FT's 10 Best Moments of 2018: #8 The world's brightest talent still rooted in Africa

At FirstTouch, we have a saying that goes like, “a year is never over until we close it.” In the spirit of that ideal, we took our time to look back at the ten most defining moments of 2018, as far as African football is concerned. Could you guess what they are? We are now on number 8.

The year 2018 happened to be one of the most exciting ones in this decade as far as talent is concerned. In many ways than one, we were reminded of why Africa is the number one unending source of the biggest and the brightest football talent in the whole world.

“The timeless fact of globalization and its benefits was rehashed and Africans consistently seen in places of glory.”

— Dennis Takaendesa, FirstTouch Africa

Kylian Mbappe of Paris Saint-Germain arrives on the Green Carpet ahead of The Best FIFA Football Awards at Royal Festival Hall on September 24, 2018 in London, England.

(Sept. 23, 2018 - Source: Julian Finney/Getty Images Europe)

It’s with pride that we recall the exploits of one Kylian Mbappe for example. A world cup winning teenager, even scoring in the final thereby earning the FIFA Young Player Of The Tournament Award, just some of the achievements and accolades bestowed on the young lad. Of course he is French but you can never takeaway his African roots after being born to a Cameroonian father and a French mother. Ousmane Dembele is similarly a French player of African descent who made the news both positively and negatively just like any other story of a young, growing and top talented player. Even closer to home are the likes of Ivorian Nicolas Pepe who has been leading the charge for Lille OSC in the French Ligue 1, scoring ten goals in sixteen games so far in the league. Pepe has had Europe’s clubs such as Arsenal on high alert for the prospect of securing his coveted services.

Furthermore, more than the dominance of Africa in the talent pool, immigrants everywhere were gifted with a big win after France’s 2018 FIFA World Cup triumph. With five of Les Blues’ starting XI in the world cup being players of African heritage, the world was once again reminded of how much we can do, together – not separated by racial lines or differing identities. Even the likes of Belgium who made it all the way through to the semi-finals, eventually finishing 3rd in Russia had a decent amount of children of immigrant parents in their ranks to stir their campaign. Notable mentions go to the likes of Belgium’s historic leading goal scorer in Romelu Lukaku, Nacer Chadli and Vincent Kompany. Even England was boosted by the likes of Dele Alli born to a Nigerian father and so did other not so celebrated participants such as Denmark who had Uganda born Pione Sisto adding some wings to their attack.

The timeless fact of globalization and its benefits was rehashed and Africans persistently seen in places of glory.

Alan Pardew leaves West Brom

The next manager predicted to be facing the sack has left West Brom by mutual agreement. Alan Pardew took over West Brom from Tony Pulis in November last year and has seen some poor results this season. He had been on a short sabbatical prior to this and his results since assuming the role of WBA prove that he had become rusty and was probably not ready for the job. Many believed that Pardew would bring the exciting football that the West Brom owners did not think that Pulis was capable of producing when they sought for the Frenchman. All this led to huge expectations which have since been turned to disappointment. This is because Alan Pardew managed to win only one game in his 18 games in charge. What a shocking run. It is no surprise that West Brom find themselves at the bottom of the table with just 20 points. Pardew has left the club in shambles and went with his assistant head coach, John Carver. This means that the club will be temporarily managed by Darren Moore who was the first team coach while they are looking for a possible replacement. The two potential candidates being mentioned the frame include Nigel Pearson and Craig Shakespeare who will face the difficult task of overturning the results for West Brom who are currently on a run of 8 consecutive defeats in the league. This is a nightmare that January loanee, Daniel Sturridge did not envision himself being involved in at the start of this season. Both candidates have had some experience working at The Howthorns with Pearson being an assistant manager at the club in 2004 and later taking over as caretaker manager in 2006. Shakespeare played for WBA during 1990-1993 and also became the caretaker charge in 2006 after the departure of Pearson. Who do you think will take over at West Brom among these early front-runners?

FIFA drops racism investigation on Batshuayi’s claims

The cases of racism continue. This time, UEFA has decided to drop their investigation into the claims of racial abuse directed towards Michy Batshuayi in a match between Dortmund and Atalanta in the Europa League last month. UEFA have done so without giving any reason why they were dropping the case which brings suspicion to the way they handle issues of racism. Many players have been racially abused in the past and these include Mario Balotelli, Samuel Eto’o, Muntari, Roberto Carlos, and Everton Luiz among others. UEFA are clearly not doing enough to end racism because many players are being affected by it and the abusers know that little action will be taken against them. In this instance, Batshuayi’s case has been dropped for no reason and the player has responded to that decision by posting, “LOL. It was probably in my imagination,” on his Twitter account. The Belgian striker on-loan at Dortmund from Chelsea laughs it off because of disappointment. This is the second time in less than a month that UEFA have decided to close the investigation on claims of racial discrimination after a black player publicly drew attention. Hefty fines and bans are placed on the players that take matters into their own hands when racially abused and leave the pitch like Kevin Prince-Boateng did. What is UEFA waiting to be done so that they could take serious measures against these inhumane characters who discriminate against other human beings of different race, religion, gender, sex etc?

Arsenal unconvincingly down Stoke 3-0

Arsenal were looking to pick up from where they left off before the international break with a win against Stoke City. The match started off well with some end to end stuff and Aaron Ramsey hit the crossbar after some beautiful play by Arsenal. Shaqiri came close for Stoke with a fine finessed shot from the edge of the box which nearly went in the far corner of Ospina’s goal. Although the match kept fans at the end of the sits, the first half produced no goals. It was only in the second half that new signing Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang found the net from the penalty spot after Mesut Ozil was brought down in the penalty area. It is important to note that this was after his strike partner (Lacazette) came onto the pitch replacing Danny Welbeck who was not producing the final ball in the match. The two forwards gave problems to the Stoke defense by roaming into different dangerous positions and creating spaces that were being utilized by Ramsey although he failed to score. It was on the 86th minute that Aubameyang found his second of the game as he placed a cool finish from a cross. The match did not end until Lacazette made his mark on the day of his return from a lengthy injury that kept him out for quite some time. Ozil was brought down again in the 18 area and this time Aubameyang showed his class by allowing Lacazette to take the penalty instead of claiming his first Arsenal hattrick. The Frenchman did not make a mistake as he fired the penalty to the left side of Butland in goal and got the keeper to give in the wrong direction. That summed up a fine late show from the gunners that stunned Stoke City. It is just a shame that there were many empty seats in the Emirates Stadium with fans disappointed by the club’s form this season. They want what is best for Arsenal but feel that they cannot get it as long as Wenger is still at the helm and steering the ship in the direction he likes.