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Africa and the ‘World’ Cup: FIFA Politics, Eurocentrism and Resistance

2005; Routledge; Volume: 22; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/09523360500143745

1743-9035

Paul Darby,

Sports Analytics and Performance

Abstract The development of African football in the international playing arena during the last 25 years has been such that several noted commentators have predicted that the name of an African nation will soon be appearing on the World Cup trophy. [1 Most notably, Walter Winterbottom and Pelé expressed their belief that an African nation would win the World Cup before the new millennium. Such predictions remain unfulfilled, but the assertion of the former FIFA President João Havelange that an African team would qualify for the last four by, at the latest, 2002, was a feat that Cameroon and Senegal both narrowly missed out on during the 1990 and 2002 World Cups respectively. See F. Osman Duodo, 'On the Threshold of Eating With Kings', FIFA Magazine, Oct. 1996, 13–14. ] With the exception of Senegal's valiant efforts in reaching the quarter-finals of the 2002 tournament, the relatively weak performances of the continent's other representatives at the two most recent editions of the game's premier international tournament would not appear to bear out this assertion. [2 During France '98, only Nigeria qualified for the knock-out phase. At Japan/South Korea 2002 only Senegal reached the latter stages of the competition although the four other teams narrowly failed to progress from the group stages. ] The promise offered by Cameroon's quarter-final appearance at Italia 90, Nigeria and Cameroon's Gold medals at the 1996 and 2000 Olympic football tournament and African successes in FIFA's under-age competitions thus remains unfulfilled. [3 Nigeria and Ghana have twice won the biennial under-17 World Youth Championship since its inauguration in 1985. ] However, the disappointment that greeted the early exits of most of the African representatives in 1998 and 2002 should not conceal the fact that, in a political sense, both tournaments were a major victory for the African game. When one considers that African representation at the World Cup has historically been restricted by a Eurocentric bias at the heart of FIFA, the participation of five nations at both France 98 and Japan/South Korea 2002 allows these tournaments to be viewed as significant milestones for African football. Drawing on analyses of primary archival materials and other sources, this essay examines the ways in which the World Cup Finals, and more specifically, the political debate surrounding the distribution of places for the tournament has come to represent one of the key arena's in which Africa's quest for global football equity has manifested itself. [4 For a discussion of Africa's struggle for global equity within FIFA see P. Darby, Africa, Football and FIFA: Politics, Colonialism and Resistance (London and Portland, OR: Frank Cass, 2002). ] The essay concludes by assessing the extent to which the discourse on Africa's place at the World Cup can be read as a reflection of broader First World-Third World power relations. Notes Most notably, Walter Winterbottom and Pelé expressed their belief that an African nation would win the World Cup before the new millennium. Such predictions remain unfulfilled, but the assertion of the former FIFA President João Havelange that an African team would qualify for the last four by, at the latest, 2002, was a feat that Cameroon and Senegal both narrowly missed out on during the 1990 and 2002 World Cups respectively. See F. Osman Duodo, 'On the Threshold of Eating With Kings', FIFA Magazine, Oct. 1996, 13–14. During France '98, only Nigeria qualified for the knock-out phase. At Japan/South Korea 2002 only Senegal reached the latter stages of the competition although the four other teams narrowly failed to progress from the group stages. Nigeria and Ghana have twice won the biennial under-17 World Youth Championship since its inauguration in 1985. For a discussion of Africa's struggle for global equity within FIFA see P. Darby, Africa, Football and FIFA: Politics, Colonialism and Resistance (London and Portland, OR: Frank Cass, 2002). A more detailed assessment of the diffusion and development of football in Africa during the colonial period can be found in P. Darby, 'Football, Colonial Doctrine and Indigenous Resistance: Mapping the Political Persona