A case for professionalising indigenous African games.

I just watched a professional pillow fighting match on YouTube & realised that as Africans we really limit ourselves. Frankly, we often spread ourselves thin by wanting to participate in everything. Also, the most popular sports in the world are already crowded with such elite competition that it becomes near impossible for African teams & athletes to truly succeed or win titles. 

In combat sports, I'm a fan of MMA, some boxing, kickboxing & 5-on-5 MMA... I also occasionally watch slapfighting. Slapfighting & pillow fighting are real sports in 2026 where you can earn real money; why couldn't Laamb, stick fighting or even capoeira be made professional sports in Africa? We already have Indigenous Games tournaments in South Africa, why couldn't we professionalise these events & develop them with complete federations, rules, points systems & even punditry. I, genuinely, believe that stick fighting & Laamb could be national sports in both southern Africa & West Africa, respectively. 

If breakdancing can reach the Olympics, surely we could, at least, professionalise Laamb & Nguni stick fighting to make a new type of sports star in Africa. I'd like to see a famous Laamb wrestler & stickfighter making a living off their craft sooner rather than later. And would like to see a South African Nguni stickfighting Federation & a Senegalese Laamb Federation in future. We should make money from our own culture & be enterprising with what is ours, not for tourists but ourselves. 

• Nguni stickfighting 

• Laamb wrestling 

• Slapfighting 

• Professional pillow fighting 

• 5-a-side MMA 

• All-Africa Games

How can Africa win the FIFA World Cup?

Nigeria has already won the U17 FIFA World Cup five times, Ghana has won the U20 FIFA World Cup & Cameroon has won a gold medal for football at the Olympics before so could we win the main event? The Senior Men's FIFA World Cup? 

People are going to make comparisons between European & African domestic leagues. While that is the main difference, there's a bit more to it. In Africa, we simply don't have the culture of sanctifying our countries. We are not really serious about our countries (see previous blog on the mentality of African footballers), whether we get this from our leaders or we ourselves are ill-disciplined is a sociological & psychosocial matter. But let's put all this aside - how could we attempt to catch up to European football? Not only in football but perhaps for other sports. 

It all starts with the infrastructure: You need to build self-sustaining infrastructure (stadiums, academies & club funding models) so that once we get talented footballers they can earn a living when they reach professional ranks. This might mean the football federation of the land needs to make kit sponsorship deals (preferably, with a local kit manufacturer) certain television deals & make an exciting sport product that will be enjoyed by people in the land & outside the borders of the land which can only be created by development. 

Development: In Europe, they are more about efficiency in football & in South Africa, we are more about the style of play. The thing is because of such bad development, we find that some players don't really have good ball control or even proper tactical awareness. Ball control has always been the entertainment factor in football, so if you take that away - you'll get a very clumsy & dull game. Ball control simply brings fans. Personally, I believe ball control should be taught in schools, ball control is something that can be taught & a footballer can constantly improve in (it's really not difficult). Players should also be identified by which talents they possess so they can be further specialised into the roles they show the most potential in & I believe that for this a unified national playing style needs to be formulated. 

Old I. Y. iMpofana development video 

BRINGING SPECTATORS TO GAMES 

For example, exceptional players from 14 years onwards could be identified & sent to regional academies identified by the state & national football federation. As each player has unique talents, they could be categorised into which positions they could be best in. Goalkeepers could be selected by height or ability to stop shots & penalties, defenders could be selected by speed & ball-winning ability, midfielders could be selected by defensive ability, passing ability & all-round technical ability in play, forwards could be selected by speed, goalscoring ability & dribbling.  These are my ( I. Y. iMpofana ) preferences but I imagine many other academies & national federations could identify other talents & mental capabilities in a player. 

Once we have the above, it becomes a matter of limiting corruption & hiring the right people & (preferably local) technical staff. Then hopefully, in time, results will come. 

Lastly, the players need to want to be there. Their fans, family & government needs to want them to win. The players themselves need to believe that they can win the title. 

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BRINGING SPECTATORS TO GAMES

This is a re-post of a previous blog but just written in clearer terms. 

If we are complaining about lack of tickets being bought in domestic leagues, maybe the below suggestions could help or spark new ideas. 

