praia

and Batuque. In January 2020, he was named

manager of Cape Verde.

Cape Verde made it to the round of 16 but lost to

Senegal 2-0.

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Mauritania have entered the AFCON tournament

2 times and have not won it.

Cameroon have entered the AFCON tournament

20 times and have won it 5 times.

Formation: 4-3-3

Formation: 4-2-3-1

Star Player: Moustapha Diaw

Star Player: Vincent Aboubakar

Manager: Didier Gomes Da Rosa

Manager: Toni Conceição

Mauritania

'Al-Murabitun' ('the almoravids')

'Lions of Chinguetti'

Didier Gomes Da Rosa is a French-born football

manager with has a vast portfolio of clubs in the

African continent. He started his managerial career

in 2008 in his home country France and managed

AS Roquebrune Cap Martin, ES Fos sur Mer and

AS Cannes in the League of the Mediterranean till

2011.

Didier then went on to have spells in Africa,

winning the league titles with Rayon Sports F.C.

(2013), Coton Sport FC de Garoua (2014 and 2015),

and the Cameroonian Cup at the Garoua-based

club. He has many personal honours such as the

‘Award Best Coach in Tanzania 2020-2021’ and

awarded the 4th Best Coach in Africa 2020-2021

“Ghana Sports Magazine”.

Cameroon

'Les Lions Indomptables'

('The Indomitable Lions')

Toni Conceição was born in Maximinos, Portugal,

in December 1961. He spent his career in

the Primeira at Braga, Vizela and Porto. Toni

represented Portugal in 1988; he only earned a

single cap.

Toni started his managerial career at Braga B,

spending three seasons in the third division. After

that, he went on to work for several other clubs

such as Naval, Estrela da Amadora & Vitoria de

Setubal. He had several spells at CFR Cluj as well.

But in September 2019, Toni took over Clarence

Seedorf as the head coach of the Cameroonian

national team. As a result, the team qualified

for the 2021 AFCON, where they topped their

qualification group.

In 2021, Didier was appointed as the manager of

the Mauritania Federation to take over the 2021

AFCON. However Mauritania didn’t manage to

make it out the group stage after losing all 3 of

their matches.

After losing on penalties to Egypt in the semi-finals

and then defeating Burkina Faso on the same

tiebreaker, the team finished third.

Conceição was dismissed on 28 February 2022.

Sudan

'falcons of jediane' ('the secretary birds')

Sudan have entered the AFCON tournament 9

times and have won it once.

Formation: 4-2-3-1

Star Player: Abdelrazig Omer

Manager: Burhan Tia

Burhan Tia is a Sudan national, an experienced

manager with a history of managing several clubs

in Sudan for over 25 years. Notably taking Al-

Mourada to continental qualification.

Burhan was appointed as the Sudanese national

manager after replacing Hubert Velud in 2021.

Sudan didn’t make it out their group placing 3rd.

Comoros

'les coelcantes' ('the coelacanths')

Comoros have entered the AFCON tournament

for the first time this year.

Formation: 4-1-4-1

Star Player: Kassim Aballah

Manager: Amir Abdou

Amir Abdou began his coaching at French

club Entente Golfech in 2012. He managed the

Comoros national in 2014, spending eight years

and gifting them their first-ever AFCON finals in

2021.

He manged to help Comoros get to the round of 16

but lost to Cameroon 2-1.

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Malawi have entered the AFCON tournament 3

times but have not won it.

Zimbabwe have entered the AFCON tournament

5 time and have not won it.

Formation: 4-4-2

Formation: 4-1-4-1

Star Player: Limbikani Mzava

Star Player: Knowledge Musona

Manager: Mario Marinică

Manager: Norman Mapeza

Malawi

'the flames'

Mario Marinică born in 1964, is a Romanian

national with a long history of coaching clubs in

Romania - Rapid București, Gloria Buzău, Sportul

Studenţesc, Argeş Piteşti, Rocar București,

and Cimentul Fieni. He has also worked stints

managing in India, Tanzania, South Africa, Iraq and

Hungary.

Mario’s playing career took place in Romania for

Rocar București, Dinamo București and Steaua

București before retiring in 1993.

His coaching career started after that, where he

worked in England in several academies, including

Leyton Orient, Haringey Borough & Arsenal. His

first role at the international level came when he

became one of the Technical support staff for the

Romanian Football federation. In 2021 he was

appointed as the Technical Director of the Malawi

football national team and later announced that

year that he would lead Malawi to the 2021 AFCON.

Malawi made it to the round of 16 but lost 2-1 to

Morocco.

