On February 8, 1957, two years after the historic conference of non-aligned countries in Bandung, Indonesia, four African nations — Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan and South Africa — gave their continent its own confederation of soccer. Two days later, on February 10, 1957, it organized the African Cup, which would become, in 1965, the African Cup of Nations (CAN).
The birth of the CAN is part of the full decolonization of the African continent. Competition will accompany the emancipation of countries, even play a role in their identity. Because sport, and particularly football, unites, where religion, ethnicity or politics divide young nations.
In this video, we return to the creation of the CAN and interview two football historians, Yvan Gastaut, lecturer at the University of Côte d’Azur, and Paul Dietschy, professor of contemporary history at the University of Franche-Comté. County, on the role of this competition in the development of the independence of countries on the African continent.
If this subject interests you, we also invite you to consult our series of archives on the CAN.
“Understand in three minutes”
The explanatory videos that make up the “Understand in three minutes” series are produced by the Vertical Videos department of the World. Broadcast primarily on platforms such as TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook, they aim to put major events into context in a short format and make the news accessible to everyone.