Images from Africa

Below you will find photo series displaying different aspects of African football. The photos are kindly shared by Twenty Ten: African Media on the Road to 2010 (and beyond).

Clicking on an image below will take you to africamediaonline.com where you can see the whole album.

For publication rights contact features@africamediaonline.com

Although football is generally viewed as a man's sport, women nationwide have been embracing the FIFA fever that has swept the country.

With South Africa being the first African nation to host the World Cup, the excitement has been contagious and the female population has refused to be left out.

Whether they accompany their men to fan parks and public viewing areas, or get together with their girlfriends to watch at home, South African women have been giving football their full attention for the duration of the World Cup.

Photo by Ahmed Jallanzo/Twenty Ten

With the Ghanaian Black Stars making it further than any other African team in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, young boys throughout Ghana have been inspired by the game of football.

In the fishing district of New Takoradi, children can often be found at the seaside practising their soccer skills. Young boys give themselves the names of their idols in the national team and mark the goal posts with their country’s flag, small indicators of the pride they feel to be Ghanaian.

For these children, football is not only a way to pass hot afternoons at the beach, it is preparation for a dream that they nurture of one day being able to represent their country as soccer heroes like those who made it to the World Cup quarter finals.

Bricks Mokolo is a bit of a local legend in the sprawling township of Orange Farm. An ANC activist and former soccer star, he has turned his attention to the social problems in his area and had concentrated all of his energy on preaching a social gospel of community responsibility.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa has seen the country spend an estimated R33 billion in preparation for one of the biggest sporting events in the world. With its shiny, new soccer stadiums, up-scale hotels and golden beaches, at first glance South Africa looks like a tourist haven. But behind this façade of prosperity lies another country: black townships without even the most basic infrastructure, bad roads, and insufficient sanitation, along with high crime and unemployment rates.

However, the resilience and dedication of people like Bricks to develop their communities and encourage the locals to be the change that their area needs, inspires hope that townships like these may face a brighter future.

Photo by Andrew Esiebo/Twenty Ten

The hope of an African team winning the 2010 FIFA World Cup was finally dashed when Uruguay beat Ghana on penalties at the Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg.

The sense of pride that an African team had progressed so far in the football tournament reverberated around the world.

Young and old, black and white, African and non-African united behind the Black Stars as they took to the pitch on July 2. With faces painted, flags waving and vuvuzelas blowing, a tremendous atmosphere of African unity descended on the continent. The stadium, fan parks and living rooms were filled with fans cheering for the West African team, and as they scored the first goal of the match, spirits were high.

Photo by Thierry Gouegnon/Twenty Ten

Forty-one year-old Esther Mbyame has been a teacher at the Mataffin school in Nelspruit for seven years. The stadium developers demolished the original brick-built school in 2007 to build the 46,000-seat, billion-rand Mbombela Stadium.

The school children were relocated to prefabricated buildings a few miles away, which were unventilated, hot, and humid.

“In these prefabricated containers up to six pupils were collapsing each day from the heat. After the mid-morning break we no longer tried to teach because we knew no-one could concentrate.” said Esther.

It took three years of protesting and the school children burning the prefabricated school down before the Mbombela municipality built a brick school for the children just a few months before the World Cup began.

“I’m really happy we finally have a proper classroom to teach our children. It’s been a disruptive three years, but now we can move forward and our children can have a better education.”

Photo by Nikki Rixon/Twenty Ten

Throughout Lagos groups of people can be found huddled around radios and televisions for the 2010 FIFA World Cup matches. Every so often there is a cheer from a street corner, or a heated debate between shop keepers. When the national team was playing, supporters found any available spot to watch the games, be it a church, a pavement viewing booth or a community centre.

However, the attitude of many Nigerians towards the World Cup has been reserved. The squad that was selected to represent Nigeria in South Africa was a hotly contested issue among football supporters, and the poor preparation in the run up to the tournament cast a shadow over the team’s performance. The grumbling started when the team only narrowly qualified by beating Kenya 3-2 and fans doubted The Eagles’ ability to do well in the tournament. Despite this, many football lovers continue to follow the World Cup matches to see which country will take home the gold trophy.

Photos by Adolphus Opara/Twenty Ten

Former footballer sets up a soccer academy in the township.

The allure of wealth and experience in European football clubs causes most of South Africa’s prominent players to travel abroad to other teams. This has made it very difficult for aspiring young soccer players to get the input and training they need to achieve their potential.

