Sport

African football has been plunged into further difficulty, following the CAF congress in Morocco, where Issa Hayatou secured, unopposed, another four-year term as its president – his seventh in a row – reports our Associate Editor, Osasu Obayiuwana, who was there.

The plight of the South African Olympic star, Oscar Pistorius, who shot his girlfriend dead on Valentine’s Day, has also become the plight of a nation trying to find its way in the dark while standing in a blinding spotlight. The dilemma was supposed to have been bridged with Nelson Mandela and his reconciliation project. But South Africa has just discovered that Mandela drinking tea with the widow of Verwoerd, and sharing the Nobel prize with FW De Klerk, was no panacea for the fundamental problem of poverty and inequalities drawn along racial lines. The plight of Pistorius has accentuated the dilemma. Pusch Commey reports.

After a forced one-year break, the national championship resumes. But the consequences of the Port Said tragedy loom large, reports James Montague.

With a second successive absence from the Nations Cup, Cameroon must confront, frontally, the problems that have made the once-feared national team a laughing stock, reports Francis Ngwa Niba from Yaounde.

Leaving home unsung, Nigeria’s Super Eagles surprise their supporters and earn their third Nations Cup trophy. But the overall organisation of the tournament in South Africa leaves a lot to be desired, reports our editor, Osasu Obayiuwana, who covered the tournament. 

“Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though chequered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they
live in a grey twilight, that knows not victory nor defeat.” Theodore Roosevelt

Its not yet even over, but 2012 has been an excellent year for sports lovers – especially black sports lovers. The displays put on at the London Olympics by Usain Bolt and Mo Farah (above)and all the other athletes of African descent reawakened the debate over whether there is a genetic dimension to black prowess in sports. Cameron Duodu explores the issues.

The Confederation of African Football’s controversial decision to change the eligibility rules for contesting its presidency exposes the deep divisions within the governing body, reports our football editor, Osasu Obayiuwana.