Dynamic Africa
Formerly, "This is Africa/fyeahAfrica".
(Profile Photo by Mama Casset)
DISCLAIMER:
I do not endorse any of the products or opinions shared on this site, nor do I claim any of the work posted here to be my own - except where stated. All posts originally made by me are credited. If no credit is given then the work is either my own/written by me or reblogged from another source.
A LITTLE ABOUT ME:
Student, 24
Based in Cape Town, South Africa
From Lagos, Nigeria
Want to advertise through us? Send an email to dynamicafricablog@gmail.com
(As an unemployed media student, all donations go into ensuring my survival in this cruel world and future projects I hope to embark on).
hit counter
(since Oct. 21th 2012)
SPORTS: Nigeria vs Kenya, and Cote D’Ivoire vs Gambie.
I’ll be live-tweeting both games at @dynamicafrica on twitter.
Kenya and Nigeria battled on Twitter Thursday, as #SomeoneTellKenya and #SomeoneTellNigeria trended worldwide.
The online clash erupted when news broke of the poor accommodations provided to the Harambee Stars, Kenya’s national football team, during a visit to Nigeria for a World Cup qualifier match.
Use of #SomeoneTellNigeria and #SomeoneTellKenya spanned across the globe, reaching China, the United States and Indonesia.
This weekend, the Eagles take on the Harambee Stars for a 2014 World Cup qualifier match in Calabar.
This Group F encounter is must win for both sides if they hope to brighten their chances of making the World Cup in Brazil.
While Nigeria lead with four points, Kenya is bottom of the group. With three points, Namibia are breathing down the necks of the African champions. The Brave Warriors host Malawi this weekend in Windhoek.
Kenya have never defeated Nigeria in 13 meetings at the senior level where the west Africans have won 11 times. The best record for the Harambee Stars is two draws.
Kenyan filmmaker and artist Mũchiri Njenga has elegantly filmed a short about Kenyan cyclist David Kinjah, the country’s most prolific cycling athlete.
AFRICANS OF NOTE: Jomo Sono
Known affectionately to South Africans as ‘Jomo Sono’, Ephraim Matsilela Sono is a living legend in the world of South African sports. His nickname ‘Jomo’, which means ‘burning spear’ in Swahili, was given to him by an Orlando Pirates fan, Rocks Mthembu, who saw the same qualities in the footballer as the then president of Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta.
Sono was born and raised in the Gauteng township of Orlando East in Soweto. A few years after his birth in 1955, his father, who played for the Orlando Pirates football team, passed away in a car crash. Following his father’s passing, Sono’s mother abandoned him, leaving him in the care of his ailing grandparents who he supported, at age 10, by selling foodstuffs and football games and train stations. He wouldn’t meet his mother until he was 34, through the help of a newspaper article.
The above commercial shows how fate would have a decisive role in shaping his successful career as a football player when, on his wedding day, he was called to fill in the position of an absent player and ended up making one of the toughest decisions of his life - one that paid off in more ways than one.
In the late 70s, Sono went on to play for the New York Cosmos, Colorado Caribous, Atlanta Chiefs and Toronto Blizzard football teams, before returning to South Africa in the early 80s.
He now owns his own football club named Jomo Cosmos (formerly known as Highland Park) in honor of his New York team, and has coached the South African national football team. Sono is also the longest-serving coach in the South African Premier League and also sits on the board of the Premier Soccer League.
Sono was voted 49th in the Top 100 Great South Africans in 2004, and earlier this year he was awarded the Johnnie Walker Lifetime Achievement Award, becoming the first man from the world of soccer to win the prize.
Premiering on Tuesday 12 March, 2013, on Al Jazeera, Football Rebels is a television documentary series that chronicles the lives of inspiring football stars who’ve used their fame and influence to draw attention to human rights issues.
The first episode looks at how Ivorian player Didier Drogba helped his national team qualify for the 2006 world cup, and then challenged President Gbagbo to end the civil war in his country.
Episode two takes us to the late 50s and at the heart of Algeria’s fight for independence as Algerian football player Rachid Mekhloufi leaves France and returns to his home country to join the FLN football team and play for Algerian independence.
Watch episode 1 this week on Tuesday March 12th on Al Jazeera at 22:30GMT, or catch it here on Dynamic Africa the following day.
Stay tuned.
