African Soccerscapes: How a continent changed the world's game
本书研究非洲足球的政治经济，强调非洲球员、教练、官员和球迷对足球历史的贡献，反驳了忽视非洲影响的主流观点。
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Soccer World Cup, recently held in South Africa, attained such elevated social prominence that it was not only a sporting spectacle for billions of fans. It also appeared to function as a catalyst for a plethora of publications concerning the African continent, and its complex affinity with the ‘beautiful game’. From amidst this clamour Peter Alegi's African Soccerscapes diligently emerges, the title itself indicative of the academic nature of this concise addition to the growing body of literature about the political economy of African soccer. While adopting a similar position to other texts in this field on topics such as race, cultural values, national identities, economic interests, and power struggles, Alegi's central proposition has a refreshing simplicity: ‘African players, coaches, officials, and fans have written chapters in the history of football and therefore any interpretation of the game's global past must address the interaction of African practitioners and fans with this exciting and nearly universal expression of human culture’ (p. xii). While this view appears incontrovertible, it is often conspicuous by its absence within soccer-related discussions. While routinely conveying the influence of soccer upon the continent, many analyses seemingly neglect the impact of the African continent on the game.