Laurent Dubois's Blog, page 16

Love it or Hate it, VAR is Here to Stay

Since its conception in various world football leagues in the early 2010s, VAR, or Video Assistant Referees, has become polarizing nuance to the longstanding game of football. For over a century, on-field referees have controlled the pace and fluidity of football games with calls made instantaneously against in-game rule infractions. After persistent lobbying from federations… Read More »

Implicit Bias and Athletes

Last week in discussion, we talked about the way that biases can affect how soccer players are used on the field and how they are viewed by both managers and spectators. “African Soccerscapes” by Peter Alegi pointed out that African players in European leagues are disproportionately used as strikers or in wide positions, often seen… Read More »

Ranking the Top 5 African Players in Premier League History

In honor of the class’s focus on the development of the beautiful game in Africa, I thought it would be appropriate to rank the best African players to have graced the English Premier League. This was not an easy task, and I tried to value individual ability / impact on the team, the longevity of… Read More »

Ranking the Top 5 African Players of All Time in the Premier League

In honor of the class’s focus on the development of the beautiful game in Africa, I thought it would be appropriate to rank the best African players to have graced the English Premier League. This was not an easy task, and I tried to value individual ability / impact on the team, the overall team… Read More »

Igualdad para el equipo nacional femenino

Tres meses antes de la Copa Mundial femenina en Francia, las jugadores del equipo femenino de los Estados Unidos está luchando contra el sueldo desigual entre los hombres y sus propias mismas. Ellas estaban combatiendo la federación de fútbol estadounidense por muchos años porque no reciben los mismos derechos que los hombres. En la historia… Read More »

The New Scramble for Africa

In African Soccerscapes, I found the modern extraction of talent from Africa to be disturbing. Peter Alegi, the author of the book, finds parallels between this modern exploitation of African resources and the pillaging of Africa throughout the colonial period. And, to a certain extent, he is correct. In recent memory, players like Michael Essien… Read More »

Eden Hazard

He dances on the ball. A flick to the left, a slight touch to the right. Defenders fall down, bowing to the ebullient, lively, controlling force as it moves past, ever closer to the net. They foul, they flop, they pray to their God of choice that he will just play the ball away, preserving… Read More »

Le foot comme outil de mobilisation des jeunes algériens face à l’État

En cours mardi nous avons parlé de l’Algérie en tant qu’ancienne colonie française qui a gagné son indépendance suite à une guerre terrible ainsi que de la situation récente qui fait la une de l’actualité depuis quelques semaines. Historiquement, les joueurs de foot algériens ont été au centre de la décolonisation de l’Algérie en quittant… Read More »

L’importance du football pendant et après le génocide du Rwanda

Peter Alegi écrit dans le prologue du son livre que « plus d’un footballeur sur six viens d’Afrique » et durant le livre il décrit l’importance du football pour les Africains (Alegi, 2010).  Le livre du Alegi a éveillé mon intérêt pour le rôle du football pendant et après le génocide du Rwanda.  Pendant mon recherche, j’ai… Read More »

FIFA y los Estados Unidos: Arreglando una relación rota

Antes de tomar esta clase, yo no sabía nada del fútbol o de FIFA, así que cuando vi el titular, “FIFA Leaders Head to U.S., a Trip Once Fraught With Risk,” en The New York Times, yo estaba sorprendida. Sabía que FIFA no siempre fue honesta y sufría de problemas relacionados con la corrupción, pero… Read More »