DOTTEDMAG 003 - 'MOTHERLAND'
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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...
@itsDottedline
@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,
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World. Steadily pushing P - Promotion and
Performance.
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Through Dotted.Mag we were blessed to create
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Promotion pillar. It aims to offer insight and provide
content around other perspectives on current
ideologies in Football.
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...... 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
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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
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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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...... 25
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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...... 29
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
...... 41
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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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...... 79
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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Thank you ......
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