More than a sports book, Africa United tells how soccer keeps hope alive in across a troubled continent. It is an inspiring story of spirit, skill and doggedness in the face of hellish difficulties - in short it is the story of Africa itself * * Tim Butcher, author of Blood River * *
Reading this book makes you want to pack your bags and light out for the territory, however dangerous the territory may be . . . required reading for anyone visiting Africa for the world cup next month. -- Giles Foden * * Conde Nast Traveller * *
[Bloomfield] carefully weaves an intricate web showing how national politics and football intertwine, and that the whole continent is brought together by its passion for the beautiful game . . . the perfect balance of passionate prose and informed accounts of key moments both on and off the pitch. * * Waterstone's Books Quarter * *
A fascinating account of how football lies at the very heart of African consciousness. * * Waterstone's Books Quarterly * *
The ideal bluffer's guide to African football, history and culture. * * Waterstone's Books Quarterly * *
Precise, succinct and empathetic, this is a fine addition to football's internationalist canon. -- Jonathan Wilson * * Four Four Two * *
[Bloomfield] has the experience and anecdotes to make his first book stand alone, World Cup or not . . . well researched, thought-provoking . . . quite brilliant. -- Ben East * * Metro * *
The contradictions of Africa - the extremely in glitter and poverty, the violence, the dramatic weather cycles and the wonderful, unbreakable optimism of so many people - lift through this book. * * Irish Times * *
A journalist's continental odyssey . . . a beautiful piece of writing. -- Simon Kuper * * Financial Times * *
A fascinating account of how football lies at the very heart of African consciousness...the ideal bluffers guide to African football, history and culture. * * Waterstone's Books Quarterly * *
Football, along with births, deaths and marriages, is a universal human rite. In Africa, it is also inescapable...Africa United goes off the beaten track to visit some of the continent's footballing minnows. -- Daniel Howden * * Independent * *
Well-researched, insightful and sometimes shocking . . . this fascinating book stands as a fine snapshot of a turbulent sport in transition on the continent. -- Doug Johnstone * * The Scotsman * *
Peppering his account with amusing anecdotes, Bloomfield reveals how football has ended a civil war in Cote d'Ivoire, provided hope for war-torn Somalia, brought some normality to the chaos of Zimbabwe and, less inspirationally, propped up a despotic regime in Egypt . . . this is a fascinating portrait of the political dimension to Africa's love affair with the beautiful game. * * Irish Times * *
Although this well-researched book deals with corruption, massacres and genocide, it also shows how football can offer hope. * * IP, Guardian * *
