Michael Essien

By Haru Mutasa in Africa on January 28th, 2010
Photo by Getty Images

Tendai Mtawarira is the BEAST.

His unfortunate nickname is because of the aggressive way he plays rugby – not his looks.

He’s 24 years old, Zimbabwean and a fantastic rugby player (in my opinion).

His crime seems to be playing for the South African Springboks. Some politicians have serious problems with that.

In fact they want him dropped from the Springboks because he is a “kwerekwere” – a foreigner.

Some like Butana Komphela, chairman of the South African national assembly sports committee, want him thrown out of South Africa and deported to Zimbabwe.

Is this fair?

Emmanuel Adebayor is from Togo, plays for Manchester City in the United Kingdom BUT he does not play for England national team.

Michael Essien is Ghanaian, plays for Chelsea in the United Kingdom and he does not play for the English national side.

So why should Beast be treated differently?

By Paul Rhys in Africa on January 8th, 2010
Picture from AFP

In the last hour, the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC) have claimed responsibility for a machine gun attack that greeted the Togo football team as they crossed into Angola for the Africa Cup of Nations.

With the Angolan driver killed, two players and seven others wounded, it is hard to imagine a worse start for what was meant to be Africa's football year.

The hosting of matches in the oil-rich territory of Cabinda is increasingly looking like a terrible idea on this dark Friday night, even here in the capital, Luanda.

For those searching for answers in Cabinda itself, and the four teams stationed there, kicking a ball must seem an impossibility.

Those teams are Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Burkina Faso and the unfortunate Togolese themselves.

Club sides are reluctant enough to release their players for international fixtures under normal circumstances.

Al Jazeera Live

What's Hot


Recent Comments

This work is licensed under Creative Commons. Please read our attribution policy.