Feet of the Chameleon: The Story of African Football
By Ian Hawkey
Portico £16.99, 312 pages
FT Bookshop price: £13.59

Perfectly timed ahead of next year’s World Cup in South Africa, Hawkey’s study of the entire continent through football tackles a lot of ground.

Ceuta is a Spanish enclave in Morocco, which young soccer hopefuls, desperate to travel to Europe and pursue dreams of becoming rich sports stars, try repeatedly to enter. But foul play, not only in the Mahgreb but across Africa, means many are exploited, tricked by corrupt “academies” that prey on their ambitions.

However, much of Feet of the Chameleon is joyful: the “soccer sorcerer” is a prevalent figure, giving orders such as “walk backwards into the stadium” or “carry these coins in your kit” to ensure success. The barefooted Nigerian team that came to England in 1949 are celebrated for their “bootless ingenuity”.

Hawkey’s narrative will appeal as much to those interested in the history and geography of Africa as it will to aficionados of the sport.