ISHWORLD

June 26, 2026

600 words

A foul controversy involving an African FIFA team and a European favorite conjures a memory of when Americans called "futball" “soccer” and players of color were excluded

By Ishmael-Lateef Ahmad

Perspective means a lot in nearly everything we say and do.

The current international FIFA World Cup futball competitions reminded me of a time in America when instead of calling the most popular sport in the world “futball” we called it “soccer.”

And, as I recall, as players of color began to dominate American football, baseball and basketball, American soccer was among the last sports to be integrated.

This memory came to me recently when the Ghana vs. England game ended in a 0-0 tie. A controversy over a “foul” by England against Ghana that was not called during the game has reportedly led to an apology to “The Black Stars” of Ghana by FIFA officials. That was then followed several days later by internet reports that FIFA gave three points to Ghana to make up for the blatant foul by England that was not reviewed by officials nor called during the game.

Since Ghana is in West Africa – once colonized by England beginning in 1821– and inhabited predominantly by people of color, while England is in Europe and inhabited by mostly whites, the current controversy sparked a soccer memory for me.

As a high school student during the mid-1960s, as mentioned previously, I recall how black athletes had begun to dominate American football, baseball and basketball teams. American soccer was among the last sports dominated by whites. Of course, blacks were discouraged from playing soccer. Then, one day, a black player in Brazil, in South America, made headlines. I recall Pele’ was dubbed the best “futball” player in the world!

What?!! A black player is the best in soccer? Who knew? Myself and other athletes of color in the U.S. of A. didn’t have a clue that soccer was a bigger thing than our American sports and that a brother was topping that game.

In fact, later in college times, I had friends – students and athletes from the Caribbean, as well as Africa – who said they were promised fair treatment on our college soccer team but instead were denied playing opportunities. They were players of color and, as I remember on their worst of days, could run circles around American soccer players. 

For me, the Pele’ story was revelatory. At a time when we seemed to be advancing toward equality and racial harmony, the American soccer story of the 1960s showed me we still had a long way to go in matters of race. And all the years and history of race in America since then has proven me right.

As an aside, Pele’ would lead Brazil to three FIFA World Cup Championships and later play for the New York Cosmos soccer team. In 1999, he was named Co-Player of the Century. He transitioned in 2022 at age 82. 

The Ghana-England game shows that even if race is not the issue, it appears to the world to be the issue. And soccer appears to still be the No. 1 sport in the world, just as black athletes are still among the best in the world.

When it comes to kicking and head-butting a ball around the field, not much has changed in the past 60 or so years. Unfortunately, the issue of race is still an issue that overshadows athletic prowess and sports ability.

And looking the other way when fouls are made remains an issue depending on who’s doing it.

[FIFA update: As of July 3rd, England was ranked 4th in the final 16. Ghana is not a finalist.]

(ISHWORLD: The International Search for Humanity is a complimentary column created and distributed to media by freelance journalist Ishmael-Lateef Ahmad. Based in St. Louis, Mo., he can be reached via ishworldcolumn@gmail.com or his website at https://payhip.com/ISHWORLDcolumns)

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