It is against this background that Commodore Mavmengwana established The Red Stars Football Club in the township of Orange Farm. A former Boksburg Guild player, Commodore is driven to pass on his knowledge and passion for the game to those in his care. Not only does he train them on the football field, he also offers computer courses and teaches them computer repairs in an attempt to ensure that the boys have job security when their football careers are over.

With the 2010 FIFA World Cup being hosted by South Africa, it is encouraging to see former players who return to the game as coaches in order to invest in the next generation.

Photo by Ahmed Jallanzo/Twenty Ten

June 13, 2010 is a day that may never be forgotten by Ghanaian football supporters. It will go down in history as the day that the national team, The Black Stars, became the first African team to win a match at the 2010 FIFA World Cup

The whole of Ghana went into a frenzy when prolific striker Asamoah Gyan scored the only goal of the first group D match through a penalty kick at the end of their game against Serbia.

Jubilation in the nations’ capital, Accra, was so intense that many television viewers were unable to pay attention to the remainder of the game. Shops, offices, homes and the streets were filled to capacity as fans celebrated the win. Many, clad in the national colours: red, gold and green with the black star, also had their favourite players painted on their faces. The most common player was Asamoah Gyan, the goal scorer.

Photo by Oupa Nkosi/Twenty Ten

When xenophobia raised its ugly head in 2008 in South Africa, the world was shocked by the intolerance that existed between local people and those who had come from other African nations to work in the country. For a small group of Orange Farm residents, however, spreading a message of unity and acceptance is very important.

With the 2010 FIFA World Cup on their doorstep, the idea to combine raising awareness of xenophobia with a football tournament greatly appealed to the local community.

Under the inspirational leadership of Bricks Mokolo, former soccer hero and ANC activist, a match was organised at the Sebokeng Sports Centre. As President of Soccer Legends, Mokolo’s football contemporaries participated in the tournament, as well as lots of the local men and children.

Photo by Esiebo/Twenty Ten

In Polokwane, Limpopo's Department of Roads and Transport provided more than R25-million for taxi operators to ferry football fans to five different public viewing areas during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Each of the province's five districts has one viewing area, which will provide impoverished rural communities the opportunity to watch all the Bafana Bafana matches during the month-long tournament live on big screens.

Travelling on dusty roads, fans appeared in the distance waving their flags and wearing Bafana Bafana regalia. The taxi was filled with an electrifying atmosphere. The fans sang as vuvuzelas were blown in unison and teenagers yelled: "Can you feel it? It is here!" at top the tops of their voices. A couple of hours before the match started, fans of all ages ran excitedly into the viewing parks.

Photo by Nikki Rixon/Twenty Ten

South Africans nationwide have been asking how the common man will profit from the international FIFA World Cup tournament which will see an estimated 350,000 foreign supporters arriving in the country.

Alina Thonjeni, a 69-year-old single mother to four children, retired from her job in order to convert her modest but well-kept home in Alexandra township, Johannesburg, into a guesthouse. Her dream is to provide a viable, cost-effective alternative to the mainstream hotels and their massively inflated prices over the next month or so. At a cost of R150 per person per night, this is a realistic hope.

“I'll meet people from all over the world, and I want to make them feel welcome. I can provide a unique experience for tourists visiting our country,” Alina says.

The South African government maintains that the World Cup will benefit the country as a whole. However, it is difficult for people to profit from the games on an individual basis due to the stringent FIFA rules and regulations.

Photo by Nikki Rixon/Twenty Ten

There has been much talk of unity as the 2010 FIFA World Cup has kicked off in South Africa. After such a long history of division, has the Rainbow Nation been truly united across colour and race boundaries during the international soccer tournament?

For fans who celebrated the kick off at the all-famous street parties in Soweto Township in Johannesburg, things really do seem to have changed. One party goer said that Nelson Mandela would be proud of, “Black and white coming together”. Another said that by gathering together to celebrate and dance, they were, “building our nation in party style”.

A white fan dressed in full Bafana Bafana regalia said how much she hoped that the sense of togetherness would extend beyond the World Cup period. “We saw a lot of white people driving here on their own, not afraid of Soweto. That is priceless,” she said.

