Africa's World Cup victory

As much of the world rightly enjoys the drama of the beautiful game, for me and many others around the globe a parallel story is unfolding: one that has its roots in slavery, colonialism, imperialism and survival. A story like no other, which unites millions of descendents of Africa in one supreme global moment: the World Cup.

The tournament began with 32 countries from six continents. Astonishingly, 22 of those countries, including Japan, Iran and Switzerland, have players of African descent. The raw data, however, cannot begin to tell the sociopolitical and human journey of so many of Africa's peoples.

Let's begin with the opening game: Germany, the hosts, against the tiny Central American country Costa Rica. In the end Germany won comfortably, but not before black Costa Rican Pualo Wanchope Watson gave them a fright, scoring twice to close the gap to 3-2.

Chope, as he is best known in Costa Rica, is a national icon; and yet the history of black people there is far from being iconic. Most of Costa Rica's black population originally came from Jamaica in the 19th century to help build the railways that would carry bananas for export to the rest of the world.

They lived in poverty in the costal town of Limon. For more than 100 years, black people living in Costa Rica were not afforded any citizenship rights, nor even allowed to enter the country's capital, San Jose. Today Costa Rica is a very different place; nevertheless, it is not an integrated society, and many would argue that black Costa Ricans are still not afforded full equality.

For an even more incredible story, take a look at Ecuador. In the South American team's opening game, all the outfield players with the exception of the goalkeeper were black. The team beat Poland and then Costa Rica with panache; the footballing world paid due homage.

But few outside of South America would know that black Ecuadorians make up less than 5% of the nation's mostly mestizo and indigenous-indian population. Fewer still would be aware that their historic and brutal journey to South America was via slave ships. Hispanic plantation owners prized the African slave over the smaller indigenous slave to work their profitable crops. Fast-forward nearly 400 years and although all Ecuadorians are free citizens, the colonial hierarchy that placed Hispanics first, the indigenous indians second and black people last still remains. This social inequity helps explain why the vast majority of Ecuadorian football fans in Germany are Hispanic.

Many black people around the world see the arena of sports - and particularly football - as one of the most meritocratic routes to individual and collective success. It is no surprise, therefore, to see black politicians using sporting metaphors to confront societies' gross inequalities. "For justice to be achieved, we need a level playing field," argues Rev Jesse Jackson. "When the playing field is even, the rules are public and the goals are clear, we can all achieve. We can feel a sense of justice."

It is that sense of justice, fleeting as it may be, that makes the World Cup so special for black people. Our countries, such as Cote-d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), may have French colonial names, but our players are the toast of the world. Economically, Ghana may be one of the world's poorest countries, but on the field of play these proud Africans have shown they are the equals of any team.

The survival of black people in Africa and beyond has been due to our ability to cope with extreme situations, adapting where necessary while maintaining an essence that is unequivocally African. That is why in Britain you'll see houses and cars displaying the Trinidadian and Tobagan national flag alongside that of St George. It is also why black British people are filled with pride when they see Rio Ferdinand, Ashley Cole, Aron Lennon and new wonder kid Theo Walcott take up the three lions shirt as their birthright, and in doing so proudly proclaim the nation's diversity.

These multifaceted black identities, in the UK and throughout the black diaspora, would not please the likes of Norman Tebbitt, who with their crude "cricket tests" are quick to suggest that national identities that are more than one dimensional imply a betrayal of one nation or the other.

Undeterred by Tebbit and Co, those of us who are out of Africa insist that our ancestral umbilical cord will never be broken. As a result, when Shaka Hislop makes those dramatic saves, he belongs to us. When Ronaldinho, Henry, Drogba, Asamoah, Delgado, and Lennon show their footballing prowess with dazzling skills, they're our boys. And although I'd like nothing better than for David Beckham to lift the World Cup, if that honour falls once again to the Brazilian captain Cafu, then he'll be doing so on behalf of black people all around the world.