Zimbabwe

'the warriors'

Norman Mapeza is a Zimbabwean national who

had a playing career in Europe, playing in Poland

(Sokol Pniewy), Turkey (including Galatasaray S.K.,

Ankaragücü, Altay S.K. and Malatyaspor) & Austria

(SV Ried). He became the first Zimbabwean player

to score in the Champions League; he did this

while at Galatasaray in 1994-95. He ended his

career going back to Africa to play in Zimbabwe

and South Africa.

Norman has had several stints as the Zimbabwean

national team manager, first in 2007 as an interim.

In 2010 he was appointed as caretaker manager

but resigned six months after. A year later, he was

hired again in 2011 but was suspended for alleged

match-fixing. After that, he spent a couple of years

managing in Zimbabwe’s Premier Soccer League

& South African PSL before being appointed

caretaker manager of Zimbabwe’s national team

again. Zimbabwe finished bottom of their group

after only winning 1 match.

Equatorial Guinea

Nzalang Nacional (National Thunder)

Equatorial Guinea have entered the AFCON

tournament 3 times and have not won it.

Formation: 4-4-1-1

Star Player: Jose Machin

Manager: Juan Micha

The Equatoguinean manager was appointed to

the national side on the 23rd March 2021 after

climbing the ranks of the nation managing the

nations women’s, under 17’s and under 20’s

as well as being an assistant coach to the side.

Equatorial Guinea made it to the quarterfinals but

lost 3-1 to Senegal.

Mali

'les aigles' ('the eagles')

Mali have entered the AFCON tournament 12

times and have not won it.

Formation: 4-2-3-1

Star Player: Yves Bissouma

Manager: Mohamed Magassouba

The Malian coach took over the national side in

October 2019 after being a caretaker manager

for the side from 2017. He has also manager DR

Congo back in 1997 as his first national side. Mali

went on to play Equatorial Guinea in the round of

16 but lost 6-5 on penalties after a 0-0 match after

extra time.

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Morocco have entered the AFCON tournament

18 times and have won it once.

Algeria have entered the AFCON tournament 19

times winning it twice.

Formation: 4-1-4-1

Formation: 4-2-3-1

Star Player: Achraf Hakimi

Star Player: Riyad Mahrez

Manager: Vahid Halilhodžić

Manager: Djamel Belmadi

Morocco

'les lions de l'atlas' ('the atlas lions')

Jablanica, Bosnia is where Vahid Halilhodžić first

started his playing career. Playing for Velež Mostar

between 1971-81, before moving to France for

Nantes and Paris Saint-Germain.

Before moving to France in 1997, he had a short

stint as a Sporting Director at Velež. After that,

he managed several French-speaking countries,

including Raja Casablanca in Morocco, Lille,

Rennes, Paris Saint-Germain & Nantes.

Vahid’s first international managerial job came in

2008 when he took over Ivory Coast. He managed

Algeria in 2011, Japan in 2015 and Morocco in

2018, where he is currently. In the 2022 AFCON

Morocco lost 2-1 to Egypt in the quarterfinals in

extra time.

Algeria

Les Fennecs (The fennec foxes)

Djamel Belmadi was born in the southeastern

suburbs of Paris in 1976. His playing career started

in 1995 in France, where he signed for Paris Saint-

Germain. However, he left a year after to go FC

Martigues. Djamel would then sign for Marseille

before going on loan; Manchester City was one of

the destinations.

He retired in 2010, when Belmadi was appointed

as the head coach of the newly promoted Qatar

Stars League club Lekhwiya. In December 2013,

Belmadi was appointed as head coach of the Qatar

B team, winning the 2014 WAFF Championship on

home soil.

On 15 March 2014, Belmadi was unveiled as the

new head coach of the Qatar senior football team,

replacing Fahad Thani. He led Qatar to win the

2014 Gulf Cup of Nations by beating host Saudi

Arabia in the final.

On 2 August 2018, Belmadi became the manager

of the Algeria national team.

Afcon 2021:

He has also won the AFCON trophy with Algeria

back in 2019 which was their second time winning

the cup. However, this year they failed to leave

the group stage after only receiving 1 point in the

group.

the sideline stories ......

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How 'little Spain'

conquered Africa? ......

By Daniel Noruwa

Equatorial Guinea’s success in the African cup

of nations despite its miniscule size should be

celebrated and applauded. But it’s heavy Spanish

influence echoes a more sinister story of Africa’s

talent drain and links to its colonial past.

...... 70

Adjacent from the fringes of our equator lies

a miniature slice of heaven. Ancient arms of

gargantuan scale reach their hands into the

stratosphere, their green nails playing patchwork

with the musty blue sky. On the base of their

earthy stamps in the ground lies an infinite floor

of vegetativeness, of maroons and chocolates,

and tan coloured woods. They scatter and skirt,

the green/blue patchworks above getting thinner

and sparser until cars start to moan, children

start to laugh, and sphere-shaped rags are

kicked. Welcome to Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.

