Available as Paperback
A fascinating modern history of Africa
Football inspires competition and inflames passions nowhere as strongly as in Africa. Travelling across thirteen countries, from Cairo to the Cape, journalist Steve Bloomfield meets players and fans, politicians and rebel leaders, and discovers the role that football has played in shaping the continent. He recounts how football has helped to prop up an authoritarian regime in Egypt, end a conflict in Côte d’Ivoire and provide a tiny ray of light in war-torn Somalia.
Africa United is a superb, modern-day portrait of Africa, told through the game that unites it.
“More than a sports book, Africa United tells how soccer keeps hope alive in across a troubled continent. It is an inspiring story of spirit, skill and doggedness in the face of hellish difficulties - in short it is the story of Africa itself”
tim Butcher, Author Of Blood River
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“Reading this book makes you want to pack your bags and light out for the territory, however dangerous the territory may be … required reading for anyone visiting Africa for the world cup next month.”
Giles Foden
conde Nast Traveller
“[Bloomfield] carefully weaves an intricate web showing how national politics and football intertwine, and that the whole continent is brought together by its passion for the beautiful game … the perfect balance of passionate prose and informed accounts of key moments both on and off the pitch.”
waterstone’s Books Quarter
“A fascinating account of how football lies at the very heart of African consciousness.”
waterstone’s Books Quarterly
“The ideal bluffer’s guide to African football, history and culture.”
waterstone’s Books Quarterly
Steve Bloomfield
Steve Bloomfield was based in Nairobi, Kenya from 2006 to 2010. A former Africa correspondent for The Independent, he reported from more than 25 countries across the continent. He is now the foreign editor for Monocle and lives in London.