Kafui

[Gary Al-Smith @garyalsmith]

Something otherworldly is going on with 🇦🇷 Argentina, I swear!

Their training sessions keep being disrupted or postponed by weather (today was the third time this tournament), and yet they keep winning!

Today was another one — and we got a proper 🌧 beating.

Full story:

[Gary Al-Smith @garyalsmith]

Amusing how I've been caught in the crossfire of just showing up to do my job as much as I have this World Cup. This video sums it up. 😃

No matter how many questions you ask in the 2/3 minutes you are given, somebody in Zabzugu Fankyenekɔ will say why did you not ask this or that?

I am not even a public servant, nobody pays their taxes to me, but they treat you like demma money dey your der! 😂

It's all part of the job. The trick is to never take it personally — as provocative as some of the comments can be.

[Gary Al-Smith @garyalsmith]

𝗘𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝟯 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝟰𝟴 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗝𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝘆𝗲𝘄 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄... 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗻𝗼 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱.

It's the sort of thing every content producer dreads.

Before the 🇬🇭 Ghana captain walked into the shot, I was sure the sound was OK.

Now... watch the start of the video. First 10 seconds: Jordan waits for me as I center the phone after initially testing equipment, I walk in, say hello, then you see me mouthing "testing mic" again.

So, what happened?

A quick troubleshoot afterwards revealed that the part of the tripod stand gripping my phone had, somehow, clamped the volume button... turning the sound all the way down. No sound. It must have happened at some point during the setup. I dunno.

What did I miss?

Because I had been briefed before the interview that Jordan was in the mood for any kind of questions, I went all in: asked about his apparent lack of releasing balls, his famous family's response to the criticisms, then about his increasong personal records with the team, the floods in Ghana etc.

The best part: last 10 seconds. We shared a lighthearted moment when I asked him to say something in our native Ga (he speaks it fluently) and he volleyed it oh-so-brilliantly.

Woulda made an amazing meme tbh. 😃

But, hey.

You win some, you lose some. Dust off, move on.

Onwards and upwards.

#GalaxyS26Ultra

[Gary Al-Smith @garyalsmith]

For @CNN:

Quick word on Africa experiencing its best World Cup. Ever.

How many more can hurdle the Round of 32? 🌍

[Gary Al-Smith @garyalsmith]

Rhode Island ----> Kansas City.

✅️ Senegal *nearly* cost me my connection!!
✅️ Met some 🇨🇴 Colombianos heading there too
✅️ USA brought drama in the skies!

The countdown is on.

[Gary Al-Smith @garyalsmith]

Here in Foxboro to scout Norway 🇳🇴 vs 🇫🇷 France, as one of these two teams will face 🇨🇮 Cote d'Ivoire in the Round of 32.

Expectant crowd hoping for a good game.

[Gary Al-Smith @garyalsmith]

🚨 Delighted to have had my first live FIFA World Cup pitchside experience when Morocco beat Scotland. 🇲🇦 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Let me share how that thrilling career highlight unfolded in Boston. It was a good, good day for the grind.

🔋 @SportyTV

[Gary Al-Smith @garyalsmith]

Coverage of the World Cup on this handle proudly supercharged by @MTNGhana.

#NewHeaderAlert

[Gary Al-Smith @garyalsmith]

🚨 NEW: When Tunisia lost 0-4 to Japan a few hours ago (😡), it was the 1,000th match in FIFA World Cup history.

Wanna know some key milestone contributions (good and not-so-good!) Africa's made to 96 years of tournament greatness?

⤵️

[Gary Al-Smith @garyalsmith]

🚨 𝗡𝗘𝗪: 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮’𝘀 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗮𝗻𝘀, 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗖𝘂𝗽.
---
🗣 Editorial powered by @mypolytank
____

Last night, when @TheAthleticFC asked 🇸🇳 Teranga Lions captain Kalidou Koulibaly about the issue of visas and fans, many would have expected a "no comment" because of the political sensitivity around it.

Boy, were they wrong.

I'll tell you why in a minute, but first, some context.

The 10 qualified African teams have all been very careful about saying anything relating to visas, immigration and/or the general difficulty of their fans have had in entering the USA/Canada for this World Cup.