Malabo is something of a deconstructed catholic

church; the city is a choir of worshipful hymns and

ominous silence. The pristine highways lead into

other highways, whilst the sandy off-roads veer

into realities. Over 70% of the population lives

in poverty, and the postcard vistas only serve to

hide a century of mismanagement and corruption.

As the oldest city in the country, Malabo is

a focal point for Equatorial Guinea’s colonial

history. During the fifteenth century, Equatorial

Guinea became tactically inserted into emerging

Atlantic networks. Spanish explorers quickly

found the rich soil and plentiful forestry to be the

perfect ground for the then lucrative sugar cane

industry or for accessing timber. Even though

the nation has since become an independent

country, gaining independence from Spain in

1968, the imprint of Hispanic influence is so

profound that even the most traditional aspects

of Equatorial Guinea’s identity are bathed in

red, yellow influence. Dilapidated buildings

slant with neo-gothic majesty. Pepper soup

is poured onto paella, plantains sit alongside

albondigas like long-time friends. Even it’s

majestic quetzal’s (multicoloured, parrot-like

birds) seem to squark with broken Hola’s.

spain

equitorial

guinea

4,262 KM

FROM

MALABO

TO

MADRID

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However, nothing else is more emblematic

of prevailing Spanish influence than

Equatorial Guinea’s football team.

To elaborate, we can go back to as recently as the

African cup of nations, where in their first match in

the group stages, Equatorial Guinea beat Algeria

in a thrilling underdog performance. Also known

as Les Fennecs (the foxes), Algeria is a goliath

in African Football, qualifying for every AFCON

tournament since 2012, and producing the likes

of Riyad Mahrez and Islam Slimani, who play for

Manchester City and Lyon FC respectively. They

had been on 35-game unbeaten streak until

Esteban Obiang tapped a ball in from the corner

at the 70th minute. Not only was this a superb

finish, it was tactically astute; making up for their

lack of firepower with physicality, a robust defense,

and a “throw everything at the kitchen sink

approach”. To paraphrase Guinea’s star midfielder,

Fedrico Bikoro “We played like Guinea Pigs”.

So how did the “Guinea pigs” pull off such an

upset? Well, despite football unofficially being

the nations sport, it barely has the infrastructure

to nurture such profound interest. There are

only six football stadiums in the country, with

Estadio de Mongomo only really being a glorified

Athletics track. Equatoguinean Primera División,

the top division of Equatoguinean football, is

a semi-professional league with questionable

levels of quality. There are also less than 1.5

million people in the whole country, hardly a

talent pool to be selective with. For comparison,

Egypt’s premier league has existed since 1948,

boasting world class players and the most

successful team in the world in Al Ahly SC.

What Equatorial Guinea does have is an army

of expats . Of the starting 11 that played

against Algeria, six were born in spain, and

eight play in Spanish divisions. Federico Bikoro

himself, who plays in the fourth tier of Spanish

football, was born in neighbouring Cameroon.

Whilst head coach Juan Micha and EQFC

should be applauded for such a successful

recruitment strategy, and joining the dots of

a very loosely connected team, one must ask

what the fate is for a country which permanently

loans it’s talent base to its former colonial ruler.

The result isn’t just a lack of quality for Equatorial

Guinea’s home division; it’s a nation made poorer.

Football stands crumple into dereliction, players

are forced to sacrifice their passion for agricultural

pursuits. For the children kicking rags in the humid

sun, their ambitions are for Barcelona, Madrid,

Spain. The energy and amazement that could

enthuse a whole generation is invested 100’s of

miles away, only to return on special occasions.

Due to this, some may argue this makes the

nation psychologically inferior, whilst limiting

the potential investment that could come from

tourism or advertising to European names. This is

notably an issue in Brazil , where many of their top

talent leave for wealthier countries at a young age.

Coutinho, Ronaldinho, and Neymar all left Brazil

before they were 22. Between 2014 and 2015, 31

players were snatched up by Chinese scouts. If

these players were still in Brazil, perhaps we would

all be watching more Campeonato Brasileiro.

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How 'little Spain'

conquered Africa?

Of course, there is no easy solution. Countries

take decades to build the kind of infrastructure

that can harbour talent and inspire millions. Salah,

Mane, and even Bikoro may never have gained the

superstardom that they enjoy today, and European

football is a fantastic gateway out of poverty in

countries where opportunity is sparse. But “the

beautiful games” allure lies in the stories it creates,

not the cash flow of its players. If talent are simply

given a salary that rewards their skill and pays

their bills, underdog stories like Equatorial Guinea

vs Algeria could happen in Malabo and beyond.

