As a writer, I’ve visited a number of primary and secondary schools over the last few weeks to talk about the book, its context and the World Cup. What has heartened me so much, is that each and every school has used the World Cup as an opportunity to give children a cultural and historical taste and experience of all the countries involved. What other event would – or could-have inspired our schools to look outwards into the wider world with such passion? And to give our children an insight into the `lives of others’. Football has done this. It’s a simple game, but utterly universal. Indeed, it is arguably the most universal language we have. You could parachute a kid from Croydon or Burnley down into Mongolia, Upper Volta or Peru, and vice versa. They may not speak the same language, but put them together on a football pitch, and everyone would understand what it is they needed to do. Because the rules are universal. It’s a game that embraces and celebrates every kid around the world. We’re pretty much all desperate to find things in our lives that draw us together. Unite us and seek out things we all have in common. Football does that. Let’s celebrate this World Cup for reminding us that a simple game is always…more than just a game.

As co-author of `More Than Just A Game:Football v Apartheid’, I owe a great debt to Peter Alegi. He has written a number of the most telling and exhaustively researched books and articles about the history of soccer in Africa and its resultant political, social and cultural impact. His latest book, `African Soccerscapes:How A Continent Changed The World’s Game’ is a must-buy. An astutely comprehensive overview of over 150 years of soccer in Africa, it contains many engrossing examples of just how much the sport has always been more than just a game across the African continent. For example, how soccer became a vehicle for political change in Algeria in the late fifties and early sixties, when the FLN were fighting against French colonialism and actively enlisted professional Algerian players from the French leagues to create a `rebel’ team that toured the world to popularise and support their independence cause. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

Great for African football that for the second World Cup running, Ghana are through to the last sixteen. But don’t expect them to become goal machines if they progress further. In their group, they scored just two goals in three matches. And indeed, Ghana’s current One Touch Premier League champions Aduana United set a world record last season by becoming the `least productive’ champions of any professional league ever. In a tightly fought league, Aduana ended up as champions with 15 wins, eight draws and seven losses – but along the way, only scored 19 goals. They chalked up 12 1-0 wins, six 0-0 draws and only managed to score more than once in three games.

So for Ghana, it’s now on to play the USA. They might not score many goals. But my money is on Ghana to reach the last eight.