AFRICANS OF NOTE: Battling Siki
Battling Siki (September 16, 1897 – December 15, 1925), aka Louis Mbarick Fall, was a French light heavyweight boxer born in Senegal who fought from 1912–1925, and briefly reigned as the lineal light heavyweight champion after knocking out Georges Carpentier.
He was born Baye Fall in the port city of Saint-Louis, Senegal. While still a teenager, Siki changed his name, and moved to metropolitan France, where, by the age of 15, he began his professional boxing career. Siki’s early years were inauspicious. From 1912 to 1914 he compiled a record of just 8 wins, 6 losses and 2 draws.
When World War I erupted, Siki joined the French army. During the war he was decorated for bravery in battle, and honorably discharged.
After his discharge from the military, Siki resumed his boxing career. In October and November 1920 Siki boxed two matches in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He dated and married a Dutch woman and stayed in Amsterdam for a while. In this period he taught boxing at the amateur boxing club De Jonge Bokser (The Young Boxer).
From November 1, 1919, until he faced Georges Carpentier for the world’s light heavyweight championship in 1922, Siki compiled the impressive record of 43 wins in 46 bouts (21 KOS), suffering just 1 loss (on a decision) and 2 draws. Carpentier, the reigning World and European champion, agreed to fight Siki for the title, and they met in Paris, France on September 24, 1922.
Siki claimed that he had agreed to take a dive, but when Carpentier, dropped Siki, the outraged African decided to get up and fight. Although he had agreed to throw the fight, he did not intend to get beat up doing so.
In the sixth round Siki hit Carpentier with a powerful right uppercut that appeared to put Carpentier down and out for the count. The referee, however, claimed Siki had tripped Carpentier, and awarded the bout to the unconscious champion on a foul. Fearing a riot from the aroused crowd, the three ringside judges overruled the referee, and Siki was eventually declared the champion.
Siki then embarked on a well publicized rampage of partying and carousing. He would walk his pet lion down the Champs-Élysées while wearing his top hat and tuxedo. Siki was known to fire his revolvers in the air in public as a means of prompting his two great danes to do tricks. He was constantly reported drinking champagne in night clubs, and spent freely on flashy clothes and partying. He was fond of white women, and both his wives were white (his second-wife may have been mixed-race and white-passing).
During this time offers poured in from the United States for Siki to meet the leading heavyweight contender Harry Wills, middleweight champion Johnny Wilson, and the legendary Harry Greb. Attempts were even made to match Siki with the then reigning heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey.
Instead, Siki signed to defend his title against Irish light heavyweight Mike McTigue on Saint Patrick’s Day in Dublin. The bout was controversial and Siki lost his belt on decision and lost the title.
After losing his European title on a foul, Siki moved to the United States. His record in the States was poor and he failed to defeat any top-notch fighters. His failure to train properly was evident; his record after winning the title was a dismal 11 wins (7 KOS), 17 losses, 1 draw and 2 No Contests. It was during this time period that he suffered the only two knockout defeats of his career.
Even in the States Siki continued to carouse and train on booze and street brawls. Often, he would get drunk in speakeasies, refuse to pay the tab, and fight his way out.
On December 15, 1925, his reckless lifestyle caught up with him. He was stopped by a policeman who saw him staggering drunk on 42nd Street, not far from his apartment in New York City. Siki stated that he was on his way home, and walked off. Later he was found lying face down, shot twice in the back at close range, dead at the age of 28.
The Rev. Adam Clayton Powell, the father of Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., presided over his funeral, which was held in Harlem New York.
In 1993, his remains were repatriated to his home city of Saint-Louis, Senegal. His record was 64-25-5 with 35 knockouts.
Recently came across this sports-inspired photoshoot featuring South Sudanese model Nykhor Paul, photographed by Rick Guest. Thought it had a bit of an Afro-futuristic vibe to it.
The Burkinabe team played extraordinary well throughout the competition, from our very first meeting with them at the start of the tournament where they miraculously scored with only seconds on the clock, to our final match where they vigorously gave us a run for our money several times.
This team will more than certainly go down in history for having come the furthest ever at the AFCON championship for a Burkina Faso national football team.
Although people often say that no one remembers second place, I beg to differ. The likes of Patroipa and Bance will not be forgotten for being firm leaders of the Stallions.
A tournament full of surprises at every turn, from Cape Verde’s first ever qualification to Ethiopia’s first showing in 31 years.
AFCON 2013, thanks for the beautiful moments.
