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.
- Update frequency
- every 4 days
- Average duration
- 27 minutes
- Episodes
- 120
- Years Active
- 2023 - 2025
South Africa 2023 Afcon preview: Bafana quietly confident due to strength of domestic clubs
After missing out on the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, South Africa are returning to Africa's biggest party with some renewed confidence. Part of that is due to the success of Mamelodi Sundowns in Inte…
Morocco 2023 Afcon preview: After a record-breaking World Cup, Morocco hungry for Afcon success
During the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Morocco shocked the world when they became the first African nation to qualify for the semi-finals. Walid Regragui and co played organised, coherent football and are n…
Tunisia 2023 Afcon preview: Africa's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?
How will the Carthage Eagles fare in Côte d'Ivoire?
The North Africans have perfected the art of qualifying for the Afcon - they haven't missed a tournament since 1992. Yet, they are also to win the …
Nigeria 2023 Afcon preview: Much expected from Victor Osimhen
The Nigerian Super Eagles come to Côte d'Ivoire with one of the most stacked squads in the tournament, especially in attack. Yet, results in recent times have been disappointing.
We speak to one of th…
Egypt 2023 Afcon preview: Can Mohamed Salah finally win the elusive Afcon trophy?
Egypt were Afcon finalists in 2017 and 2021. They missed out on the last Afcon title and the 2022 World Cup after losing to Senegal in penalty shoot-outs.
So what does this year's Egypt look like? Ar…
Algeria Afcon preview: Can Coach Belmadi recover from a tough two years and recapture the Afcon?
As we close in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, the African Five-a-side podcast has decided to put aside matchdays for now and, instead, focus on previewing every.single.team that will compete in the …
Kenneth Kaunda loved football more than any other African president - Matchday 1
"Kenneth Kaunda was a rarity: an African President who not only backed football, but [also] actually liked it" - David Goldblatt. In the final episode of Matchday 1 of the African Five-a-side podcast…
Early 2023 Afcon predictions - African Football Round-up
The 2023 CAF Awards were largely uneventful, and so this week we're using the African Football Round-up for some tier talk. We take a brief look at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations which will kick-off …
Ahmed Sekou Touré said "No" to France and "Yes" to football - Matchday 1
1958 Ahmed Sekou Touré campaigned so that Guineans would vote "No" in a referendum on whether to adopt the new French constitution or reject it and opt for independence. As the first leader of indepe…
Why I voted Victor Osimhen for African player of the year - African Football Round-up
With the 2023 CAF Awards just a week away, Maher Mezahi explains that he was selected as part of a media panel to vote on the awards and reveals how he voted.
John Obi Mikel's "Black Tax", the portrayal of Emmanuel Adebayor and a chat with Didier Drogba - African Football Round-up
In this episode we'll revisit John Obi Mikel's appearance on Rio Ferdinand's podcast where he talks about family manipulation. From there we trace some of the challenges star African footballers face…
Mobutu helps Zaire to two Afcon titles and a World Cup appearance
Episode 3 of Matchday 1 of the African-five-a side podcast continues to explore the stories of five African heads of state and their influence on football. This week, we're introducing our striker: t…
Bafana are back! Will Nigeria sack Peseiro? Is Hughton the man for Ghana? - African Football Roundup
In this episode of the African Football Roundup we recap the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in Africa and outline some of the good we saw as well as some of the bad.
Egypt, Senegal and South Africa di…
African Football Roundup: Are the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers a new era for African Football?
Welcome to a special episode of the African football round-up as the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers kick off!
Throughout the history of the FIFA World Cup, Africa has often found itself underrepresent…
African Football Roundup: Sundowns are African champions, and how I voted during the CAF Awards
This week we discuss the second leg of the African Football League final between Wydad Casablanca and Mamelodi Sundowns. We reflect on how Rhulani Mokwena passed his toughest test with flying colors …
Matchday 1: How Kwame Nkrumah boycotted the 1966 FIFA World Cup and won two Afcons
Episode 2 of Matchday 1 of the African-five-a side podcast continues to explore the stories of five African heads of state and their influence on football. This week, we're introducing our central de…
African Football Roundup: Can Sundowns and Mokwena navigate the intangibles of African football?
This week we discuss the first leg of the African Football League final between Wydad Casablanca and Mamelodi Sundowns. The match gives us a perfect opportunity to profile their star young coach and …
Matchday 1: Gamal Abdel Nasser and the establishment of CAF and Afcon
Episode 1 of Matchday 1 of the African-five-a side podcast continues to explore the stories of five African heads of state and their influence on football. This week, we're introducing our goalkeeper…
African Football Roundup: African football league kicks off, and talking football in Palestine
All of the goings on in the world of African football, week of 10/16-10/23.
Over the weekend, the African football league kicked off and we discuss if the competition is good or bad for African footba…
Matchday 1: Nnamdi Azikiwe, Ahmed Ben Bella and Muammar Gaddafi named substitutes because of their football legacies
Matchday 1, our first set of episodes of the African Five-a-side podcast, takes a look at African football’s most influential politicians. Before we name the five most important politicians in Africa…