African Five-a-side
Learning about the African continent through the prism of its favorite pastime: football. Hosted by Maher Mezahi and backed by Africa Is a Country with funding from the Open Society Foundation.
Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro to sign at Al Ahly: Good or bad idea? ⎸ REACTION
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Paul Biya the last Kaiser https://africasacountry.com/2025/05/paul-biya-the-last-kaiser
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Sundows, Al Ahly, Pirates and Pyramids play goalless draws in CAF Champions League semis ⎸ AFR 2.36
In this episode of the African Five-a-side podcast, Maher Mezahi recaps the first leg of the semi-finals of the 2024/2025 CAF Champions League.
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After the uprising
https://africasacountry.com/2025/04/after-the-uprising
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Sundowns v Al Ahly; Pirates v Pyramids - Egypt v South Africa in Champions League semis ⎸ AFR 2.35
In this episode of the African Five-a-side podcast, Maher Mezahi previews the Egypt vs South Africa semi-finals of the 2024/2025 CAF Champions League.
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Tariffs, Trump, and the Global South
https://africasacountry.com/2025/04/tariffs-trump-and-the-global-south
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Pirates hold MC Algiers and secure their spot for the CAF Champions League semi-final ⎸ AFR 2.34
In this episode of the African Five-a-side podcast, Maher Mezahi recaps the last match of the quarterfinals of the 2024/2025 CAF Champions League.
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Redefining Sahelian diplomacy
https://africasacountry.com/2025/03/redefining-sahelian-diplomacy
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Sundowns, Pyramids hold on in hostile crowds; Ahly defeats Al Hilal to qualify to semis ⎸ AFR 2.33
In this episode of the African Five-a-side podcast, Maher Mezahi recaps 3/4 matches of the second leg of the quarterfinals of the 2024/2025 CAF Champions League.
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This podcast is brought to you by: www.africasacountry.com
Redefining Sahelian diplomacy
https://africasacountry.com/2025/03/redefining-sahelian-diplomacy
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Orlando Pirates “last dance”? Sundowns, Esperance to tussle in 2025 CAF Champions League quarterfinals ⎸ AFR 2.32
In this episode of the African Five-a-side podcast, Maher Mezahi previews the second leg of the quarterfinals of the 2024/2025 CAF Champions League.
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This podcast is brought to you by: www.africasacountry.com
Liberal internationalism after USAID
https://africasacountry.com/2025/03/liberal-internationalism-after-usaid
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Sundowns and Pirates score historic wins in CAF Champions League quarterfinals ⎸ AFR 2.32
In this episode of the African Five-a-side podcast, Maher Mezahi recaps matchday 6 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in Africa. This week, Nigeria squandered an opportunity to catch up with South Africa, while Ghana, Algeria, Cameroon excelled.
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This podcast is brought to you by: www.africasacountry.com
Imperial belonging and the weaponisation of the sea https://africasacountry.com/2025/03/imperial-belonging-and-the-weaponization-of-the-sea
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Previewing the CAF CL QF: Sundowns-Esperance, MCA-Pirates, Ahly-Al Hilal, Pyramids-AS FAR ⎸ AFR 2.31
In this episode of the African Five-a-side podcast, Maher Mezahi previews the quarterfinals of the 2024/2025 CAF Champions League as Mamelodi Sundowns take on Esperance de Tunis, MC Algiers host Orlando Pirates, Al Ahly and Al Hilal clash and Pyramids play AS FAR.
Nigeria World Cup in jeopardy; Ghana, Algeria, Cameroon dominate World Cup qualifiers ⎸ AFR 2.30
In this episode of the African Five-a-side podcast, Maher Mezahi recaps matchday 6 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in Africa. This week, Nigeria squandered an opportunity to catch up with South Africa, while Ghana, Algeria, Cameroon excelled.
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This podcast is brought to you by: www.africasacountry.com
Imperial belonging and the weaponization of the sea
https://africasacountry.com/2025/03/imperial-belonging-and-the-weaponization-of-the-sea
Follow us on social media:
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Osimhen, Salah, Mofokeng, Amoura shine in 5th round of 2026 World Cup qualifiers ⎸ AFR 2.29
In this episode of the African Five-a-side podcast, Maher Mezahi recaps Matchday 5 action of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in Africa. Over the last 72 hours, Egypt impressed versus Ethiopia. Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco managed narrow victories in Ramadan, while Nigeria and South Africa began their race to the 2026 World Cup in Group C.
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FIFA’s Double Standards
https://africasacountry.com/2025/03/fifas-double-standards
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Previewing Matchday 5 and 6 of the African 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers ⎸ AFR 2.28
In this episode of the African Five-a-side podcast, Maher Mezahi previews Matchday 5 and 6 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in Africa.
