FSF members from four continents convened online on October 24 for a lively discussion of Africa’s World Cup: Critical Reflections on Play, Patriotism, Spectatorship, and Space, a new collection edited by Peter Alegi and Chris Bolsmann.
With the editors and several chapter authors in attendance, the group considered the book’s attempt at blending scholarly and journalistic approaches, as well as the process of writing, editing, and publication. A fruitful comparison between South Africa 2010 and Brazil 2014 put the spotlight on how the FIFA World Cup is entangled in a web of national and international politics, economics, and culture. There was also a fair share of debate over Luis Suarez’s handball (against Ghana) and the contradictory legacies of this “African” World Cup.
The participants were: Andrew Guest, Chris Bolsmann , Christoph Wagner , David Patrick Lane, David Roberts, Derek Catsam, Jacqueline Mubanga, Raj Raman, Orli Bass , Rwany Sibaja, Laurent Dubois , Achille Mbembe , Jordan Pearson, Sean Jacobs, and Alex Galarza (all via Skype); and Liz Timbs, Dave Glovsky, Alejandro Gonzalez, and Peter Alegi (in East Lansing).
The audio recording of the discussion is available here. (For educational/personal use only.)
