NEWS
A selection of FirstTouch's best football writing, brought to you by emerging journalists, collaborators, and fans.
2019 WWC Review: After all the African teams failed to make it past the Round of 16, What’s next for the game in Africa?
The progress is evident, but we need more. We look back at Africa’s overall performance at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, seek to understand why, explore some of the challenges plaguing women’s football on the continent and suggest a few solutions.
Is Mbappe, the next big “thing” after Ronaldo and Messi?
After winning the coveted world cup gold at 20 years of age, there aren’t a lot of more things to win for Kylian. Yet he is still going too strong, boasting of stats which were previously associated with only Messi and Ronaldo.
France - a great incubator for African soccer talent. A sustainable system or not?
The list of African players that have become global stars by using France as a doorway to success is a long one. A record that shows no signs of stopping anytime soon. We’ve seen them in the EPL, UEFA Champions League, and many other leagues, as young Africans are increasingly becoming the hottest commodities in football development.
FT World Cup 2018: Africa’s winless streak perpetuated by a set-piece and 90th minute ‘curse.’
African teams have found points difficult to come by after their first four games due to late goals and special moments from set pieces. Senegal remain the last hope for the continent to claim any points after this first round of games.