For obvious reasons.

🇨🇻 Cape Verde, who have a very large population in the New England area (est. 70,000 in Massachusetts alone and about 18,000 here in Rhode Island, per USIS stats), but still suffered the visa bond imposed by the US government, urged their players not to comment on the matter.

Which is why it was refreshing that when goalkeeper Vozinha, in a fit of happiness, inadvertently mentioned his mother not being able to travel to watch his World Cup debut, the emotion around it warmed hearts worldwide.

The State Department now says it is working to bring her over to see her son play on Sunday.

🇨🇮 Cote d'Ivoire beat Ecuador in a Philadelphia stadium that felt like an away match for the West Africans. Two weeks ago, their official supporters union announced a mass rejection from the local US Embassy for fans, expressing regret about not going to cheer their team.

After the game, players and coach declined comment on the topic.

🇬🇭 For Ghana, despite a key player, Thomas Partey being in the throes of allied issues, it is widely expected that the Ghana FA will neither comment nor issue any statement.

And then there's Senegal.

The Teranga Lion's leaders have made sure to be polite but firm in their communication of these 'taboo' topics. Their sports journalists union were the ones who led AIPS Africa (the largest association of African sports journos) to write a strongly worded statement to FIFA and the USA condemning widespread visa refusals.

So, back to Koulibaly being asked by The Athletic.

Instead of declining comment, the 34-year-old spoke out: “I think that every team can have their people, so I don’t understand why people from Africa cannot have their people.”

“I don’t want to speak about politics or something like this. I just want to speak about football, enjoy football, and I think football is for everybody. I just want to tell this and I hope that the situation will be OK, but for me the most important is that we have to play for our people.”

With influential folk like him speaking out, will we see more African personalities around the teams comment on the matter?

Matchday 1 soon ends, and we have a lot of time left to find out how this plays out.

-
✍️🏿 If there are topics you want me to write on, drop me a DM or suggest in comments.

[ethelcofie @ethelcofie]

one of the biggest lessons i relearnt ....
if someone see's you as a threat, they are seeing a greatness in you that you are not seeing in yourself.
lean in, focus

[Gary Al-Smith @garyalsmith]

🚨 NEW: I'll be writing during this World Cup. A lot.

1,000+ word piece for @Olympics on 🇿🇦 South Africa: strengths, key players, anecdotes and the usual.

Read: https://t.co/3Qe2Ck0WMt

[Gary Al-Smith @garyalsmith]

🚨 Sponsor alert: Thrilled to have an old friend join my coverage of the World Cup to tell the stories I experience along the way.

Hello again, @MTNGhana. 💛

[Gary Al-Smith @garyalsmith]

Samsung?

Me?

We dey together. 🤞🏾

The big tournament will be shot on #GalaxyS26Ultra

[Gary Al-Smith @garyalsmith]

🚨 Delighted to introduce 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝘆𝗧𝗮𝗻𝗸 as a supporter of the World Cup coverage on my personal socials.

The two brands — PolyTank (market leader for 30 years) and me (20 years) — have some things in common: durable, innovative, trusted, relevant.

🫡 @mypolytank

[ethelcofie @ethelcofie]

"And when you're near it, you can almost hear it
It's like a symphony, just keep listening!
And pretty soon you will start to figure out your part
Everyone plays a piece, and there are melodies"

Oh, it's Glorious!
a blessing to work with a team who's skills complement each other

[ethelcofie @ethelcofie]

for God , Country and the Ecosystem...

[Paapakwame @Paapakwame]

The convening that lived up to its name….one of these days I will tell the story of how @ethelcofie assembled a team of 4 avengers to pull this off while holding full time jobs, multiple obligations and what not…I will admit she brought out the best in me with this one 💪💪

[ethelcofie @ethelcofie]

executed with brilliance , we moved the ecosystem , we supported policy . market intelligence, industry alingment and innovation

we will see the effects of this convening in ecosystems across africa for years to come ...

[ethelcofie @ethelcofie]

we are live , @FutureDialogues
Thursday 7th May is going to be exciting