The two-part video below from CNN of Diego Maradona’s recent visit to South Africa and the Maceira United football club in Angola points out the impact that football has on people’s lives. The video is a testament to the game’s power as an uplifting force in people’s lives across the world.
With ten minutes remaining in a match, amateur Italian team ASD Nuova Casteltodino recently walked off the pitch after one of its players, Narciso Egwu, was called a ‘dirty Negro’ by an opposing player. Narciso and his brother, Emeka, who also plays for Nuova Casteltodino, are of Nigerian descent, but both born and bred in Italy. According to Club President Maurizio Venturi, Narciso is 200% Italian, which by my calculations (and I’m no mathematician) is 100% more Italian than most Italians. It was supposedly the fourth time this season that the two brothers faced racism on the pitch. Venturi has stated that one of the incidents involved abuse from the match referee.
Nuova Casteltodino Club Secretary Francesco Ribeca invoked an interesting parallel when explaining the club’s decision to walk off the pitch. (more…)
Kenyan international McDonald Mariga has secured a switch from Parma to Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan side. Not surprisingly, Kenyans have been paying attention given that this is highest profile transfer for a Kenyan footballer in the modern era.
Hours before the close of the transfer window, Mariga was seemingly on his way to Manchester City. Kenya was excited, even though for most Kenyans he was going to the wrong team in Manchester. As in most African nations, the English Premier League is the big draw in Kenya, dwarfing the once storied Kenyan Premier League. The move not only resonated with average Kenyans, but it apparently also resonated at the highest levels of government. In order to engineer Mariga’s move to the Premier League, Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga put on his cape and hit the phones. Raila became an all-action player — the type of player Arsenal desperately needs.
But it makes you wonder … is Raila inspired to move this quickly and aggressively on non-football related matters? (more…)
Kaka is a name well known to the football masses. And we all know how much he loves Jesus. In addition to wearing a shirt that says, “I belong to Jesus” that he frequently displays after scoring goals, the phrase “God is faithful” is stitched into the tongues of his boots. Regardless of what one’s take is on religion, the fact that such a prominent player displays his deeply held convictions quite literally on his chest (and feet) is a powerful testament to the role that top players can play in promoting messages beyond your average product endorsement deals.
If you love perms or Didier Drogba, you’ll love the Les Éléphants shirt …
Spain is trying to conquer the world again. This time, they might succeed.
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Football for Change is a feature in which Nutmeg Radio highlights work being done by organizations across the globe using soccer to promote development.
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Commentary
Fiorentina Decide That a Message is More Powerful Than a Sponsor
by Clive Longbottom-Fellow, Esq.
Pretty awesome, Fiorentina.
Italian club Fiorentina has perhaps inteligently decided to move on from their previous shirt sponsor Toyota. But instead of going out to broker a deal with another mega-corporation with a faulty product, Fiorentina has admirably decided to go touchy-feely. (more…)
Commentary | Social Change
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