The year of 2007 gave the nation of Ghana much to celebrate. In March they were celebrating the 50th Anniversary of their independence and with the turn of the New Year they would play host to the most celebrated competition on the continent. Fans and players from all over Africa descended upon the wonderfully maturing democracy to celebrate the 26th playing of the African Cup of Nations (Gyasi 1). It is in the Africa Cup of Nations where Africans have the unique opportunity to celebrate their importance to the game of football. As much as Africans have developed passion and ability in football, it is rare that they are able to observe and enjoy the game at such a high level, especially in West Africa. Most of the top performers competing in this year’s competition were birthed in the nations of West Africa, but now call the football consuming nations of Western Europe their home. For this reason, the top Ivorian, Ghanaian, Cameroonian, Nigerian, and Liberian players are scattered across leagues and clubs far away from their homeland, giving their supporters back home few chances to celebrate their performance. Only in international competition do these fans really get the chance to come together, own, and cheer in a united manner for one squad. Despite African Nations’ increasing presence in the World Cup, these reunions of statesman happen far to sparingly, and the African Cup of Nations is an especially unique opportunity for Africans to consume and celebrate the ability of their national teams on their own continent.
Coincidently coinciding with the African Cup of Nations and the fiftieth Ghana independence celebration is the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the Confédération Africaine de Football or CAF, the governing body of African Football (World Football 4). Despite its maturing age, African football sovereignty did not come easy. The earliest documented soccer matches in Africa occurred in South Africa in 1862. The game did not assimilate into North and West Africa until the 1920’s (Alegi 15). This was during the peak period of Western colonialism in which early administrations were eager to impose their culture on their indigenous subjects. The French, in particular, believed that “the provision of constructive, rational leisure opportunities could instill in the locals qualities essential for the maintenance of the colonial order” (Colonialism and Resistance 12). Football was first played in mission yards where it was taught as part of the education that was administered at many of the mission schools (Colonialism and Resistance 12). The popularity of the game grew rapidly as Africans consumed the sport in large quantities as both players and spectators. This growth motivated the French to create the first formal African soccer organization, the Native Sports Federation, in French Equatorial Africa. This structure gave the French government control over the growth of the game and allowed them to better impose their influence over the Africans, while restricting any African autonomy, which they viewed as a threat to their colonial efforts (Colonialism and Resistance 12). This also gave the colonial rulers the ability to begin importing players to the mainland.
As football’s popularity continued to rapidly increase, it became a means of expression for the African nation’s collective desire for independence and their resentment towards colonial rule (Colonialism and Resistance 23). In 1957, Ghana (then known as the Gold Coast) became the first independent state in Black Africa and the year 1960 saw 17 more African states break free from colonial rule (Colonialism and Resistance 25). The formation of independent football leagues within African nations served as vehicles to unite people around the game but also around sentiments of freedom. This was best exemplified in the countries of Tanzania and Algeria. In Tanzania, sports club were erected as a front for revolutionary gatherings hosted by their nationalist political party, Tanganyika African National Union (Colonialism and Resistance 27). In Algeria, newly formed political parties used the game itself to promote independence. One of their most prominent revolutionary leaders, Ferhat Abbas, declared, “They [the French] rule us with guns and machines. On a man to man basis, on the field of football, we can show them who is really superior” (Colonialism and Resistance 29). The revolutionists were able to mobilize a team of Algerian born players who were playing in France to leave their leagues and come take part in a team that would become known as the “Revolutionary Eleven” (Colonialism and Resistance 29). Between 1958 and 1962, the team toured through Northern Africa, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and China, winning 39 matches as well as their freedom from the French, who granted them independence in 1962 under pressure from the domestic and international press (Colonialism and Resistance 29).
This newfound football and political independence raised the question of where Africa would fit in the international football community. As the sport became more and more globalized, African nations attempted to develop infrastructure and support around the game, but until 1957 the European powers that controlled the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) worked to circumvent the emerging influence of developing nations. To maintain the status quo, with a power center based primarily in Western Europe, the powerful within FIFA continually muffled the voice of Africans looking for executive roles within the committees of the governing body and disrupted attempts to develop a subsidiary but powerful continental football association in Africa. By the late fifties and early sixties the European Nations could no longer hold back the will of the continent. With a steadily growing constituency of African nations within FIFA and the establishment of the CAF in 1957, the collective voice of African Football became audible in a very sudden way (World Football 4). This very dramatic establishment of power within a very global and powerful governing body would show the world how Africa’s mass and diversity could become a powerful tool in international politics and a source of agency for the African people.
