Best African Players & A Comment About Censorship

A few days ago I posted about the greatest African player ever. A post like this gets noticed and many people commented with their opinion.

I also managed to get readers from the Big Soccer forum and Xtratime.com community.

Here, I share some of the best comments.

Reader Chxta said: 'As with most things African, this is a topic that would be quite controversial, for example a lot of the titles won by Egyptian clubs have always been hotly debated.

For me it is a straight fight between Milla, Hassan and Kanu.

Milla shone on the world stage, but never got to the pinnacle of club football.

Kanu has shone on the world stage, but arguably in youth competitions (Olympics for example), however truth be told is that he is, the most decorated player in the English Premiership at the moment, and the most decorated African player ever. However, he hasn't even scored a Nations Cup goal much less win the tournament.

I'd probably give it to Hassan on the strength of the impact he had on his country's game.'

BigSoccer poster Cazlon said: 'Unfortunately there is little point in a ranking like this.

Who outside of their respective country still knows about Abdul Razak, Thomas N'Kono, or even the legendary Kalusha Bwalya ?

European/American tabloids don't, certainly not if you limit the selection to the last decade.

Fair enough.

Xtratime reader Andy Christ said: 'It's between Weah and Eto'o and the Cameroonian will probably edge it after another 3-4 good seasons. Drogba might also come close to Weah's legend if he stays in the form he showed last season. Kanu and Okocha have never been world class and Milla never did enough in Europe. Hassan is somebody who is an unknown factor outside Africa but I doubt if that many Africans outside Egypt seriously rate him above Weah or Eto'o.

He may be right. Only time can tell.

The issue isn't settled and only time will tell who really is the greatest African player ever. Kanu? Milla? Eto'o in a few years? Or someone unknown to the masses, as Cazlon pointed out? Let the debate continue.
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A few days ago, we posted a story about censorship and FIFA's attempts to discourage use of their brand. We noted the case of Anton Vosloo, who ran the wildly successful www.2010-soccer-worldcup.com. FIFA ordered it shut and the site was closed within days.

This comment comes in from Anton Vosloo himself: 'They said the actual domain name was the problem and not so much the content. There are already much more than 7 sites out there.I think it was more the group of us that had a high page rank on google. My site was a free directory for travel related sites in Southern Afica.


I think it's sad that FIFA has come to this, but maybe they're right? Maybe they do need to protect their assets? What do you think?

Read the article and the posted link in the article to learn more about this story.
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Kudos to the Iraqi soccer team on their Asian Cup victory. Once again, football uplifts and transforms a nation. The power of a ball. It's incredible ...

2010 Political Cartoons

I found these political cartoons on the Project 2010 website, one of our friends from South Africa actively promoting the good of the game pre-2010.

They're by an artist called Jonathan Shapiro, also known as Zapiro. He is an internationally-respected cartoonist who has won numerous top awards. His satire highlights numerous social issues in South Africa and around the world. Zapiro has been a keen follower of the football scene since before South Africa won the games. Check out these insightful political cartoons.

'Best Feet Forward' - Drogba and the Ivorian Civil War

As the latest Vanity Fair article on the Ivory Coast and Didier Drogba suggests, football can heal a wounded nation.

Drogba and his compatriots are the subjects of a massive article in the American magazine of culture, fashion, and politics about their latest African Cup of Nations qualifier against Madagascar.

It's the latest in a line of articles depicting Drogba and mates as a soothing tonic to the national problems in the Ivory Coast, which is battling a civil war.

As author Austin Merrill points out in the article, '... victory, per se, wasn't so much the point. You didn't have to look hard to see that there was much more at stake than just a soccer match. On this day, the Beautiful Game had reunited a country. ... To everyone in the stadium, and to millions of others across Ivory Coast, Didier Drogba had just ended his country's civil war.'

Big words for a big player. Take the time to read the article about the healing power of the Beautiful Game. It's well worth your time.

Road to 2010 to Shut Down?

If FIFA has their way, I may have to 'suggest' I'm going to South Africa for some big event and not out-and-out say I'm off to the FIFA World Cup.

This smells of censorship ... A report in the Times of South Africa states that the world football governing body has ordered about seven websites to shut down or face legal action.

Seems FIFA said organizing the 2010 World Cup is “extremely expensive” and that its successful staging hinges on the significant financial investment from their sponsors and licensees.

David Murray, FIFA’s senior legal counsel, defended the ultimatum to the websites saying the sites could cause the public to believe their firms provided “this official service ... which is not the case”.

In a letter to Anton Vosloo, who ran the wildly successful www.2010-soccer-worldcup.com, Murray said: “We appreciate that you may not have been aware that companies such as yours, which do not have a formal licence to Fifa, cannot use the infringing signs. For this reason, we are writing to explain this to you and to politely request that you immediately refrain from using the domain name and the infringing signs.”

Vosloo shut down his site within days.

So what's the big deal if some people write about the upcoming games?

Maybe I'm not getting this. Anyone care to interject?

You can read the entire article here. Let me know what you think ...

Turmoil in Iraq

Let's hope nothing like this happens in Africa during the 2010 Finals.

A day of joy and jubilation was marred by violence, as extremists used the Iraqi's march to the Asian Cup Finals to propagate their agenda.

This report comes to us from the Associated Press. The pictures are courtesy of the New York Times.

'BAGHDAD (AP) -- Two suicide car bombings struck soccer fans in Baghdad as they were celebrating Iraq's victory in the Asian Cup semifinal on Wednesday, killing at least 50 people and wounding more than 100, officials said.