I’ll be live-tweeting the events (and my heavy emotions) for the events happening tonight. As you may or may not know by now, I’m Nigerian therefore I’m #TeamNigeria all the way so if you can’t handle my dedicated allegiance for the Super Eagles, I’ll understand.
I see the game as being 50/50, which is what makes me so terribly nervous. Burkina Faso could just as easily win this as Nigeria. It’s their first time ever at an Africa Cup of Nations, and they’re a physically aggressive team as we’ve seen before (see: Ghana vs BF), so they’re incredibly hungry for a victory.
It’s sure to be an exciting game and I believe if you have Eurosport or ESPN3 (don’t quote me on this) you’ll be able to watch the game live. It begins at 20:00 CAT (that’s 8pm for those who don’t use 24hr clock language) and I’ll be live-tweeting at @dynamicafrica.
May the best team win!
AFCON UPDATE: Who’s through to the finals?
Four West African teams went head-to-head in two separate matches here in South Africa, to vie for a place at the finals of this year’s Africa Cup of Nations and possibly take home the trophy.
First to play were Nigeria and Mali, and although the latter gave the football heavyweights a run for their money at the beginning of the match, the Super Eagles soon picked up the pace as the confidence from their previous win against Cote D’Ivoire started to show. After just thirty minutes of play, the Eagles had scored two goals placing them well ahead of Mali at the end of the first half with a 3-0 lead.
Nigeria managed a fourth goal in the second half and although Mali scored at the 70th minute, it wasn’t nearly enough to get them back in the saddle and Nigeria progressed victoriously to secure a position in this year’s AFCON finals - the first time for the team since 2000.
Up next were tournament favourites against slight underdogs Burkina Faso who had never before made it to the finals of this tournament. Ghana had a relatively easy road to the semi-finals playing lesser skilled teams such as Niger, Ethiopia, DR Congo and Cape Verde which may have put them at a disadvantage against the Burkinabe Stallions who had tenaciously fought their way to this stage of the tournament - including an equalizing goal in their opening match against Nigeria with less than five seconds left on the clock. Ghana were put in the lead during the first half with a penalty goal, but Burkina Faso fought long and hard during the rest of the match and managed an equalizing goal in the second half of the match.
With a draw even after added time, the match went into extra time and despite a ‘goal’ from Burkina Faso (it was controversially disallowed due to a foul), and would-be penalty for them resulting in a yellow card for Pitriopa (his second) that brought the team down to 10-men, Burkina Faso were left sorely disappointed as extra time came to an end and penalty shoot-outs were declared.
The Black Stars shine was embarrassingly dulled as they missed their first penalty, and eventually lost out to their fellow West Africans who beat them 3-1 during penalties.
Whilst Mali and Ghana still stand a chance at claiming third place, the final match between Nigeria and Burkina Faso is due to be incredibly tense and both teams have plenty of reasons why winning is their only option.
AFCON 2013 Semi-Finals:
Burkina Faso vs Ghana
Mali vs Nigeria
06/02/2013
The finals will see Nigeria play Burkina Faso. It’s been 13 years since Nigeria reached this stage at the AFCONs and for Burkina Faso, this is the first time in the history of the tournament that they’ve gotten to the finals.
May the best team come out victorious.
(via ghanailoveyou)
AFCON 2013 UPDATE: Semi-finals
The teams that are currently through to the semi-finals after winning their quarter-finals matches are:
- Ghana - beat Cape Verde 2-1
- Mali - beat South Africa 1-1 (1-3 in penalties)
- Nigeria - beat Ivory Coast 2-1
- Burkina Faso - beat Togo 1-0
SEMI-FINALS MATCH SCHEDULE (Feb. 6th, 2013):
- Mali vs Nigeria (17:00 CAT)
- Burkina Faso vs Ghana (20:30 CAT)
It’s 100% a West African affair now. May the best teams win.
The top scorers in the competition, with three goals each are:
- Alain Traore (Mali)
- Wakaso Mubarak (Ghana)
- Emmanuel Emenike (Nigeria)
All are still active in the tournament.
A map showing the countries that have made it to the quarterfinals (yellow) of the Africa Cup of Nations tournament.
They are:
- Mali
- South Africa
- Cape Verde
- Cote D’Ivoire/Ivory Coast
- Nigeria
- Ghana
- Burkina Faso
- Togo
South Africa is the only country outside of West Africa to make it to this stage.
