South Africa, July 17 -- The success of African teams doesn't come out of the blue, it's the result of a long process. It's therefore surprising that African football remains underrated and downgraded by experts, often in a manner that reveals their ignorance both to African football and history. At times, their comments have a highly problematic racist tone.

This was the case with former star player Bastian Schweinsteiger, now a longtime commentator for a German TV network. Ahead of a group stage match against Cote d'Ivoire, he was asked what Germany's team could expect. He responded:

A bit African football, a bit unorthodox, a bit wild . perhaps also not so conditioned by tactics. We must be prepared for it to be unpredictable.

Setti...