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Julian wade:

dominican all-time ......

By Gary Cassidy

Ask anyone outside of Scotland to name one of

the country’s clubs, and they’ll undoubtedly reply

with Celtic or Rangers. At a push, you might get a

response naming Hearts, Hibs, or Aberdeen.

Now, ask which Scottish team boasts the current

top scorer of an international team, and almost

everyone will narrow it down to one of the Glasgow

sides (Celtic or Rangers) – which only makes the

story of Julian Wade an even more incredible one.

Wade is Dominica’s all-time leading goalscorer

with 19 goals in 41 caps, and the first player from

the island nation to sign a professional contract –

which makes it all the more surprising when you

realise he’s currently playing for Brechin City FC in

Scotland’s Highland League.

For those unaware of Brechin City FC’s recent

history, The City has suffered successive

relegations since 2018, dropping from Scotland’s

second division down to the fifth tier of club

football in the country.

The quick and industrious Julian Wade, however,

may have found his second home in, well, arguably

the furthest place in every regard from his own

hometown of Roseau – but as Brechin’s number 20

told BBC Scotland’s A View From The Terrace, it’s

impossible for him to get home sick.

As we’ve mentioned, Brechin is a city full of

character and it’s impossible not to feel some

sort of affection for the club as a result. From a

committed fanbase to its infamous hedge which

stands tall behind a goal, where the ball often gets

lost, and even a questionable statue of William

Wallace, Glebe Park is one of Scotland’s cult

stadiums – but maybe not one that people would

think Dominica’s history-maker would ply his trade.

So how does Julian Wade end up at Brechin?

Well, the answer is simple... Love.

Firstly, it was Wade’s love of football that led him

into the profession. The striker grew up trying to

emulate Cameroon and Barcelona star Samuel

Eto’o, before getting recognised while working as a

police officer in Monserrat and bravely leaving his

stable job to follow his dreams.

While we didn’t ask Julian whether football or

his wife was indeed his true love, the 31-yearold

moved to Scotland after living apart from his

partner, who moved to Aberdeen to work for an oil

company as a process engineer.

Now, with such a big move, there are no certainties.

Was Julian Wade prepared to completely give up

on football?

Wade added that the biggest challenge was

getting his name out there but, much like in

Montserrat, his skills were identified very quickly

and his feet took him in front of the right people.

The humble striker, of course, didn’t just risk his

football career when he swapped the Caribbean

for Scotland. Speaking to myself for Dotted Line

Mag, an upbeat Julian Wade joked that “there was

actually a bit of sunshine” – somewhat of a rarity in

Scotland – shining in his window in Aberdeen, 40

miles from Brechin, where he currently resides.

While adapting to the weather is an extreme

challenge, one often overlooked hurdle is missing

your home comforts – particularly food – so we

asked Julian if he managed to get any chatou

water, manicou, or any other Dominican and

Caribbean delicacies.

Julian laughed before telling us just how he’s

managed without turning to deep-fried pizzas and

Irn-Bru.

Having lived outside of Dominica for most of his

adult life, Julian Wade may well consider changing

his name by deed poll to put the word “adaptable”

in the middle, as the striker hasn’t only thrived with

the changes off the park, but with Scotland’s more

physical style of football, too.

Julian Wade’s record-breaking doesn’t end with his

international goal-scoring record, as the move to

Brechin City makes him the first Dominican-born

footballer to play in Scotland – with the closest

thing to a compatriot being former Rangers and

England striker Jermain Defoe, who was born to

parents from Dominica and St Lucia.

However, much like their Caribbean neighbours

Jamaica have in recent years, Julian Wade says

there’s plenty of “raw talent” just waiting to

burst through from Dominica. Whether it be Bath

Estate’s Anfernee Frederick who Wade says “could

pick a fruit with the ball” or Breel Thomas, whom

Wade says is one of the best defensive midfielders

he’s ever played with, or veteran goalkeeper

Glenson Prince, or 19-year-old Audel Laville who

scored “one of the best goals” against Panama in

the World Cup Qualifiers.

The one barrier, Wade says, is a lack of structure to

turn Dominica’s best players into their best exports

and nurture the talent Dominica has to offer.

Before hanging up his own boots, Julian Wade

outlined two goals. One is to play at the highest

level he possibly can having ticked the box to play

his football in Europe. However, getting Dominica

to a World Cup remains his dream, joking that he

“would just retire” if he achieved such a feat.

While that may seem like a long shot, when you

have a striker as ambitious as Julian Wade, who

has close to one goal every two international

games, you give yourself the best opportunity

to succeed – just as the 31-year-old has done

through sheer hard work, determination, and by his

own admission, “a little bit of luck” along the way.