of FIFA's African Constituency', Culture, Sport, Society, 3, 1 (2000), 61–87. An abridged version of this article can also be found in J.D. Le Sueur, The Decolonization Reader (New York and London: Routledge, 2003), pp.258–73. For other analyses of the ways that the promotion of football and sport in general in Africa formed part of the broader imperialist drive to socialize Africans into accepting colonial rule as the norm, hence facilitating continued economic penetration, see T. Monnington, 'The Politics of Black African Sport', in L. Allison (ed.), The Politics of Sport (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1986). See also R.C. Uweche, 'Nation Building and Sport in Africa', in B. Lowe, D. Kanin and A. Strenk (eds) Sport and International Relations (Champaign, IL: Stipes Publishing Company, 1978), pp.538–50. See Darby, 'Football, Colonial Doctrine and Indigenous Resistance'. FIFA, Minutes of the IInd Extraordinary Congress, Paris, 14/15 November 1953; FIFA, Minutes of the XXIXth Ordinary Congress, Berne, 21 June 1954. For a detailed analysis of the discussions which took place at this Congress see Darby, Africa, Football and FIFA. See Darby, Africa, Football and FIFA. E. Quansah, 'The Cup to Surpass All Cups', Africa Today, (Jan./Feb., 1996), 26. See P. Darby, 'The New Scramble for Africa: African Football Labour Migration to Europe', The European Sports History Review, 3 (2000), 217–44. The six entrants were Ghana, Morocco, Nigeria, Sudan, Tunisia and United Arab Republic (UAR). Official Bulletin of UEFA, No.16, April 1961, p. 18. G. Weiderkehr, cited in Official Bulletin of UEFA, No.23, June 1963, p.14. Weiderkehr's successor, Artemio Franchi, maintained his predecessors stance well into the 1970s, articulating his consternation that FIFA's statutes did 'nothing to stop these emerging football countries from joining the enlarged FIFA family', and describing this state of affairs as 'the uncomfortable truth' (author's italics). A. Franchi, 'Europe and World Football', in Official Bulletin of UEFA, No.87, June 1979, p.21. H. Bangerter, 'UEFA Past and Present', in U.R. Rothenbuhler (ed.), 25 Years of UEFA (Berne: UEFA Publications, 1979), pp.42–4. UEFA, Minutes of the Executive Committee Meeting, Frankfurt, 13 Feb. 1964. Spain defeated Morocco to leave Africa without a representative at the 1962 World Cup. A. Versi, Football in Africa (London: Collins, 1986), pp.33–4. F. Mahjoub, 'Power Games', African Soccer, 50 (Dec. 1999), 20–3. Versi, Football in Africa, p.74. E. Quansah, 'The Fall of a Soccer Empire', West Africa – Special Edition (March 1990), 37. CAF, Circular Letter to FIFA from the CAF Executive Committee, 21 Aug. 1964. Ibid. O. Djan cited in M. Katimia, 'The Fight For Recognition', African Soccer, 35 (June 1998), 54. G. Oliver, World Soccer: The History of the Game in Over 150 Countries (London: Guinness Publishing, 1992), p.24. Personal communication to Dr Helmut Kaeser from Mourad Fahmy, 16 Aug. 1965. Cited in ibid. E. Quansah, 'The Cup to Surpass All Cups', Africa Today, (Jan./Feb. 1996), 27. A. Tomlinson, 'FIFA and the World Cup: The Expanding Football Family', in J. Sugden and A. Tomlinson, Hosts and Champions: Soccer Cultures, National Identities and the USA World Cup (Aldershot and Vermont: Arena, 1994), p.25. UEFA, Minutes of IVth Extraordinary Congress, Monte Carlo, 18 June 1971. Ibid. G. Weiderkehr, cited in Official Bulletin of UEFA, No.55, June 1971, p.14. UEFA, Minutes of IVth Extraordinary Congress. FIFA, Minutes of the FIFA/CAF Consultative Committee Meeting, Cameroon, 19 Feb. 1972. UEFA, Minutes of the XIth Ordinary Congress, Vienna, 7 June 1972. UEFA, Minutes of the Vth Extraordinary Congress, Rome, 15 March 1973. P. Darby, J. Sugden and A. Tomlinson, 'Who Rules the Peoples' Game? FIFA Versus UEFA in the Struggle for the Control of World Football', a paper presented at Fanatics! Football and Popular Culture in Europe, Manchester Metropolitan University, 11–13 June 1996, p.11. Sport Intern, 'African Football to Continue its Struggle', Sport Intern, III, 29/30 (20 Dec. 1982), p. 7. For a detailed discussion of Havelange's campaign for the FIFA Presidency and his election manifesto, see, J. Sugden and A. Tomlinson, FIFA and the Contest for World Football: Who Rules the Peoples' Game (Cambridge and Malden, MA: Polity Press, 1998) and Darby, Africa, Football and FIFA. R. Ali, In the Big League: The Rise of African Football (London: Festac [a division of Afropress Ltd], 1984), p.10. UEFA, 'Europe and World Football', Official Bulletin of UEFA, No.104, June 1979, p. 13. UEFA, 'The President's Page', Official Bulletin of UEFA, No.78, March 1977, p. 11. A. Franchi, cited in Official Bulletin of UEFA, March 1977, p. 14. UEFA, Official Bulletin of UEFA, No.90, March 1978, p. 8. The World Cup record books reveal a football monopoly by elite South American and European nations. Only seven nations have won the competition: Brazil, Germany, Italy, Argentina, Uruguay, France and England. A. Franchi, cited in K. Radnege, 'UEFA Do a Worthwhile Job', World Soccer, (July 1977), p. 16. FIFA, Minutes of XLIst Ordinary Congress, Buenos Aires, 30 May 1978. