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African Football, Identity Politics and Global Media Narratives pp 143–160Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Nigeria: Media Narratives and Reports of Football from Within

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Part of the book series: Global Culture and Sport Series ((GCS))

Abstract

Reports in the sports media about Africa and its sports have often framed the continent as the Other. In essence, Africa was considered at the periphery among sporting nations. Such was the perception that the Western media, in particular, focused on crime, corruption and poverty in numerous reports preceding the World Cup in South Africa. But there was belief, notably from the Special Adviser to the United Nations’ General Secretary on Sports, that the World Cup hosted in Africa would change this image of the continent. Media narratives at the 2010 World Cup and from the International Federation for Football Associations (FIFA) tended to ameliorate adverse reports on Africa that pervaded and persisted in the Western media. However, months after the World Cup, Western media reports of Africa as backward, crisis-filled and corrupt, among other vices, continue, with new headlines focused on corruption, for example. Unfortunately, such reports are not limited to Western media. Increasingly, as acknowledged by studies such as Onwumechili (2009), similar reports appear in local and multinational African media. Reports in African media raise special concerns, juxtaposed with the increasing impact of transnational media on football identity among African football fans.

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Authors
  1. Chuka Onwumechili
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Venda, South Africa

    Tendai Chari

  2. Midlands State University, Zimbabwe

    Nhamo A. Mhiripiri

Copyright information

© 2014 Chuka Onwumechili

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Cite this chapter

Onwumechili, C. (2014). Nigeria: Media Narratives and Reports of Football from Within. In: Chari, T., Mhiripiri, N.A. (eds) African Football, Identity Politics and Global Media Narratives. Global Culture and Sport Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137392237_9

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