Rabat out of the hat
It was the Friday night before Christmas. Gaggles of girls clutched bottles of beer and stumbled up the steps at New Cross Gate station. A bloodied man in Shoreditch looked worse than I did at four in the morning. I … Continued
Opposites attract
The Africa Cup of Nations was in Germany. I wore Mali’s famous eagle shirt to Ukraine’s emotional 2-1 win over Slovakia in Düsseldorf. An Irish man spotted my unusual attire in the stadium toilets. “Mali eh.” I was the only … Continued
Animal magic
It had been forty years and two civil wars since Ivory Coast had last hosted the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). It was instantly clear how much it meant to the country. Félix Houphouët-Boigny International Airport, snappily named after Ivory Coast’s post-independence … Continued
Ivory hosts
Ivory Coast was my third AFCON. Logistically, it was the most difficult. Not a single hotel outside commercial hub Abidjan was listed on booking sites. I used my dubious French, and used up my patience, to eventually secure reservations and found … Continued
Away from Tomé
Bats swooped through the airy rooms of the clapboard plantation house I was staying in. Elemental rain hammered the lush undergrowth and large fruits thudded to the ground. I walked down the middle of the road in near total darkness … Continued
Pharaoh play
Only a few hundred Western football fans travelled to Egypt for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. Matt Walker was one of them, watching all 24 teams compete in 15 matches over 9 days for the princely sum of £66. … Continued