In the mid nineteen sixties the new and united center of African football began campaigning for more representation in the most prestigious of international competitions, the World Cup. Despite their numbers, they would eventually fail to achieve reform that would deliver them more spots in the tournament. Europe’s grip was strong with their man, Paul Rous, a conservative Englishmen, at the helm of FIFA. It became clear that without a change in leadership, Africa would have much trouble making advances in the world body (World Football 4).
In the early seventies the CAF would receive some much needed help in their battle as a Brazilian by the name of João Havelange announced he would be challenging the incumbent Rous for his spot at the top of world football. As president of the Confederaçâo Brasiliero de Desportos, Havelange had great experience in managing sports. It was under his tenure as the head of Brazilian sports that the very popular and successful Brazilian national team would win back to back World Cup Championships in 1958 and 1962 with a third coming in 1970 (World Football 5). He would certainly use this buzz and experience to his advantage but the politics of FIFA were harsh and a more dynamic strategy was needed if he was going to break into the organization. With that in mind he began a world tour visiting many of the football nations personally. Football insider Patrick Nally recounts the strategy,
“It was such a radical change to suddenly have this dynamic, glamorous South American character, brimming with bonhomie, traveling the world with his wife, meeting people, pressing the flesh, bringing over the Brazilian team, traveling with the likes of Pelé. It was Brazilian carnival time. . . . It was unheard of. No sports president had ever gone round the world glad-handing and campaigning.” (World Football 5)
Like the CAF, Havelange represented a challenge to European power within FIFA, but this position as an outsider would soon stand to be his greatest advantage. With the Brazilian national team and Pele at his side, he would tour through the embittered nations of Africa drawing parallels between himself, his players, and his nation with the struggles faced by Africans. He promised to bring the issues most important to Africans to the forefront as the incumbent was doing the exact opposite. As Havelange toured the African Nations promising more World Cup spots, better infrastructure, top coaches, and the construction of modern stadiums, Rous was governing in Europe over an extremely controversial issue. The Football Association of South Africa (FASA) had been removed from the CAF for refusing to send anything but an all white team to the first ever African Cup of Nations in 1957. When a FIFA committee headed by Rous investigated, it concluded that, “there is no willful discrimination on the part of FASA in respect of any organization in South Africa” (World Football 6). This debacle infuriated the CAF pushing a united 37 African Havelange’s way, leading to his election at the 1974 FIFA congress (World Football 7).
After election, Havelange spent his tenure managing the world game and delivering many of the promises he had made to the third world. Such reforms included a restructuring of FIFA committees, the appropriation of additional world cup spots for African nations, and the development of youth tournaments for the Continent. UEFA, the collective body of European Soccer nations, felt that these policies sought to undermine their position in the world game but realized that Africa had delivered Havelange the, and therefore, must be considered in their strategy for retaking the Federation (World Football 7).
To attempt this they the Europeans would put forward the president of UEFA, Lennart Johansson, for the FIFA presidency. Johansson had come to a good standing with the CAF by delivering policies within FIFA that supported the CAF and other continental bodies influence in world Football. When Havelange announced his retirement Johansson was able to secure the endorsement of the CAF and it appeared he would win in an unopposed election (World Football 9). All did not work out so smoothly. Shortly after the endorsement, a long time friend and partner of Havelange, Slepp Blatter, stepped into the race (World Football 10). His great standing within African football threatened to fracture the CAF vote. Several of the African delegates expressed their dismay with the hasty choosing of Johansson and contested that the decision was motivated primarily by the CAF’s president’s friendship with Johansson. When the 1998 election finally arrived, Blatter had solidified himself as the candidate who could continue the progress that Havelange had started. The famous and influential Liberian footballer George Weah commented on the turbulent election, "It was wrong for Johansson to assume he had Africa. Africans represent a lot of cultures, [sic] you cannot oblige them to vote together in a certain way. Anyway, why change something that Havelange and Blatter built up together” (World Football 13).
Despite the controversy and conflict within the CAF, Blatter’s tenure would prove to be a positive influence in the development of the African game as he progressed and entrenched many of the pro-African policies set forth by Havelange. He has also delivered the prestigious honor of hosting the World Cup to South Africa for 2010.His GOAL project has brought infrastructure and support to many nations in Africa who much need assistance in establishing their own sovereign football association (FIFA.com). For his efforts and successes, Africa would give him a vote of confidence in 1998 with his reelection over a Cameroonian who would have been the first African president of FIFA (World Football 12).
The importance of this study, pioneered by Paul Darby, one of the foremost authorities on African football, lies in its ability to bring Africa’s political potential to the forefront. Historically, Africa is thought of as a politically weak continent, with ineffective governments fraught with corruption. I cannot argue that this is not a problem when considering many African countries in isolation today, but the study of the CAF’s influence within FIFA shows that when Africa works with a common purpose and a pointed drive, they can achieve much for the people of the continent.