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Montserrat ......

By Charlie Hutton

'The Emerald Boys can

say with confidence

that they've hit

their footballing

adolescence....'

montserrat

caribbean

region

On the 30th of June 2002, Brazil faced Germany

in Yokohama to determine the winner of the FIFA

World Cup, a result which would see the Brazillians

unequivocally crowned the best team in the world.

On the same day, a friendly match was taking

place to determine the worst national side on the

planet. In ‘The Other Match’, 203rd ranked Bhutan

hosted Montserrat - also ranked 203rd, in the

ultimate wooden spoon play-off. The Bhutanese

won 4-0, lifting them up to 202nd, making

Montserrat officially the worst team in the world.

To say that Montserrat have spent most of their

existence in the footballing wilderness is an

understatement. Their modest history only began

in 1991 (a 3-0 loss to St. Lucia, naturally) and it

would take another four years before they would

even host a match on home soil. Having formally

set up the Montserrat FA a year previously and now

an official member of CONCACAF, the Caribbean

nation earned their first ever competitive victory.

203 RD 177 TH

(2002) (2022)

global position over 20 years

fifa world ranking

caribbean football union

representing organisation

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Montserrat suffered a volcanic eruption in

1995, a disaster which left the country’s capital

Plymouth in nearly 40ft of mud. The airport

was obliterated, docks destroyed and many

of the houses rendered untenable. In the

wake of the catastrophe, half the population

left the British colony for the UK. Following an

additional eruption two years later in which

nineteen people died, all Montserratians were

granted full residency rights in Britain and in

2002, British citizenship was established.

Halted by natural disasters and subsequent

migration, Montserrat’s progress as a team

withered. How could somewhere that was

struggling to function as a country be expected

to nurture a sports team in its infant years?

They seemed destined to lie stagnant in the

doldrums of world soccer until an initiative led

by ex-pros Kenny Dyer and Ruel Fox - the latter

most notably of Norwich and Tottenham Hotspur

- endeavored to get the team back up and

running. Set against the backdrop of London’s

renowned Hackney Marshes , a series of open

trials were held which found players mostly

from England whose families had emigrated

because of the volcano, or the children of those

who’d moved for economic reasons. With the

addition of a few that qualified to play who held

American and Australian passports, the Montserrat

national team was born again. So too was the

international career of Fox, who awarded himself

two caps despite appearing for England B ten

years earlier, as well as having officially retired.

A series of unsuccessful Caribbean Championship

and World Cup qualifying campaigns

followed. Conceding several goals a game was

commonplace for the Emerald Boys, typified

but one particular thrashing at the hands of

Bermuda in 2004, who put thirteen goals past

them without reply. The script became predictable

for the perennial Montserratian soap-opera, a

story retold to the tune of constant loss - a

narrative interrupted in the most unpredictable

of fashions: a remarkable 7-0 win over the

British Virgin Islands in at a neutral venue in

Montinique in 2012. Their next match, a 1-0

result against the US Virgin Islands, was a win

which signaled yet another milestone: their

first at their home ground, the Blakes Estate

Stadium. Montserrat were finally up and running.

The next decade saw vast improvements on the

pitch. Although they still carry a fairly humble

record in terms of results, the manner of their

defeats have transitioned into something more

respectable. Sixes and sevens have become

ones and twos. Games which used to end in

narrow losses have become draws, and scrappy

ties have evolved into assured performances.

The Emerald Boys can say with confidence

that they’ve hit their footballing adolescence,

marked by the important development of all:

they are no longer the worst side on Earth.

Though much has already been made of the

exploits of the Emerald Boys in the last quarter

of a century, there is an aspect that is yet to

be examined: their kit. Football shirts’ place

in society has now evolved beyond just the

football world, having found a new home

within rap music. Name dropping footballers

in your lyrics isn’t just commonplace; it’s cool.

Football’s transcendence into the mainstream

exploded at Glastonbury in 2019, when during

rapper Dave’s performance of ‘Thiago Silva’, a

fan was invited to join the stage and rap, all

because he was wearing a Thiago Silva shirt.

Football shirts are not just trendy, they’re important.

The perfect case study for this is the country where

most of Montserrat’s players were born. England.

Last summer, would-be Gascoignes, Shearers and

Beckhams donned the strips of yesteryear in pubs,

bars and fan zones across the nation. The fact

that a country can fall in love with a tournament

that happened twenty-five years ago that it didn’t

even win is testament to our rose-tinted view of

sport. Football shirt collectors are no different.

