How Europe Underdeveloped Africa(n Football)

• In Event: Colonialism, Neocolonialism, Borders, and Migration

Abstract

The underdevelopment of Africa by capitalist, imperialist, and colonial powers has resulted in the underdevelopment of the African continent's soccer scene. This process has been facilitated in part by the migration of generations of the most talented African soccer players from Africa to European soccer leagues, for much of the 20th and essentially all of the 21st centuries. It has also been facilitated by the same migration of capital from Africa to Europe that is a core component of underdevelopment. This constitutes a form of economic exploitation and resource extraction akin to imperialism.

Author

• Matthew Amani Glover, CUNY Graduate Center