Heart of Football

Category: Featured

  • Super Eagles flying high at AFCON 2021

    Super Eagles flying high at AFCON 2021

    It’s time for the knockout stages at AFCON 2021 and, after the competition really came into life in the final round of group games, one team look to be head and shoulders above the rest.  Nigeria arrived in Cameroon on the back of a turbulent preparation with previous coach Gernot Rohr sacked just a couple…

  • André Onana: A headache, furosemide and a 12 month drug ban

    André Onana: A headache, furosemide and a 12 month drug ban

    AFCON 2021 boasts a number of high profile names; Mohamed Salah, Riyad Mahrez and Sadio Mané being some of the major headliners. You don’t need to look too far down the list of stars to see the focal point of this article. André Onana is the Cameroon goalkeeper, notably guarding the nets for European powerhouse…

  • Striking the Angle: The neutral, the nationality & the dangers of protectionism

    Striking the Angle: The neutral, the nationality & the dangers of protectionism

    A Fantastic Game for the Neutral Broadcasters seem to love neutrals. Advertising the must-see game of Burnley vs Watford in the middle of Man Utd vs Liverpool is an odd placement; advertising is all about effective targeting after all. It must be one for the neutrals I guess. But in my opinion there are only…

  • Basement is the Limit for Sky

    Basement is the Limit for Sky

    There will always be a point to discuss. There will always be a side upset with proceedings. But usually there are means and outlets to vent frustrations. There will always be differences in the standards of knowledge, and wide frustrations at the substandard level of punditry and commentating on several channels, in particular on the…

  • Mohamed Kamara: Sierra Leone’s Goalkeeper Extraordinaire

    Mohamed Kamara: Sierra Leone’s Goalkeeper Extraordinaire

    Every now and again in life, a player performs in such a superhuman way that it feels like they are a video game simulation that has been manipulated with a cheat code. Often this level of praise is reserved for the biggest attacking players in football such as Lionel Messi, Kevin De Bruyne, vintage Ronaldinho,…

  • Limbe in Limbo – AFCON refereeing chaos reigns supreme

    Limbe in Limbo – AFCON refereeing chaos reigns supreme

    Mali 1-0 Tunisia isn’t a scoreline that would set the pulses racing at first glance, but this game will go down in infamy – for all the wrong reasons. Spectators love drama, granted, but not the kind where suspicions, reputations and logic swirl into a muddied cesspool of confusion.  Accusations had been lazily thrown around…

  • AFCON 2021 Coverage: Shoddy Sky Sports

    AFCON 2021 Coverage: Shoddy Sky Sports

    At 15:50 today (11 January, 2022), Sky Sports Main Event were showing a show called One2Eleven, featuring Héctor Bellerín. Some people enjoy these shows. Whatever. They’re fine. If this was some run of the mill Tuesday afternoon in January then I could definitely see myself filling up a couple of minutes with this ‘entertainment’. It…

  • AFCON Interview EXCLUSIVE with Uri Levy

    AFCON Interview EXCLUSIVE with Uri Levy

    Arguably one of the most misunderstood and disrespected international tournaments, the Africa Cup of Nations kicks off amidst the all-too predictable swirl of sneers and misconceptions. To help us dissect the meaning and nuances of Africa’s grandest stage we spoke to Uri Levy, founder of Babagol – the legendary football content Mecca – and correspondent…

  • AFCON 2021 Round Table: Winners, memories and controversies

    AFCON 2021 Round Table: Winners, memories and controversies

    The Africa Cup of Nations is upon us again and this year feels like the microscope is prying even closer on this tournament. In the English Premier League, several coaches have voiced their opinions on losing key players to the in-season competition, while the idea of even hosting the competition in January has caused much…

  • La Roja – The Rover

    La Roja – The Rover

    There is absolutely no reason for me to have any affiliation with Chile. The north-west of England bears no resemblance to the south-west of South America. A Chilean’s English may be no better than my Spanish, though it probably is.  However, at the tender age of 12 with a VHS on my television highlighting the…