ABSTRACT
Introduced by the British military in the nineteenth century, football was adopted by African Christian converts at mission schools and churches, becoming a part of African Christian life like literacy, wage labor, and European clothing. As football developed to become the most popular African sport during the twentieth century, it was attended by indigenous rituals of strengthening and healing, drawing upon an African traditional religious heritage. During the World Cup in 2010, three religions were on display—Christianity, African indigenous religion, and the religion of football. By analyzing the Christian prayers, the ancestral rituals, and the contests over ownership of sacred symbols, such as the vuvuzela, in the religion of football in South Africa, this chapter identifies three important features of world Christianity—mediations with indigeneity, negotiations with local sovereignty; and transactions with a global economy.