Like so many teams working through their sporting

immaturity, the best the Montserrat FA could

provide was a series of forgettable template kits

and impersonal designs. But as a burgeoning

footballing nation on the up, Montserrat now

warrants a proper kit for a proper team. They

were on the search for a sportswear company

who’d be tasked with producing the country’s

first ever bespoke football kit. Step forward: Bol.

It’s fair to say that in recent seasons, teams’ kit

launches have become an event in themselves.

Assuming the design has not been leaked months

prior on Twitter, supporters look toward new kit

announcements with much anticipation, usually

met with one of two reactions. Either that the

kit looks too different or that the kit looks the

same as it always does. In the last few years

in particular, increasingly creative kit launches

have produced memorable video content, with

clubs looking to reveal their designs in ways that

haven’t been done before. And now they’re on

the big stage, Montserrat are no different, which

is why they chose to launch theirs in a way that

certainly no-one else has - at a VIP screening of

a documentary about an old recording studio.

When The Beatles’ record producer Sir George

Martin chose a Caribbean island as the idyllic

location for his new AIR Studio in 1979, he

probably never considered that 42 years later an

international football team would gather round

to watch a film about it. In October 2021, The

Montserrat national team gathered at the Classic

Football Shirts store in East London, where they

were shown Under the Volcano, an Australian

documentary about how Sir George’s studios

played host to some of the biggest recording artist

in the world, including Paul McCartney, The Police

and Elton John. The studios were decimated by

Hurricane Hugo in 1989, transforming the island

from idyllic utopia to uninhabitable wasteland.

Years before the volcanos, Montserrat were

starting with an ever-increasing disadvantage.

Usually a successful national side is the product

of at least a whole generation of carefully nurtured

youth intakes, state-of-the-art facilities and elite

level coaching. A country without the most basic

of infrastructure cannot possibly be expected to

provide any of this - Montserrat were going to have

to play the long game with a significant handicap.

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Montserrat

Starting out of a student’s bedroom fifteen

years ago, Classic Football Shirts sell retro tops

chiefly online, but have become so successful

that they’ve been able to open two physical

stores - all owing to the demand for classic

football kits. For most generations of football

fans, it’s traditionally been popular to wear the

current shirt, with the previous season’s strip

swiftly drifting out of fashion as soon as the new

one is released. For a myriad of reasons this has

changed, with more young fans clamouring to

be seen wearing old-school designs. In 2022,

this means one thing: when it comes to football

shirts, knowing your history is important.

For Montserrat, finally getting your own kit is huge.

Football shirts represent something to be proud

of, and for the manufacturers of the new shirt Bol,

creating this new bespoke design is imperative

to that. We spoke with one of the company’s

founders, Tiago Pinto who echoed this sentiment:

“Each country, team has its own identity. We

see our role as always providing bespoke kits

to reflect identity. There are no templates for

National identity, why should it be for kits!?”. The

design of the kit itself features a green base, the

national colours of Montserrat representing

historic Irish immigration to the island, with a

series of rough emeralds emblazoned across

the main body. He expanded on the metaphor,

explaining that “The team is known as the

Emerald Boys. But as a team, they are still in the

development phase, so the Emeralds depicted

on the Home jersey are Rough Emeralds, in the

process of becoming a Jewel of Football”.

Tiago sums it up perfectly. Montserrat are at the

start of their journey and the kit is just another

early chapter in that story. A country that

had picked itself up from the disasters of the

volcanos is finally making real progress. Whilst

an appearance at a FIFA World Cup seems

unlikely for the side who were previously the

worst in the world, even qualifying for the Gold

Cup would represent a huge milestone for them.

All you have to do is look at other tales of relative

underdog success. Wales in 2016, Ghana in

2010 or Turkey in 2008. None of these teams

won their respective tournaments, but fans will

undoubtedly hunt for the strips they wore for

years to come.Many of them aren’t even born

yet as tales of Robson-Kanu’s turn, Suarez’s

handball and Semih’s equaliser are passed

down the generations. Football shirts are not

about success. They’re about identity. And now

Montserrat have the facilities to celebrate their’s.

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REGGAE GIRLZ

ON THE RISE ......

By Gabrielle De Cordova-Harris

'The future looks

bright as long as

the slow progress

can be facilitated...'

CARIBBEAN

(REGION)

jamaica

Women’s football has grown exponentially over the

past decade and with that plenty of debates have

arisen on how to continue to grow and improve

the quality on display. However, less debates

have arisen on how to improve the quality of the

game. With minimal to no funding that there is for

a lot of women’s teams, the progression in quality

is starting to stagnate. Especially those teams

domestically and internationally who are not in

Europe. The Reggae Girlz (Jamaican Women’s

National Team) are a great case study and more

so an example to teams struggling financially on

how to start from rock bottom and actually make

tangible progress. They have had to disband twice

due to lack of funding with the longest periods

of hiatus spanning six years. They have made

incredible progress despite the hand they were

dealt and intervention from a member of an iconic

Jamaican family has essentially spearheaded that

success for the team. This has also given the JFF

(Jamaican Football Foundation) an opportunity to

use their platform to amplify the work that is being

done to improve the game for Jamaica.