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. A. Herren, 90 Years of FIFA, (Zurich: FIFA Publications, 1994), p.33. Zaire lost 2–0, 9–0 and 3–0 to Scotland, Yugoslavia and Brazil respectively. It should be noted that the 9–0 defeat by Yugoslavia was a consequence of a protest on the part of the players over non-payment of bonuses. F. Mahjoub, 'The World Cup: From Al Teach to Yekini', in F. Mahjoub (ed.), Confédération Africaine de Football: 1957–1997, (Cairo: CAF Publications, 1997) p.96. B. Glanville, 'FIFA Knows How to Blow its Own Trumpet', World Soccer, (Oct. 1984), 14. B. Glanville, 'World Cup System is a Madman's Flytrap', World Soccer, (March 1982), 30. Glanville, 'FIFA Knows How to Blow its Own Trumpet', 14. D. Barnes, World Cup in Spain: The Game of the Century (Oxford: Sidgwick and Jackson, 1982). FIFA, Minutes of the XLIIIrd Ordinary Congress, Madrid, 9 July 1982. Y. Tessema cited in Sport Intern, 'African Football to Continue its Struggle', Sport Intern, III, 29/30 (20 Dec. 1982). Sport Intern, 'Panorama', Sport Intern, III, 8, (16 Aug. 1982). CAF, 'Editorial', CAF News, (Oct. 1986), 3. The early relationship between FIFA and the British football associations was a problematic one. They withdrew from FIFA on a number of occasions and when they were encouraged to rejoin in 1946 they procured statutory assurances that they would remain independent entities within FIFA and would also have the automatic right to one of the FIFA vice-presidency positions. CAF, 'Editorial', p. 3. H. Cavan cited in B. Glanville, 'Cavan's Hot Potato Worries Britain', World Soccer, (Jan. 1997), p. 6. Tomlinson, 'FIFA and the World Cup', p.26. Mahjoub, 'The World Cup: From Al Teach to Yekini', p.99. Nigeria led 1–0 until Roberto Baggio equalized in the 88th minute. Baggio went on to score the winner from the penalty spot. For a detailed discussion of Johansson's struggle with Havelange and later, Sepp Blatter, for the FIFA Presidency, see P. Darby, 'Africa, the FIFA Presidency and the Governance of World Football: 1974, 1998 and 2002', Africa Today, 50, 1 (2003), 3–24 and A. Bairner and P. Darby, 'The Swedish Model and International Sport: Lennart Johansson and the Governance of World Football', International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 36, 3 (2001), 337–59. P. Gardner, 'Havelange's Revenge', World Soccer, (Dec. 1994), 52. CAF, 'Editorial', CAF News, (Oct. 1996), 2. For details of this relationship see Bairner and Darby, 'The Swedish Model and International Sport'. For a discussion on the significance of Johansson's nationality and political leanings in his relationship with the African football confederation see Bairner and Darby, 'The Swedish Model and International Sport'. For a discussion of Europe's support for five African World Cup places see CAF, Minutes of the XXIInd Ordinary General Assembly, Johannesburg, 11 Jan. 1996; M. Fahmy, 'Editorial', CAF News, 64 (April 1998), 1: African Soccer, 'Havelange Takes His Revenge', African Soccer, 9 (Jan./Feb. 1995), 39. CAF, Report of the General Secretary for 1993–5 (Cairo: CAF Publications, 1995), p.3. CAF News, 'Issa Hayatou: The Cup of Nations Will Never Change', CAF News, (Sept. 1996), 16. Cited in E. Maradas, 'Africa's Long March', African Soccer, 9 (Jan./Feb. 1995), 9. Ibid. Similar connections within the broader context of the governance of world football are made in J. Sugden and A. Tomlinson, 'Power and Resistance in the Governance of World Football: Theorizing FIFA's Transnational Impact', Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 22, 3 (Aug. 1998), 299–316. R. Munck, Politics and Dependency in the Third World: The Case of Latin America (London: Zed Books, 1984), p.69. Ibid. J.S. Goldstein, International Relations (Washington: Harper Collins College Publishers, 1994), p.542.