In African Soccerscapes, Peter Alegi provides a summary of the history of football in Africa over the last 150 years. Football has played a very important role in the development of many African countries. Football helped introduce imperialism and yet was used as a way to push back against European control. Through the introduction of football, Alegi shows how Africans fought for independence and control of football, and shows how capitalism influenced the African game. While many great things come from football, Alegi shows some of the negative things that have been caused by the game. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay At the beginning of the book, Alegi shows how football was introduced to the African continent. Through port cities, railways and missionary schools, football managed to spread like wildfire across the continent. In port cities, European sailors often played football while not working. These sports were introduced due to European imperial expansion. They saw football as a way to civilize African people. They wanted to teach Africans the virtues of Christianity, capitalism and Western civilization. This became known as the “white man's burden.” Sport was already part of African culture. They had dancing and wrestling that were used for many different purposes. However, European countries considered them uncivilized acts. These sports became the “soil in which the seeds of sport would later be planted.” Football began to spread. Fans often enjoyed going to watch the games being played. Railways also played a role in the spread of football. These railways were built for military purposes and for the movement of goods. When a town was built on the railroad, football was often introduced. Within a few years everyone in that area would be playing football. It was often introduced by the military as a form of discipline. Finally, the start of missionary schools spread the game of football. Sport was used as moral training. “Muscular Christianity” sought to create disciplined, healthy, and moral citizens. The overall goal of these schools was to train good Christian citizens. Football was used to help achieve this goal. It was used to help boys control their tempers and play with honor and fairness. However, the game took off quickly. Many Africans started playing and the new "African" football was born. Football has become a new identity in many neighborhoods. New teams started in local neighborhoods. In the 1930s club football began and many great players were recruited into the teams. Many mining companies and government agencies began to hire top soccer players. He was offered a job just so he could play football for that company. The implementation of football actually did more than just help civilize Africans. It backfired on the Europeans. Africans were able to use football as a way to resist colonizer control and social inequalities. For example, when a team was forced to change its name because it was associated with a local resistance, the team simply swapped letters to form a new word. Football has also become more African. A new form of gaming has begun. Africans have “Africanized” the game. Magic was used. Sorcerers and healers were hired to cast spells on teams and opponents. African fans also started rituals during thematches. Drums and dancing became part of the ceremony. It has also become a traditional African ritual. Even the Africans began to make the game their own. They created new African playing styles, including dribbling and imaginative moves. It is clear that football was brought to Africa because of imperialism. However, thanks to this new sport, Africans were able to use it as a means of protesting against the colonizers. They were also able to make football their sport. It has become “Africanized”. Africans were also able to use football as a way to fight for their independence. Nnamdi Azikiwe was an educated Nigerian man. Zik saw football as an opportunity to gain independence. Zik took the Lagos ZAC football club across Nigeria during the war years. The ZAC football team would play against local clubs. After the match ended, Zik would give a speech. He claimed he was raising money for the war. However, it really showed that the English were hypocrites. It showed that they were fighting a war to gain the countries independence, but still had control over the colonies. He was able to use football as a way to demonstrate that Africans deserved their independence and that Britain was wrong to maintain control of the colonies. Like Zik, the FLN used football as a means to fight for independence. They said they wanted to deny France key players, raise international awareness of the Algerian struggle for independence and that the support of Algerians was crucial. The FLN formed the Algerian national team. This team went to many countries to play football. During this time, the FLN hoped that people would see the struggle for independence and harm France by denying them key players. By singing the team's song, having a national flag and having shirts with their logo, people saw a free Algeria. Finally, blacks in South Africa fought to have white South African football clubs expelled from FIFA. They found it unfair that racist laws could prevent them from playing on white teams. They fought until the FIFA board expelled South African teams from participating. Once independence was finally achieved, football was used as a means to unite nations. By adding new stadiums and teams, countries hoped to unite their nations. When they were together at the stadium they were the same. There was no race or ethnicity. They were all simply fans of their country and their team. Starting in the 1930s, many players began to leave local teams and go to Europe to play football. Many have been successful, while others have failed to make it big. In this period it has been very positive for the individual players. Many were able to earn large sums of money. However, it hurt the players who weren't as good as well as their countries. Small club teams in Europe used Africans as a cheap means of making money. They often bought them for a cheap sum of money and sold them for huge profits. The migration of players has also hurt local African teams. Many players would remain in Europe. They would not return to their country, not even during the World Cup. This has made local football in Africa very weak. Instead of staying and playing for their country, good players moved and played for British countries. Like migration, capitalism has played a role in African football. With sponsorship and individual investment, players and clubs have been able to earn much more. Ticket prices have also increased, meaning that i,.