A World At Their Feet: African Soccer During the Cold War

Evan Atchison

Welcome to A World At Their Feet. In this limited series, host Evan Atchison explores the extraordinary stories of African Soccer During the Cold War. Through four case studies, Atchison tells stories of African soccer's intersection with politics, culture, and society from 1945-1990. Wars of Independence, Pan-Africanism, and kleptocratic dictators are just three themes of a complicated, nuanced history of African soccer.

Episodes

  1. 5d ago

    The FLN Football Team and the Algerian War of Independence

    In April 1958, a group of talented Algerian soccer players who played in France, including Rachid Mehkloufi, Mustapha Zitouni, and Abdelaziz Ben Tifour, shocked the world by defecting from France overnight and flying to Tunis. There, they created the FLN Football Team. Algeria, France’s most prized colony, was under French dominion for more than 120 years before a group of Algerian militants known as the Front de Libération Nationale (FLN) began an armed struggle against their colonizers in late 1954. Brutal violence defined the first years of the Algerian War of Independence, with decisive battles being fought both in the countryside and Algeria’s largest cities, including the infamous Battle of Algiers (1956-1957). The FLN Football Team toured East Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East to raise awareness of the Algerian cause to adoring, soccer-crazy audiences. The team met with political leaders such as the Iraqi Prime Minister, Abdul Karim Qassim, and Vietnam’s president and legendary revolutionary leader, Ho Chi Minh, while also playing in front of thousands of fans across the world. Ultimately, the FLN Football Team helped Algeria achieve its independence in 1962.

    34 min

  2. May 27

    Introduction

    Welcome to A World At Their Feet: a podcast about African soccer during the Cold War. Over three body episodes and one concluding episode, host Evan Atchison covers the extraordinary stories of four African countries that navigated independence, geopolitics, domestic turmoil, dictatorship, and second-class citizenship over the 45-year period known as the Cold War. Soccer was a crucial institution for resistance, social mobility, and achieving political goals. At the same time, the sport could be subversive, contributing to both the rise and fall of authoritarian regimes. I utilize both primary source research from Ghanaian and South African newspaper archives, Gale’s decolonization archive, and match footage. I also rely on the work of a variety of scholars, including Peter Alegi, Paul Darby, Paul Dietschy, Ken Bediako, Laurent Dubois, Martin Evans, Mahfoud Amara, Youcef Boundel, Malcolm MacLean, Matthew Connelly, Natalya Vince, Pierre Lanfranchi, Alexis Tadie, Nicolas Bancel, Meshack Owino, Sifosi Mxolisi Ndlovu, Samuel M. Clevenger, David Rooney, Kwame Dankwa, Eric Quaidoo, Conner Heffernan, Bangela Lema, Jeroen Van Den Bosch, Tamba Nlundu, and Peter Vale.

    14 min
  • 2 Episodes

About

Welcome to A World At Their Feet. In this limited series, host Evan Atchison explores the extraordinary stories of African Soccer During the Cold War. Through four case studies, Atchison tells stories of African soccer's intersection with politics, culture, and society from 1945-1990. Wars of Independence, Pan-Africanism, and kleptocratic dictators are just three themes of a complicated, nuanced history of African soccer.

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