43rd

FIFA RANKING

(AS OF OCTOBER 2022)

REPRESENTING

ORGANISATION

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The rise, fall and rise

of the reggae girlz

Founded

1987

16 th April 1991

2002

2008

2014

2015

2016

2018

2022

1 st International Match

Haiti 1-0 Jamaica

Qualified for the

CONCACAF Gold Cup

(out at preliminaries)

HIATUS

Cedella Marley

becomes official

ambassador, focusing

on fundraising efforts

Failed to qualify for

2016 Olympics in Rio

de Janeiro, Brazil

HIATUS

Qualified for 2019

Women’s World cup

(out at group stage)

Qualified for 2023

Women’s World cup

ORIGINS (1987-2014)

The National Team definitely started from humble

beginnings in the late 1980s. They faced what

most of the Sport from a women’s perspective

face today. A serious lack of funding, viewership,

sponsorship and quality coaching. They were

feeding off the already small pickings left from

their male counterparts, the Reggae Boyz, from the

Jamaican Football Federation. The results during

this period reflected the support that they were

given, incurring their biggest losses to Canada and

the United States 11-1 and 10-0 respectively. The

little development that the team has had through

the late 80s to the early 2000s was very evident

and it was no surprise when they were stripped of

funding by the federation and subsequently the

team was disbanded in 2008.

Most will not know that the Reggae Girlz have had

bigger setbacks than most in the men’s game in

particular. The results were poor, and the progress

was even worse, bordering non-existent. This in

turn did lead to the defunding of the team and then

a six year hiatus and once passing that despite

making it to a World Cup it was certainly not

smooth sailing from there with disbanding after

this momentous event.

STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT

Enter Cedella Marley, whose last name is

recognisable to any Jamaican, the daughter of the

late legendary Reggae singer Bob Marley. Cedella

stepped in and saved the Reggae Girlz. She joined

as an ambassador in 2014 before the hiatus and

just before the World Cup in 2015 in an attempt

to aid their campaign and has been helping to

get the team to reach a higher level ever since.

Not only did Marley give funding but the indirect

bonus attachment of her name instantly elevated

the team but she went even further. She was an

excellent advocate for the team and used her

contacts and fought for the team’s improvement

selflessly. All because she had a huge belief in

what women could do given the proper support.

So, the funding was now there, the hardest

element had been solved. How do the Reggae Girlz

not repeat the mistakes of the past and become

stagnant with their progress again? The model of

strategic development seemed to be split into two

parts, which started with the:

MANAGER

Hue Menzies (2015-2019)

Firstly, they had to attack the most important

puzzle piece, the piece that sets the tone, the

manager. Cedella Marley again was a key player

here as she approached Hue Menzies who is

an English born Jamaican who has experience

as a coach in the United States. Menzies was

appointed as manager for the Reggae Girlz in

2015 following the failed qualification attempt in

2015 to the Women’s World Cup. He first began

as a volunteer and after an unsuccessful round

of qualifying the team was disbanded again for

just over two years where he came back again

in 2018 to again attempt to help the squad to

progress this time in the CONCACAF Women’s

Championship qualification. This Championship

was extremely important as the first three teams

from this determined who qualified for the World

Cup in 2019. They managed to make it to the

playoffs from a group of Canada, Costa Rica and

Cuba where they finished second and met the US.

The Reggae Girlz lost this match but managed to

get to the third place playoffs where they managed

to win 4-2 on penalties against Panama after 2-2

at FT. Qualification was secured! Through this

Menzies won the 2018 Women’s Football Coach

of the Year and had shown that the team were

making real progress. This achievement could

not be downplayed, and it is important to note the

effect that Menzies has had on the culture and

improvement of the team.

PLAYERS

Grassroots Football & Universities/Pro Leagues in

Europe & Dual Nationals

Alongside this, there were initiatives to improve the

great work that Menzies was doing as manager. So,

next came improving the players. Menzies talks

specifically about how important it was to improve

the standard of women’s football in Jamaica. He

realised that the domestic game was not improving

well enough to strategically place any worth in

it. For him this meant moving to using initiatives

abroad as without this the team’s standard would

be going nowhere. He stated his case to the

federation where he explained that:

“You can’t develop players in camp. I had to really

educate the federation of this. They assume we

can do an average league in Jamaica and come

down and do camps, and it will be okay. That’s not

how you develop players for your national team.

