Africa at the Football World Cup, 1934–2018: defining moments and memories on the field

ABSTRACT

This article looks at the memorable and defining moments that shaped the history of Africa’s participation in the World Cup. In this context ‘memorable’ refers to moments in the tournament that were attractive in terms of style of play, impact of the outcome and historical legacy. Closely related to memorable is the concept of ‘defining moments’. According to Badaracco (1997), defining moments have three characteristics: they reveal, they test, and they shape. Although this definition applies to leadership, it is used here to identify some defining moments that shaped the history of African soccer at the World Cup final tournaments preceding 1970 and in the subsequent tournaments till 2018. Although past performances by African teams have not yielded a championship trophy, there have been memorable and defining moments at each tournament that inspire hope for abreakthrough sooner than later.

Abbreviations: CAF- Confederation of African Football; FIFA- Federation of International Football Associations

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Murray, The World’s Game, xviii–xix.

2. http://www.footballhistory.org/world-cup/1998-france.html (accessed May 12, 2018).

3. Badaracco, ‘Defining Moments’.

4. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/worldcup2002/hi/history/newsid_1962000/1962689.stm (accessed May 12, 2018).

5. Moonda, ‘Africa’s first’.

6. Njororai, ‘History and Identity of East African Football’, 72; and ‘Colonial Legacy, Minorities and Association Football’, 869.

7. Darby, Africa, Football and FIFA, 43–56.

8. Ibid., 43–56.

9. Ibid., 35.

10. Ibid., 23–42.

11. Ngugi, ‘Africa’s Boycott in 1966 changed the World Cup Tournament’; and Darby, Africa, Football and FIFA, 52.

12. http://www.footballhistory.org/player/eusebio.html (accessed May 12, 2018).

13. http://www.footballhistory.org/world-cup/1970-mexico.html (accessed May 14, 2018).

14. Darby, Africa, Football and FIFA, 51; and Moonda, ‘World Cup 1970ʹ.

15. Murray, The World’s Game, 140.

16. Khaled, ‘World Cup Stories’.

17. Huesu, ‘1978’.

18. Doyle, ‘The day in 1982 when the world wept for Algeria’.

19. Ibid.

20. Ibid.

21. Ibid.

22. Ibid.

23. Murray, The World’s Game, 172; and Darby, Africa, Football and FIFA, 100.

24. Berthoud and Frenkiel, ‘The African Turning Point in European Football’.

25. Sengupta, ‘How Morocco’s 1986 World Cup campaign changed African football forever’.

26. Ibid. Also see Darby, Africa, Football and FIFA, 101.

27. Sengupta, ‘How Morocco’s 1986 World Cup campaign changed African football forever’.

28. Ibid.

29. Darby, Africa, Football and FIFA, 101–102.

30. Dove, ‘African Football’s 40 Most Memorable World Cup Moments’.

31. Ibid.

32. Ibid.

33. Dove, ‘African Football’s 40 Most Memorable World Cup Moments’.

34. Ibid.

35. Darby, Africa, Football and FIFA, 102.

36. Murray, The World’s Game, 178.

37. FIFA, 1998 FIFA World Cup France, 40–45.

38. FIFA, 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan, 64.

39. Dove, ‘African Football’s 40 Most Memorable World Cup Moments’.

40. FIFA, 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan, 64.

41. FIFA, 2002 FIFA World Cup Germany, 54.

42. Darby, Africa, Football and FIFA.

43. Njororai, ‘The History and Identity of East African Football within the African Context’, 71; and 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa, 95.

44. Omolayo, ‘Three unforgettable 2010 World Cup memories’.

45. Ibid.

46. Ibid.

47. Chattopadhyay, Copley, and Sy, ‘Africa in focus’.

48. Ibid.

49. Ibid.

50. Ibid.

51. Ibid.

52. Njororai, ‘Why African teams fell short at the World Cup – again’.