Female condoms have been widely celebrated as an answer to putting reproductive health and HIV protection in the hands of women. Yet, the South African government fell far short of its promise of distributing 7.5 million female condoms during the World Cup, with only 1 million finding their way into the hands of consumers. On the other hand, male condoms were available in high numbers - 565 million - though even these were 20% fewer than expected.

This poem speaks to and responds to historical, psychological, cultural and social forces that shape the identity and culture of the people of African descent. It pays homage to the black Jazz music legends, who during the back-to-Africa movement and the Harlem Renaissance period fostered a body of music through an identification with Africa, albeit through a construct of Africa and an imagination which fell short and resorted to mimicry of their white counterparts. More often than not, the African identity is objectified to a form of concept that expressed more of African primitiveness. Similarly, this identity tension, at times, echoing some of the body of music that emerged out of that time, plays out in everyday relationships between the black diaspora and Africans – a body of soundless and sound-full subjectivities.

But if only we would deconstruct this discourse through the music of poetry. This piece sings to that deconstruction.

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Buoyed by the wave of pan-African and anti-racist sentiment resulting from South Africa's World Cup, Horace Campbell stresses that such momentum must be continued in the struggle for a more peaceful and just world.

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Commenting on Patrick Bond's article , Pat Stevens argues that both Fifa and the South African government deserve credit.

Behind the hysteria of Ghana's success at the recent World Cup lies a dubious use of taxpayer money and sense of national priorities, writes Kofi Ali Abdul.

Bill Fletcher, Jr reviews Sasha Polakow-Suransky's 'The Unspoken Alliance: Israel’s Secret Relationship with Apartheid South Africa', a book which he finds effective in 'dispelling the notion of the supposed democratic and moralistic character of the Israeli state'.

In his review of Dani Nabudere's 'The Crash of International Finance-Capital and its Implications for the Third World', Martin Williams commends the economist's foresight yet laments the absence of stronger analytical engagement.

The sun has almost set on the Soccer World Cup and its seeming suspension of our South African 'normalcy'. No doubt, many will try their best to continue to bask in its positively proclaimed 'developmental legacy'; but, as sure as the sun will rise on the morning after, so too will the reality of that ‘normalcy’ bite us like an unhappy dog. Nowhere will this be more apparent than in the world of South African soccer itself.

Nigeria's president has said the hundreds of posts on his Facebook page helped persuade him to reverse his suspension of the national football team from international competition. "I have listened to your voices," Goodluck Jonathan said in a posting on the social networking site.

The growth of the global population and increased competition for land and resources has the greatest effect on the poor, young and female population. Jonathan Beale reviews the book ‘Women’s Land Rights and Privatization in Eastern Africa’, a series of essays about land issues in East Africa edited by Birgit Englert and Elizabeth Daley. This collection of essays was gathered from young scholars in several east African nations including Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya and touches on a variety of topics related to women and land. Beale praises the contributors' thorough research and arguments, but notes the book’s oversight of land ownership in urban centres such as Dar es Salaam and Nairobi.

Larry A. Greene reviews Jeffrey B. Perry’s ‘Hubert Harrison: The Voice of Harlem Radicalism, 1883-1918’, a biography which Greene believes ‘elevates the lesser-known Harrison to the stature he so richly deserves as one of America’s most perceptive public intellectuals on the critically intertwined issues of American democracy, race relations and class structure’.

The FIFA headquarters are nestled into a secluded spot on the hill overlooking Zurich, one of the richest cities in the world. Here a glass of coke will cost you R60 at a restaurant. The city, set around a lake with snow capped mountains in the background, is picture perfect in a chocolate boxy kind of way. But it’s not just a twee live-in European theme park pretending to be a city. Zurich is also home to squats, innovative housing and artists’ collectives, large immigrant communities, a thriving music scene and political dissidents from around the world.

Can sports—and if so how—serve as a vehicle for reconciliation and increased social cohesion in countries wrecked by civil conflict? This article analyses the case of South Africa and its experiences in the sports sector since the fall of apartheid, in an effort to explore the processes necessary to understand the potential sports may hold for peace building. By identifying initiatives in South Africa employed at the national, community and individual level of analysis, the article outlines the possible effects of sports on reconciliation in divided states.

As South Africa prepares to host the 2010 World Cup finals, public and scholarly discourses have largely overlooked the consequences of interactions between global sport, professional leagues, and grassroots football. Yet analysing this dynamic is important because it challenges bold claims made by the Fdration Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and South African boosters about the 2010 World Cup's capacity to deliver economic, political, and social benefits to the nation-state.

“Pilgrimages,” a new project of the Chinua Achebe Center for African Writers and Artists at Bard College and Chimurenga, will send 14 African writers to 13 African cities, and one city in Brazil, for two weeks to explore the complexities of disparate urban landscapes. The writers will create 13 nonfiction travel-writing books about their trips that will capture each city as South Africa hosts Africa’s first World Cup. At the same time, the continent will be on display—to itself and to the world—to a greater degree than at any time since independence.

Rober Molteno reviews ‘A House in Zambia: Recollections of the ANC and Oxfam at 250 Zambezi Road, Lusaka, 1967-97’, edited by Robin Palmer: a reflection on ‘Southern Africa’s twin struggles for political freedom and economic development’ through the window of an ordinary house with extraordinary occupants.

Leading up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, reports have come out alleging that South African authorities had made efforts to hide the homeless population to make areas seem more welcoming to tourists. Now, as the games go on, one organization is taking a stand to raise awareness about the negative impact of the World Cup on the poor and homeless.

With World Cup security stewards complaining of poor working conditions and unpaid wages, a labor dispute threatens to overshadow the action on the pitch in South Africa. SPIEGEL spoke to union head Evan Abrahamse about the workers' complaints.