No Longer Naive

No Longer Naive is a history of African football at the World Cup. For many years, African teams were labelled naive in their approach to football, but gradually they shook off that reputation, culminating in the continent hosting the World Cup in 2010. However, things haven't always run smoothly, with issues off the pitch still stifling progress.

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No Longer Naive is an in-depth look at the history of African football at the game's greatest showcase event. As football grew globally over the 20th century and the World Cup became the zenith of the sport internationally, Africa was left trailing, both through a lack of organisation and exclusion by the powers that be. In 1974, Africa's 'best' team, Zaire, were humiliated on the world stage, creating a negative perception of African football. Teams from Africa were often labelled naive in their approach to football, but gradually African nations repaired their reputation. This led to increased participation, vastly improved players and famous victories over the world's best - culminating in the tournament being hosted on the continent for the first time in 2010. However, while great strides have been made on the pitch, greed, in-fighting, violence and the whiff of corruption behind the scenes have undermined progress. African sides are no longer naive, but are we any closer to seeing a team from Africa lift the World Cup?