The outside resources, as far as club and colleges,

are very important in their development. Some

of the players were out of school, working or in

the WPSL (Women’s Premier Soccer League), but

we had to get them attached to clubs in Europe.

That triggered things with me and I [had to] start

sending these kids out to different parts of the

world—they are playing games, training every day,

competing; it’s a different culture, they have to

fend for themselves and be more independent and

receptive to learning.”

Interview of Hue Menzies with Tribal Football-

Writen by Tim Grainey Tribal Football Link

Within this he explains his other strategies

like using Europe’s expertise to further the

development of these players, it was clear to

him that this was the ‘something more’ needed

to prevent stagnation. There was also a heavy

importance on education also, to make sure

they not only developed as players but also as

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educated people . Within his interview with Tribal

Football he explains this further by saying that

making them educated people makes them more

receptive to learning during coaching.

“The biggest thing we did was educating these kids,

putting them in an environment where they get

a proper education and become more educated;

their minds are thinking more in the lines of getting

better as a person, [which] allows them to be more

accessible to teaching….They realise they need to

learn. They are real receptive to coaching.”

Similar to the men’s model, the team draws from

a pool of dual national talent which constitutes

the majority of the squad. (Example of this is

players like Drew Spence, Sydney Schneider, Vyan

Sampson, Allyson and Chantelle Swaby, Kayla

McCoy, Mikayla Dayes, Tiffany Cameron, Tiernny

Wiltshire, Mireya Grey.)

A great testament to part of this strategic move is

Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw , the Reggae Girlz captain.

The Manchester City striker and certainly a star for

the Reggae Girlz. Born in Spanish Town, Jamaica

she developed her love for football and moved

to America for college to pursue her dream

of football. She decided not to enter the draft

system in America so that she could then pursue

opportunities in Europe. From there she played at

Bordeaux (2019-2021) where she finished as the

top goalscorer and earned herself a move from

there to Manchester City last year.

With all these improvements the team that

qualified for the Women’s World Cup in 2019

were the first women’s Caribbean team to qualify.

Weeks before the tournament they were even able

to sign a contract with the federation for the first

time. However, the team were still raising money

ahead of the tournament to fund expenses due

to the limited budget provided by the federation,

a very different issue than the best teams within

the tournament would be facing. The Women’s

team managed to qualify 20 years after the men’s

team did for their first and only time, with a very

poetic note being that they both qualified for the

tournament with the same host nation in France.

Despite this after the tournament they went

on strike due to not being paid what they were

promised so again this proves that the road was

not an easy one despite the improvements they

were making to results.

AMBITIONS FOR THE FUTURE

The ambition for the future is clear. Jamaica may

be very small on the map, but they have a lot of

heart, and they want to keep progressing further

and developing the women’s game and not just

domestically. Qualifying for the 2019 Women’s

World Cup despite not winning a game within

the tournament was a huge achievement for the

Reggae Girlz. Especially when considering all the

stunted growth and generally looking at how far

behind that they trail compared to other women’s

National teams. The Reggae Girlz continue to be

on the lookout for funding and it is clear to see that

there still is a long way to go.

The Reggae Girlz foundation are very aware of the

situation and are angling themselves to help. The

foundation provides support and help with being a

centralised place for companies to go and become

sponsors for the Reggae Girlz at all age levels that

they compete. The foundation is very hopeful for

the future with the President Michelle Adamolekun

summing up the current angle by speaking to the

Gleaner and describing the current situation:

“Ultimately, we recognise that the reasons we

historically have not been able to compete at

the same level as other countries is we are a

small island with limited resources. However,

through the Reggae Girlz Foundation, we have

the opportunity to support the Women’s Football

Programme financially and with other needed

resources where possible.”

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REGGAE GIRLZ

ON THE RISE?

Despite all the progress there is no denying that

they are a long way behind other senior teams. It

will be extremely tough to bring meaning to the

2019 qualification in the near future if the support

that the team currently has doesn’t continue, the

most important puzzle piece now to the Reggae

Girlz is stability. The future looks bright as long

as the slow progress can be facilitated, and the

funding and support of these players continues. It

is clear that there is potential but it certainly is not

an overnight fix.

Yes, there are formulas to help improve team’s

who originate on little funding and direction

but ultimately it is down to opportunity which

Adamolekun is also very aware of:

“Through the foundation we have the opportunity

to bridge these known gaps/barriers and help level

the playing field, so they have a fighting chance to

achieve their goal and reach their potential.”

There is no denying that the Reggae Girlz have

had an impressive journey to date, and it will be

very interesting to see how they improve from their

infancy in the future with the solid foundation that

they have built since 2015.

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