Mohamed Aboutrika (AFF)

Jan 28, 2010 |

Sadly unavailable for the Egypt national team at the Africa Cup of Nations due to injury, 31 year old Mohamed Aboutrika is a true African football phenomenon who has been dubbed the Egyptian Zinedine Zidane. Visionary and smooth on the field, he is a joy to watch. Born into a poor, humble neighbourhood, Aboutrika joined the then-second division team, Tersana Club, at 12 and was promoted to the first team at 17. As top scorer for two seasons, he was key in their promotion to the Egyptian league. His high impact on the Egyptian League won him call-ups to the Egyptian National Olympic team as...

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The Flüds Are Coming

Jan 26, 2010 | ,

It had a black strap, white face with a picture of Mickey Mouse, his arms the hands to tell time. I was still trying to figure out the whole time thing but had practically begged my father to pick me up a Mickey Mouse watch on his travels. I was more into Disney characters than actually telling time but that was my first watch. Later, the in-thing was a watch with the calculator. It had tiny little rubber buttons, was a bit of a mission to work with and wasn’t allowed in tests or exams, but it was straight out of the future. It was also the last watch my father would buy me because I was...

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Into Nneka’s World

Jan 19, 2010 |

A product of the conventional music business model, I have not always explored beyond what the ‘system’ pushes out. I am not proud of that and I have attempted to make up for it by submerging myself in the crevices of the Internet, where so much beautiful music resides. I visit music blogs & sites and interact with those in the know in spaces like MySpace, Facebook and Twitter. These recent forays have unearthed – for me – some amazing gems, one of which Nigerian-German artist Nneka. I regrettably haven’t had the opportunity to hear her debut EP, The Uncomfortable Truth, or her album...

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Yaya Touré (AFF)

Jan 11, 2010 |

The Ivory Coast, over the last decade or so, has had a number of wonderful footballers establish them on the international stage - the biggest is probably Didier Drogba. For me, one of the first names to gain prominence was Kolo Touré, who formed the backbone of Arsenal’s defense before his recent move to Manchester City. While Kolo is a great player, it is his youngest brother, Gnégnéri Yaya Touré, who stands out for me. I’m not sure where I first came across him, but it was more than likely at the 2006 Africa Cups of Nations were he formed the heart of Cote D’Ivoire’s midfield - tough,...

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Africa’s Football Finest

Jan 8, 2010 |

For as long as I can remember, I have loved the beautiful game – football. I try to watch as much as I can and there are certain teams that I have supported since I was a child, like Liverpool and Bayern Munich. From a national perspective, it has always been Germany and, Africa’s first national team, the Black Stars – Ghana. During my younger years, one rarely heard of African players making it in the more resourced and developed leagues, like the English Premier League, Spain’s La Liga or Italy’s Serie A. African football was considered the poor little cousin everyone tolerated, despite...

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The Artist: Activist Publication

Jan 6, 2010 | ,

The power of Twitter. Through a relationship created through Twitter, I was invited to submit some poetry for the publication Artist: Activist - Rehearsing For The Revolution put together by Joi Sears: www.theatreforthefreepeople.com. If you would like to be included in future publications or would like more information on some of the initiatives taking place, check out the site. In the meantime .....these are the words, thoughts, feelings, images and artistry of a range of artists ..... myself included . Click to launch the full edition in a new window.

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