Scoring for Africa: An Alternative Guide to the 2010 World Cup

This is clever.


Chair of the Africa Progress Panel, Kofi Annan and United Nations Development Programme Goodwill Ambassador and football star Didier Drogba have published ‘Scoring for Africa – An Alternative Guide to the World Cup’. The publication compares the ‘vital statistics’ of each African country in the games against their competitors in terms of development – examining key indicators such as trade, investment, economic growth, CO2 emissions and human development.

For example, on trade and investment in Africa the report shows that in:

• GROUP A South Africa-France: While France is still one of the largest wine producers in the world, South Africa is catching up fast. In 2010, South African wines outsold their French competitors in several markets, including the UK. Since 1994, wine exports from South Africa have increased from 50 million litres to nearly 400 million litres, making the country the world’s 9th largest wine producer.

• GROUP B Nigeria-South Korea: Trade between Nigeria and South Korea has been on a steady rise, totaling $2.65 billion in 2008. As a result, Nigeria has emerged as South Korea’s third largest trading partner in Africa. South Korea is Nigeria’s fourth largest trading partner.

• GROUP C Algeria-UK: The UK is the largest foreign investor in Algeria and is particularly interested in the country’s oil and gas sectors.

• GROUP D Ghana-Germany: Having a long history of trade relations, both countries are aiming to increase the total trade volume to €500 million this year. Germany is Ghana’s fifth largest supplier and seventh most important export destination. Ghana’s exports to Germany are dominated by three traditional export goods:cocoa, gold, and timber.

• GROUP E Cameroon-Netherlands: While negotiations on an EPA continue, interim agreements have been signed by Cameroon, which has allowed for duty free access to the EU for all cocoa and chocolate products. This has meant an improvement in comparison to the taxes the country was subject to previously. However, under the EPA agreement, some of the cocoa products are not covered by the duty free access and are subject to a higher tariffs

• GROUP G Brazil Cote D' Ivoire:  In line with Brazil’s renewed focus on South-South relations, the government has expanded and prioritized trade ties with African countries. As a result, Brazil’s annual trade with Africa has jumped from $3.1 billion in 2000 to $26.3 billion last year. While trade between Brazil and Côte d’Ivoire is still relatively small, both countries are major cocoa producers and founding members of the Cocoa Producers’ Alliance (COPAL).