Photo by Simone Scholtz/ Twenty Ten

On June 9, thousands of football fans filled the streets of Johannesburg in support of their national team, Bafana Bafana. The event, which was engineered by the government, offered an opportunity for people from different cultural, social, and academic backgrounds to unite in a countrywide celebration of the upcoming soccer spectacle.

In the space of an hour, social and cultural gaps were bridged as fans sang, danced and blew their vuvuzelas in celebration.

“My manager and I were so happy that we hugged. It happened for the first time in forty years and this was all thanks to the Bafana Bafana,” says Khosi in utter delight. He works as a cleaner for a Johannesburg-based company.

Such national unity was made possible by the South African government, as it instituted a “Vuvuzela Day” in support of Bafana Bafana who are scheduled to open the tournament against Mexico on Friday June 11 at Soccer City, Johannesburg.

Photo by Andrew Esiebo/Twenty Ten

In order for a football player to look the part, someone, somewhere made his kit. In the commercial district of Abidjan, a small workshop can be found where men and women work hard to produce football shirts that are individually stitched, and then printed by professional calligraphers.

With the 2010 FIFA World Cup on the horizon, the owners of these small workshops hope that demand will increase for their product so they can clothe the soccer-loving locals in style.

Photo by Arnaud Thierry Gouegnon/Twenty Ten

When the first soccer game kicks off at the Green Point Stadium in Cape Town, R4.5 billion will already have been spent on its construction.

For many, the argument is not the money spent but what the money could instead buy. R4.5 billion can, roughly, build 60,000 homes, which could house up to 300,000 previously homeless people.

This photo series is about a small group of homeless people who live in the shadow of the new Green Point Stadium. Several times in the past few months they have been uprooted from the trees or corners they called home and moved to other areas around the stadium to make way for construction.

Photo by Samantha Reinders/Twenty Ten

This is the story of a soccer team in Mazoe 35km east of Harare the capital of Zimbabwe on Belgone Farm, which was affected badly by Zimbabwe’s controversial land reform programme.

The team, was founded by a white commercial farmer, David Belgone. The team consisted of his employees and their sons and he was their main sponsor.

Since his eviction from the farm in 2003 everything at the farm has become dilapidated. The soccer team was not spared, with no one to employ them and with no sponsors the group has now resorted to dancing masked traditional dances to raise money for the team and to be able to have food on the table.

Photo by Desmond Kwande/Twenty Ten

The history of football in South Africa dates back to the late 19th century. When the government implemented its apartheid policies in 1948, South Africa was ostracised by the world. In football, only white people were allowed to join teams which resulted in their suspension from FIFA in 1963.

This series of images focus on three veteran football players, who played for the Springboks in the 1950ies.

All three speak about a shared love of the game. They were required to hold down day jobs while pursuing football on the side because their earnings as soccer players were pitiful. Winning a match would result in payment of only R5.

With the World Cup soccer showcase about to erupt, it is inspiring to see the passion for football that such veterans of the sport still have.

Photo by Nikki Nixon/Twenty Ten

The shortage of footballs for African children to play with, a lack of awareness about preventable diseases, unemployment, and no basic skills training in poor communities were the contributing factors to the establishment of Alive and Kicking Zambia.

The company makes hand-stitched leather footballs that carry health messages on HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. They are durable, educational and recreational.

Alive and Kicking also creates employment for male, female and physically challenged stitchers, who have a target of three footballs each per day.

Photo by Leonie Marinovich/TwentyTen

Siyabonga Mbaleki, who lives in Khayelitsha, Cape Town has inspired the children in his neighbourhood to follow their dreams and realize their potential by being part of a soccer team that he coaches voluntarily.

All of the children come from a disadvantaged background. Siyabonga says that his aim is to give these children a sense of belonging, connectedness and physical and mental discipline with which they could better themselves.

Football has played a key role in the healthy development of children, and has become an increasingly important tool for reaching out to children.

Photo by Nikki Rixon

In the district of Medina, near Dakar, young men take great risks to pursue their passion of playing football. With no green soccer field to play on, the men have taken to the streets to compete with passing cars and pedestrians for room to tackle, shoot and score.

Youngsters from the area love the thrill of a game of street soccer. Their fearlessness is evident as they throw their bodies into tackles and show little regard for the many obstacles in their way.

For the vast majority soccer is a relatively safe sport, but for the young men of Medina it takes great courage and skill to finish a match unharmed.

Photo by Aliou Mbaye/Twenty Ten