Basic proximity: It's hard for a potential fanbase to support a team that's not from where the fans are from because the team's home stadium may be too far. So, ideally, a non-relegation league with teams strategically placed in regions with a high population density or placed strategically so that everyone in the land has a regional team to support. 

Cheerleaders: Everybody loves cheerleaders. Beautiful, young ladies cheering for the home team. 

Mascots: Maybe this is more an American thing but the mascot is often good entertainment & fun for the kids. 

Comfort: Stadiums must be hospitable, easily accessible, easy directions to seat, fans of separate teams placed in separate segments across the stadium, no food or alcohol to be brought in (snacks & drinks sold at stadium). Basic. 

All-Star games, skills challenges & fair awards: This is also borrowed from elsewhere but the best players in the league (by stats) could be selected & put into two teams to play a best-of-three game series. Skills challenges could involve shooting, dribbling & various accuracy challenges in the game. Fair awards (by stats) give legitimacy to the league & cancels out feelings of injustice fans might feel - per minute stats & awards are ultimately the most fair. These spectacles could let fans of all domestic teams to come witness the country's best. 

The curse of choice.

"If you don't want to do something, just don't do it." - Mthoko M. Mpofana

We live in a world of many choices & hence, many paths in life. While having many choices sounds great, it poses a hidden risk. Think of it as a multiple choice question; if there were one correct choice everyone would get the answer right &, unfortunately, if there were only one wrong answer - you'd either have the choice of getting the question wrong or leave it out & get it wrong anyway. At least, you know what you're getting with the one choice you have as opposed to getting caught up in many nuances that could or could not make sense.

In South Africa, we have laborious & frustrating PayPal accessibility. So much so that we have to risk getting our funds out of our own PayPal accounts via scammers & very tiring bank routes for both the bank & customer. Now, if PayPal were not a choice at all & we had to simply get deposits into our bank accounts or cryptocurrency wallets - it would be so much easier but unfortunately there are online spaces where there are no routes to gain finances except through PayPal or not get them at all. If there were no PayPal, we'd have not gotten paid & when there is PayPal, we risk being scammed. My choice was simply no longer using PayPal unless I absolutely have to, it is so laborious & requires so much for a simple request of gaining your own money that it becomes almost not worth it. It's like someone calling you out for a pick-up game when you're at your worst, so you practice until you get better & when you you're finally ready - they figure you're too good & try everything to stop you from playing them. It's futile. 

I'd rather have a clear working PayPal or just not use PayPal to get paid in South Africa at all, regardless of the money I am missing out on. Why are we given choices to dead-end avenues? It's just a waste of our time, energy & potential. Freedom of choice is sometimes a curse when we're given useless options. 

The error with the doll test.

Some of us have seen this social experiment where kids are told to choose between a black or white doll. And more often than not, the kids choose the white doll. 

What I'd like to emphasize is that these are dolls & while there are many aesthetically unappealing black features, there are aesthetically unappealing white features as well. The human body was designed for function & not aesthetics. What this doll test social experiment shows that we don't notice is kids are impressionable & want to make a choice that will please the adult. The very race of the individual conducting the test pressures the child to make a preconceived choice. 

Also, dolls are manufactured using a universal set of facial features, usually made from European features so naturally a European-looking black doll will look a bit unsettling compared to a doll with features black people would consider aesthetically appealing. If the doll test were reality, in any case, there would be no single white women & an abundance of single black women - which (by watching dating shows) is clearly not the case. 

African spices.

Often when we're taught of the Dutch East India Company, we're taught that they went all over the world looking for cash crops & spices. These spices are said to be from Asia or South America but we never hear of spices that precolonial Africans used for their foods. Below is a list of select spices Africans used that are indigenous to Africa: 

• Grains of Paradise (Aframomum melegueta): Also known as Guinea grains, these peppery, citrusy seeds are indigenous to West Africa. They were a prized historical trade commodity used to flavor everything from wine to traditional stews. 

• Grains of Selim (Xylopia aethiopica): Also referred to as Uda pods or Guinea pepper, this West and Central African spice has a smoky flavor with herbal, nutmeg, and black pepper notes. The whole pods are often used to flavor soups, stews, and teas. 

