Field of dreams: the politics and power of the Africa Cup of Nations
The Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON, kicked off in January and will go on until 11 February when the final will be played in Abidjan, the capital of the host country Cote d’Ivoire. With football fever rising on the continent, the theme for this year’s first episode of the Nordic Africa podcast naturally centers around football. Join us as we explore the political and economic dimensions of the beautiful game.
Our panel of experts for this episode:
- Jesper Bjarnesen, senior researcher at the Nordic Africa Institute
- Sebastian Van Balen, associate senior lecturer at the department of peace and conflict, Uppsala University
- Carl Rommel, researcher at Uppsala University, Sweden, and author of the book Egypt’s Football Revolution: Emotion, Masculinity, and Uneasy Politics External link..
- Oscar Rothstein, journalist at the independent media centre Danwatch in Denmark, and author of the book Det Lysende Hjerte External link. on the passion and power of African football.
- Buster Kirchner, freelance journalist
Reading list
Compiled by the NAI Library:
- The Africa Cup of Nations : the history of an underappreciated tournament External link, opens in new window.
Ben Shelton, 2023 - Dream machine: an ethnography of football migration between Ghana and Sweden External link, opens in new window.
Emy Lindberg, 2023 - Football (soccer) in Africa : origins, contributions, and contradictions External link, opens in new window.
Edited by Augustine E. Ayuk, 2022 - The precarity of masculinity : football, Pentecostalism, and transnational aspirations in Cameroon External link, opens in new window.
Uroš Kovač, 2022 - African football migration : aspirations, experiences and trajectories External link, opens in new window.
Paul Darby, James Esson and Christian Ungruhe, 2022 - Egypt's football revolution : emotion, masculinity, and uneasy politics External link, opens in new window.
Carl Rommel, 2021
More titles External link, opens in new window. on football or soccer.
The Nordic Africa Podcast is a series of discussions where we talk to political scientists, anthropologists, economists and other researchers about current issues and trends in Africa. We analyse the choices of African leaders, we challenge dominant narratives about the continent, and occasionally, we look into the crystal ball to see where Africa is headed. Hosts Heba Habib and Henrik Alfredsson and guesting experts guide us toward a deepened understanding of Africa’s role on the global scene.
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