qualifying match

Egyptian referee

Egypitan army officer Essam Abd El Fatah never wanted to be a referee as a young man. Now nine years after becoming a referee, the lieutenant colonel in the Egyptian army stands at the pinnacle of his football career.

By Hossam Alaidy - 27 July 2010 - Text

Zambia: Cursed by the dead?

Almost two decades after Zambia lost its entire national football team in a plane crash, the country’s top sport has taken a different twist and there are no smiles on the faces of families left by the departed.

By Kennedy Gondwe - 28 May 2010 - Text

Transformations

Black Star supporters paint their bodies in the colors of the Ghanaian flag for the qualifying match for the FIFA World Cup 2010 between Ghana and Sudan.

By Simone Scholtz - 26 May 2010 - Photo

Sudanese contrasts

In football, there is a widespread use of collective pronouns such as ‘we’, ‘us’ and ‘our’ when talking about the national team. But what if a country is facing two prolonged and very brutal national conflicts? Who do those collective pronouns refer to?

By Alexia Webster - 14 May 2010 - Photo