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FIFA’s Double Standards
https://africasacountry.com/2025/03/fifas-double-standards
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Is Afcon a major tournament? Jamie Carragher doesn't think so
Last weekend, Jamie Carragher made headlines when he mentioned that Mo Salah might be less respected for Ballon D'Or voting because he represents Egypt in international football and competes in the Africa Cup of Nations, which he doesn't believe is a "major" tournament.
Reacting to the 2024/2025 CAF Champions League draw and the four quarterfinal match-ups
The draw for the 2024/2025 CAF Champions League took place this Thursday so we reacted to the matchups that were drawn for the quarterfinals
Which African players and clubs won the winter transfer window? ⎸ AFR 2.26
In this episode of the African Five-a-side podcast, we recap the winter transfer window to examine which clubs best re-tooled ahead of the knockout stages of the CAF Interclub competitions, and we also recapped some major moves African footballers made in Europe.
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This podcast is brought to you by: www.africasacountry.com
The Inheritance of Hope: https://africasacountry.com/2025/01/t...
Algeria and France's endless rift: https://africasacountry.com/2025/02/a...
Orlando Pirates win Soweto Derby at the death, Pyramids and Berkane extend league leads ⎸ AFR 2.25
In this episode of the African Five-a-side podcast, we recap this weekend's action at the Soweto derby between Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs. We also give our takeaways between Pyramids FC and Zamalek as well as RS Berkane and AS FAR.
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This podcast is brought to you by: www.africasacountry.com
Jacob Zuma’s enduring relevance: https://africasacountry.com/2025/01/jacob-zumas-enduring-relevance
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Which players deserve to be in the CAF Champions League group stage team of the round? ⎸ AFR 2.24
In this episode of the African Five-a-side podcast, we go position by position and name who we thought were the best players of the CAF Champions League group stages. Let us know who you think we missed out on!
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Pirates upset Ahly, MC Algiers and Sundowns draw and advance to CAF CL knockout stages ⎸ AFR 2.23
In this episode of the African Five-a-side podcast, we recap matchday 6 of the 2024/2025 CAF Champions League. Timestamps in the comments below!
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This podcast is brought to you by: www.africasacountry.com
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Al Ahly, Pirates tussle for CAF CL supremacy; Yanga, MC Algiers for knockout stages ⎸ AFR 2.22
In this episode of the African Five-a-side podcast, we preview matchday 6 of the 2024/2025 CAF Champions League. Timestamps in the comments below!
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This podcast is brought to you by: www.africasacountry.com
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Bucs dominate, Sundowns resiliant, AS FAR hang on in matchday 5 of CAF Champions League ⎸ AFR 2.21
In this episode of the African Five-a-side podcast, we recap matchday 5 of the 2024/2025 CAF Champions League.
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This podcast is brought to you by: www.africasacountry.com
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CAF CL recap: Esperance unstoppable, Sundowns pip past Raja, Pirates held in CIV... VAR?! ⎸ AFR 2.17
TIMESTAMPS:
01:26 - Discussion on VAR in the CAF Champions League
06:54 - TP Mazembe vs Young Africans review
15:17 - Stade d'Abidjan vs Orlando Pirates review
21:14 - Mouloudia Algiers vs Al Hilal review
31:24 - Esperance vs Pyramids review
37:14 - Mamelodi Sundowns vs Raja review
Matchday 3 of the CAF Champions League has come and gone. Al Hilal and Esperance de Tunis continued to cruise the competition, but real questions have emerged about the necessity of VAR in the CAF Champions League. In this episode of...
Pirates, Al Ahly, Sundowns, Raja held in check during matchday 2 of CAF Champions League ⎸ AFR 2.16
TIMESTAMPS:
04:47 - Sagrada Esperança vs Esperance de Tunis review
09:15 - Orlando Pirates vs Al Ahly review
19:19 - Stade d'Abidjan vs CR Belouizdad review
24:20 - Mouloudia Algiers vs Young Africans review
27:12 - AS FAR vs Mamelodi Sundowns review
30:05 - Djoliba vs Pyramids FC preview
31:58 - Al Hilal vs TP Mazembe preview
We snoozed through 7/8 matches of matchday 2 of the CAF Champions League. Most matches were affected by high temperatures, long distances travelled and some stadiums being in altitude. In this e...
MAILBAG: Should CAF introduce Nations League? How good are Niger? What happened to Nsue? ⎸ AFR 2.14
TIMESTAMPS:
02:09 - Can Niger keep up momentum?
11:44 - Emilio Nsue suspension
22:42 - Is the CAF CL getting boring?
27:53 - How can West African clubs compete in CAF CL?
36:05 - Should CAF introduce Nations League?