The victims were among the thousands of revelers who took to the streets of the capital after the country's national soccer team beat South Korea to reach the tournament's final against Saudi Arabia on Sunday in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The first attack took place about 6:30 p.m. when a bomber exploded in a crowd of people cheering near a well-known ice cream parlor in Baghdad's western neighborhood of Mansour, according to police and hospital officials. At least 30 people were killed and 75 were wounded, an Interior Ministry official said.

Another suicide car bomber detonated his payload about 45 minutes later in the midst of dozens of vehicles filled with revelers near an Iraqi army checkpoint in the eastern district of Ghadeer, killing at least 20 people, including two soldiers, and wounding 61, according to the ministry official.

All the officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release information.

The second attack occurred as Iraqis of all ages were packed on top of cars, pickups and minibuses, waving Iraqi flags and shirts, while others danced in the streets near the checkpoint. Men put towels over their heads or sprayed cars with water for relief in the hot summer weather.

Thousands of fans also gathered in the central district of Karradah to celebrate, dancing, beating drums and chanting ''Iraq, Iraq.'' Elsewhere in city, traffic snarled as cars, Iraqi flags flying from their windows, moved slowly amid hundreds of fans. Motorists honked their horns.

The successful run in the Asian Cup has been a cause of much joy in this wartorn country, with Iraqis saying the mixed makeup of the team showed the country's rival ethnic and religious factions can unite despite years of sectarian violence.

Preliminary police reports said one person was also killed and 17 wounded by celebratory gunfire.

More than an hour after Iraqi goalkeeper Noor Sabri made the crucial save to win the match, gunfire could still be heard in many parts of the capital.

State television broadcast a warning from the Iraqi military urging residents not to engage in celebratory gunfire. But the warning appeared to have been ignored.

Five people were killed in the celebratory gunfire that followed Iraq's win over Vietnam in a quarterfinal match played in Bangkok, Thailand, on Sunday. But no other violence was reported in those celebrations.

Iraq and South Korea played to a scoreless draw through 90 minutes of regulation time and 30 minutes of extra time in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur. But Iraq won a penalty shootout 4-3 to advance to Sunday's final in Jakarta.'

Iraq in Asian Cup Final Update

It's Iraq-Saudi Arabia after the Saudi's 3-2 victory over two-time defending champions Japan.

The tournament final will be played on Sunday in Jakarta. It will be Iraq’s first-ever trip to the Asian Cup championship game. The Saudis won it in 1984, 1988 and 1996.

According to the Associated Press, 'Heavy celebratory gunfire rang out across the Iraqi capital and thousands of fans gathered in the central Baghdad district of Karradah to celebrate by dancing, beating drums and chanting ‘Iraq, Iraq.’ Elsewhere in the city, traffic snarled as drivers honked their horns — Iraqi flags flying from their windows — amid hundreds of fans.'

After the final penalty kick was taken, AFP reported, 'Iraqi players rushed to their supporters to grab national flags as other players wept with joy when the realisation hit that they had won.'

Iraq coach Jorvan Vieira said: “This victory is for the people of Iraq because they deserve it. It also also for the boys because they worked very, very hard. … Korea are a good team and I thought we neutralised them well. We were better than Korea on the fitness side. Is is a game that we will never forget.”

Unfortunately, according to Reuters, 'A car bomb exploded near a group of soccer fans celebrating Iraq's Asian Cup victory over South Korea on Wednesday, killing 10 people and wounding 20, police in Baghdad said.

Police said the blast took place in the capital's western Mansour district. One police source said the bomb was placed in a parked car.
A second source said the blast was caused by a suicide bomber.'

Iraq in Asian Cup Final

An update on the Iraqi national team playing in the Asian Cup.

Jubilation for Iraq today as they advanced to the Asian Cup Final virtue of their penalty-shootout victory over South Korea, 0-0 and 4-3 on penalties.

Congratulations to the Iraqis on their spectacular run to the Final. They'll play the winner of the Saudi Arabia-Japan game, which is being played now.

For more on the game, read the Guardian Unlimited's report here.

According to the New York Times, 'In South Korea, the defeat will be overshadowed by news of the killing in Afghanistan of a South Korean held hostage by Taliban extremists. In Iraq, recent victories of the national team have been met with spontaneous street celebrations, although a penalty-kick victory in the quarterfinal over Vietnam was marred by the deaths in Baghdad of at least two Iraqis by stray gunfire, after celebrants fired weapons into the air.'

South African Crime Could Hurt 2010 Attendance

We recently discussed the state of the police force in South Africa. The country expects upwards of 360,000 foreigners to attend the month-long 2010 World Cup.

Police have said that there will be about 20% more police officers in uniform for the World Cup. Unfortunately, that's not enough as it's anticipated that fear of crime may be keeping more than 22 million tourists from visiting South Africa. The high levels of crime could also deter foreign investment in Africa's biggest economy and derail its chances of hosting a successful World Cup.

Although considered one of the most desirable destinations for tourists because of its natural beauty and luxury resorts, South Africa has battled to reassure visitors they will be safe from criminals in its cities, at the seaside and in game parks, especially during the World Cup.

The country has one of the world's worst murder rates, and its incidence of rapes, carjackings and assaults also are extremely high, with some of the most violent types of crime rising last year despite efforts to beef up police forces.

In a speech in Cape Town, Tourism Minister Marthinus Van Schalkwyk said 2005 research by SA Tourism, which promotes South Africa internationally, showed more than 22 million people overseas were afraid to visit due to crime, SAPA news agency reported.

"Crime is, therefore, an issue we as industry have to deal with if we want to reach our target of 10 million arrivals by 2010," Van Schalkwyk was quoted as saying at the National Conference of the Southern African Association the Conference Industry.