• Calabash Nutmeg (Monodora myristica): Native to tropical Africa, this spice offers a warm, musky, and faintly vanilla flavor. It is a vital component in traditional pepper soups and local spice blends. 

• Peri-Peri (Capsicum frutescens): Originating in Southern and East Africa (particularly Mozambique), this fiery chili is the defining ingredient in many local marinades, hot sauces, and spice rubs across the continent. 

• Korarima (Aframomum corrorima): Often called Ethiopian cardamom, this plant is native to the Ethiopian highlands. It is essential for traditional Ethiopian spice blends like Berbere and Mitmita, as well as flavoring coffee and bread. 

• Aiden Fruit (Tetrapleura tetraptera): Commonly known as Prekese in Ghana or Urayi in Nigeria, this pod possesses a sweet, chocolatey, and aromatic profile. It is used to perfume soups and carries notable medicinal properties. 

• Frankincense is an aromatic resin harvested from the Boswellia tree, native to parts of Africa. 

African diet in 1500 B. C.

Dear FIFA...

Before reading this blog, first watch this video...

Now, you can continue... 

No one asked me to do this suggestions blog & FIFA has it's own economic model on supporting tournaments which bring the organisation the most money. But it is my blog & I feel that I have a right to blog about any topics I feel like blogging about... So were I an employee of FIFA, these are the suggestions I'd put on the table. 

• No red cards for covering mouth, only for content of words said: It is bizarre to me that you can get a red card for covering your mouth. I think even Vinicius Jr. would rather be sent off for actually insulting someone than covering his mouth. It's virtually a red card for talking or removing something from your face. 

• Standardise the number of teams per league: No one thinks of this when they award the best goalscorers at the end of the season or calculate number of career goals but if you play 34 games against 17 teams in a league, you have more opportunity to score goals, get assists or have clean sheets than someone who plays 28 games against 14 teams, for example. Simply making every league worldwide have a set number of teams would solve the problem.

• Bring back the Confederations Cup & make it bigger: The Confederations Cup was a tournament where each continent's best teams played against each other. It was great in that no team could feel bad for losing because you literally lost against another continent's best team. I'd improve it by qualifying along with continental champions & the World Champions - 1) the previous Confederations Cup Champions & 2) the best ranked team on the FIFA rankings in each continent (should this be the reigning continental champions, the second best ranked team on the FIFA rankings would qualify). This would allow 14 teams to qualify in the FIFA Confederations Cup. A minimum of two & maximum of four national teams per continent. 

• Bring back the smaller Club World Cup: I don't really have a problem with the Club World Cup but I feel that a big Club World Cup makes the game a bit of a free-for-all & really big clubs stand much more to lose than small village teams. I feel that the Club World Cup could be bigger but not massive. So ideally, (assuming that each continent has two continental club tournaments) we could have two teams from each continent qualify. This would give more impetus for clubs to win the smaller continental tournaments.

• Standardise the awards with a formula that calculates performance for all players including the goalkeeper: I'm not a fan of voting awards because of obvious reasons like human bias. So, I feel it would be better to have a predetermined formula to calculate who really was the best player. This formula could include goals, goals blocked, own goals, assists, opposition challenges avoided/dribbled, forward passes, balls won & balls lost. To make it even more fair for all players, the results would be calculated on a per minute basis. Goalscorer awards could also be calculated on a goals per minute basis.

• Red card means 90 minutes suspension e. g. player with a red card in the 30th minute of one game can only be substituted on after the 30th minute of the next game: I borrowed this from Trump, because I sort of understood what he was getting at. See the video here. I think football/soccer is the only game where fouls accumulate across games. Nonetheless, I have no problem with yellow cards being carried to the next game. Furthermore, I believe a player who hospitalises, seriously injures or disables a player needs to be given an unpaid ban for three games. Knowing that you will be banned for three games & not be paid in the process should prevent wreckless challenges for the ball. 

