Anthony Baffoe on Why Football Diplomacy Needs a Pan-Africanist Spin

Across Africa, football fits somewhere neatly between passion and obsession. As the region’s most popular sport, it is a mirror for the region’s hopes and aspirations -- a reflection of the wealth of talent on the continent, as well as the challenges  that even the brightest stars often face in gaining the respect and accolades they deserve in global fora. But despite the odds, many African-born players —from Cameroon’s Samuel Eto’o to Liberian President George Weah — have made their mark on Europe’s premier soccer leagues. And more sons of its diaspora from the UK’s Reuben Agboola to French-born Senegalese ’s Edouard Mendy are returning home to be a part of the continent’s rise in football prominence. These players build on the legacy established by early pioneers like Anthony Baffoe, Ghanaian football legend and former Deputy General Secretary of the Confederation of African Football, who was the first diaspora-born footballer to play for Ghana’s national team, the Black Stars. In this episode of Afro-Catalyst, we speak to Baffoe about his journey to the heights of the sport, his work to improve Africa’s football infrastructure and his  efforts to combat racism on the pitch.