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…)
Commentary
Racism in Italian Football Causes Team to Abandon Match
by Clive Longbottom-Fellow, Esq.
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…)
Commentary | Social Change
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