• Adopt the USA penalty shootout with the centre circle run-ups: Penalty shootouts have always just been a lottery where far worse teams could beat better teams. We could cancel the game of chance in favour of a game you could actually train for. I find it unfair that you could train for penalties for hours only to lose because of an unlucky kick or a lucky goalkeeper. In-game penalty kicks could still be taken from the penalty spot. 

• Bonus point for three goals scored: I borrowed this from a YouTube video where a famous footballer suggested this to encourage attacking play & more goals being scored. Any team, including a losing team would get a bonus point for three goals scored & I guess own goals could be excluded from the tally. Six goals in a game would mean two bonus points, nine goals would mean three bonus points & so on.

• Offside being more fair: This is a Wenger suggestion. This is because in the tussle of the game; hands, feet, knees & elbows can protrude ahead of defenders while running. This is unfair on attacking players. Having the offside being both feet being ahead of the last defenders feet at the time ball was being played should make it easier for referees using VAR. 

That's all for my suggestions to improve the game. 

Confederations Cup 2021 & 2025 (The ones that didn't happen.)

Do kings/chiefs need to be educated in separate educational institutions?

I've always juggled with this concept but never reached a conclusion because a separate education institution for royalty would still need the requirements of other schools & it would be seen as an elitist institution in some way - so may gain some dislike from common people. Funding models, physical training & systems to ground the princes & princesses enrolled in such an educational institution would need to be created. And, of course, this educational institution needs to be funded so the royals & state should naturally "foot the bill". 

Personally, I feel that royals need to be in touch with the people, gain military training & a short briefing or "education" on their role as tribal leaders from a select group of elders. So, I do feel that the sons of chiefs & kings should be among common people (i. e. the people they will lead) during their school years somehow. But I suppose interaction with common people can be done during the course of daily life & not enforced upon royals as a requirement. 

Public school education could present a unique problem for educators & perhaps some unwanted obsession with the school the royal is in & peer obsession during school or maybe even hatred due to having royal blood being something common people can't work towards having. 

Perhaps, a separate education system for children of royalty could be established - one for males & one for females that could go from primary education right up to tertiary education where they would then join national military service. In these educational institutions they could learn the land's language, the land's laws, land's faith, the land's politics & political history, the land's history, public speaking, self-defence alongside the national school curriculum. Their chosen tertiary studies - if they wish to have further education - & military service with "commoners" would follow afterwards. 

I wrote this blog entry partly because I feel many African royal houses send their youths to overseas educational institutions where they become out-of-touch with the people they are expected to lead. An indigenous educational institution for only royalty could help prevent this divide. 

And I suppose that this is my idealistic blueprint of creating generation after generation of chiefs & monarchs that won't embarrass the people they lead or tribal leaders who won't go against what is required of tribal leadership. 

AN IDEAL EDUCATION SYSTEM FOR AFRICA

Across borders in Africa...

I just watched a YouTube video by a gentleman complaining about the paperwork required to travel within Africa. He made it very simple that his Schengen VISA was quickly processed yet you need to apply for individual VISAs for every African country you go to as an African. So, I went back to my dual African currencies concept & thought maybe if these single currency regions I mentioned in the blog would be accompanied with VISA-free travel similar to the VISA-free travel many European countries have amongst themselves. This could be to decrease the bureaucracy & perhaps fastrack the transfer of skills & knowledge amongst Africans. 

The truth is there are wealth class differences within Africa despite the world grouping us together. And there's a reason some countries are not included in Europe's own continental VISA-free travel  programme. We'd have to choose countries by economy & stability for our own African VISA-free travel system.

And in my system, a VISA-free travel model could be initially tried with: Seychelles, Mauritius, Gabon, Botswana, Libya, Equatorial Guinea, South Africa, Algeria, Namibia, Cape Verde, Tunisia, Eswatini, Djibouti, Morocco, Egypt, São Tomé & Príncipe, Côte d'Ivoire, Republic of Congo, Ghana, Zambia, Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia & Angola. 

I'm a part-time cartographer & often make myself & others maps to understand the world better. In the map below is another VISA-free travel system model we could use. 

Mainly; 

• the countries in green could get continent-wide VISA-free entry for up to a year. 

• The countries in yellow could get a vacation period VISA-free entry. 

• The countries in orange & red would apply for VISA or entry into country.