This episode of the African football round-up, is a mailbag episode where we answer the questions that you send in! We answer questions about a possible CAF Nations League, West African clubs in the CAF CL, Emilio Nsue and the Niger national team
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REACTION: Top young African talent shines in Matchday 1 of CAF Champions League ⎸ AFR 2.14
TIMESTAMPS:
01:30 - TP Mazembe vs MC Algiers recap
07:37 - Young Africans vs Al Hilal recap
17:18 - Mamelodi Sundowns vs Maniema Union recap
19:11 - CR Belouizdad vs Orlando Pirates recap
25:03 - Pyramids vs Sagrada Esperanca recap
27:59 - Esperance vs Djoliba
In this episode of the African football round-up, we recap the first matchday of the 2024/2025 CAF Champions League. It was a round of matches in which some of Africa's top young talent showed up as Orlando Pirates stole a match in Algiers, last...
2024/2025 CAF Champions League preview: Matchday 1
TIMESTAMPS:
01:41 - TP Mazembe vs MC Algiers
09:59 - Young Africans vs Al Hilal
16:10 - Mamelodi Sundowns vs Maniema Union
19:50 - Raja vs AS FAR
22:17 - Al Ahly vs Stade d'Abidan
25:52 - CR Belouizdad vs Orlando Pirates
31:05 - Pyramids vs Sagrada Esperanca
32:41 - Esperance vs Djoliba
In this episode of the African football round-up, we preview the first matchday of the 2024/2025 CAF Champions League. We take a look at all eight matches and make predictions about their outcomes. We're...
Ranking all 24 teams that qualified for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations ⎸ AFR 2.12
2025 Afcon qualifying is officially a wrap, so we took the time to power rank all 24 teams that have qualified for Morocco 2025 and we reflect on our thoughts on the teams from what we’ve seen over the last three months
Africa Is A Country YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC29aKwRSbAQKhcNc8DqyETg
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This podcast is brought to you by: www.africasacountry.com
This week's must-reads:
Liberation is not propaganda: https://africasacountry.com/2024/11/liberation-is-not-propaganda
...
FILM STUDY: Nigeria defend poorly vs Benin, Sudan collapse vs Niger + more observations ⎸ AFR 2.11
TIMESTAMPS:
06:42 - Niger vs Sudan analysis
17:12 - Benin vs Nigeria analysis
26:40 - Angola vs Ghana analysis
32:58 - Uganda vs South Africa analysis
37:06 - Botswana vs Mauritania analysis
40:20 - Algeria vs Equatorial Guinea analysis
In this episode of the African football round-up, we head to the film room to break down some of the matches we during matchday 5 of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers
We were not impressed by Nigeria's defending versus Benin as the likes of...
Who are the last teams that will qualify for Afcon 2025? ⎸ AFR 2.10
TIMESTAMPS:
03:15 - Group A preview
11:18 - Group B preview
13:49 - Group C preview
16:41 - Group D preview
19:22 - Group E and F preview
20:43 - Group G preview
22:29 - Group H preview
24:22 - Group I preview
25:41 - Group J preview
26:58 - Group K preview
27:56 - Group L preview
In this episode of the African football round-up, we preview the final two matchdays of 2025 Afcon qualifying. Some teams have qualified, some are eliminated, and some have all...
REACTION: Former Algerian footballer Rachid Mekhloufi (رشيد مخلوفي) passes away at the age of 88
In this reaction video we celebrate the life and legacy of Rachid Mekhloufi as it's been reported that he passed away in Paris at the age of 88
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Paradou, Stellenbosch, Azam: Three African football clubs doing things differently ⎸ AFR 2.9
TIMESTAMPS:
02:07 - Maher Mezahi on Paradou
17:12 - Lorenz Kohler on Stellenbosch
33:58 - Salim Masoud Said on Azam
In this episode of the African football round-up, we take a look at three non mainstream African clubs: Paradou, Stellenbosch and Azam. Maher Mezahi breaks down Paradou while Lorenz Kohler and Salim Masoud Said analyse Stellenbosch and Azam.
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This podcast is brought to you by: www.africasacountry.com
This week's must-reads:
Ademola Lookman, Serhou Guirassy, Achraf Hakimi? Who should be African player of the year? ⎸ AFR 2.8
In this episode of the African football round-up, we analyse the 2024 CAF African player of the year longest and whittle it down to a few candidates that we think are deserving of the African player of the year award.
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This podcast is brought to you by: www.africasacountry.com
This week's must-reads:
The mine dumps of Silicon Valley: https://www.africasacountry.com/2024/10/the-mine-dumps-of-silicon-valley
Follow us on social media:
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Sudan embarrasses Ghana Black Stars, Tunisia Carthage Eagles are leaderless and who will coach Senegal Teranga Lions? ⎸ AFR 2.7
TIMESTAMPS:
02:12 - Ghana vs Sudan breakdown
15:57 - Reviewing Senegal's six points and previewing their big coaching decision
20:21 - Tunisia are rudderless
24:45 - Morocco are still flying
27:16 - Algeria are coming along nicely
28:44 - Egypt, Cameroon, DR Congo, Angola have qualified to the Afcon
33:08 - Sudan, Mali and South Africa make good progress but not through yet
37:15 - Match-ups to look out for in November
In this episode of the African football round-up, we summarise what we learned from...
FILM ANALYSIS: Sengal vs Malawi, Egypt vs Mauritania, Morocco vs C.A.R, Tunisia vs Comoros ⎸ AFR 2.6
TIMESTAMPS:
01:40 - Senegal vs Malawi analysis
08:44 - Egypt vs Mauritania analysis
15:08 - Algeria vs Togo analysis
19:20 - Morocco vs Central African Republic analysis
24:32 - Tunisia vs Comoros analysis
29:57 - Ghana vs Sudan analysis
In this episode of the African football round-up, we head to the film room to break down some of the matches we watched in matchday 3 of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers
We were impressed by Pape Thiaw's Senegal, Vladimir Petkovic's Algeria, Walid Regragui's...
How to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations ⎸ AFR 2.5
TIMESTAMPS:
01:05 - Which countries have never qualified for the Afcon?
04:10 - How teams have qualified for the Afcon over the last ten years
11:54 - Does CAR have what it takes?
16:24 - Raoul Savoy interview
34:32 - Abdul Musa interview
In this episode of the African football round-up, we ask the question: what does it take to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations?
To answer the question we looked at what nations that qualified to their first Afcon did over...
Reacting to the 2024/2025 CAF Champions League / Confederation Cup draw
All across the continent, we had our eyes on the CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederation Cup draw. We took the opportunity to give our first thoughts on how the groups are made up.
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This podcast is brought to you by: www.africasacountry.com
MAILBAG: Improving CAF Champions League, Saudi-CAF partnership, Hilal & Mereikh in exile ⎸ AFR 2.4
We're back with a mailbag episode of the African football round-up!
We asked you, the listeners, for your questions on African football and you sent them in. In this episode, we talk about reforming the CAF Champions League, how smaller nations in Africa have improved, the Saudi-CAF partnership, as well as how Sudan's big clubs are playing in exile in Mauritania.
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This podcast is brought to you by: www.africasacountry.com
This week's must-reads:
The appearance...
2024/2025 African Champions League preview: Favourites, Surprises and Question marks!
We are just about set for the group stages of the 2024/2025 CAF Champions League group stages. Before the draw, we figured it would be the perfect time to speak about the teams that qualified and point out who are favourites, surprises and "question mark" teams were.
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This podcast is brought to you by: www.africasacountry.com
This week's must-reads:
From Naija to Abidjan: https://www.africasacountry.com/2024/09/from-naija-to-abidjan
The freedom to move: https://www.africasacountry.com/2024/09...
2025 Afcon qualifiers: Cote d'Ivoire keep winning, Morocco back on track, Ghana trip up in Kumasi ⎸ AFR 2.2
The international break has begun!
Salim Masoud Said joins to speak about Emerse Fae and Cote d'Ivoire, Morocco and Regragui, and Tanzanian fans' no-show to support the Taifa Stars. Cameroonian journalist Giovanni Wanneh also joins to explain what is happening between the ministry of sport and the football federation in his country.
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This podcast is brought to you by: www.africasacountry.com
Follow us on social media:
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2025 Afcon qualifiers: Regragui on hot seat? Saintfiet joins Mali, Johnny McKinstry interview ⎸ African football round-up
Welcome to a new year in African football!
We kick off year 2 of the African Five-a-side podcast with the first edition of the African Football-Round up and looking ahead to the upcoming international break! This year we'll be rotating guest hosts, and for our first show, we have brought on Salim Masoud Said to talk about Regragui, Morocco, Saintfiet, Mali, McKinstry, The Gambia, Algeria and Tanzania! We also speak to the new coach of the Gambian men's national football team, Johnny McKinstry.
Enjoy!
5 African footballers that could impress in Europe this season
The 2024 Paris Olympics are over, and it's almost time for the beginning of another footballing season. We quickly recap how African countries did at the Olympics and highlight five Africans that have switched clubs that could impress this season in their respective leagues.
Imene Khelif, the Algerian champion knocking out boxers and bigots
In this episode, we discuss women's welterweight boxing at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games and how Imane Khelif has found herself in the middle of a culture war with people calling her 'male' or 'trans'. We try to rectify some of those lies and delve into who Khelif is as a person
My take on the bullying Imane Khelif has faced: https://africasacountry.com/2024/08/rolling-with-the-punches
Check out Africa Is A Country: https://africasacountry.com
