Uroš Kovač, "The Precarity of Masculinity: Football, Pentecostalism, and Transnational Aspirations in Cameroon" (Berghahn Books, 2022)

Sep 30, 2024

Uroš Kovač, a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Groningen, dives into the intricate lives of young footballers in Cameroon. He explores how their aspirations intertwine with precarious masculinity and shifting economic landscapes. Football serves as a launching pad for dreams of migration and success, while Pentecostalism provides a moral framework amidst societal challenges. Kovač highlights the harsh realities of transnational journeys, showcasing the struggle between hopeful aspirations and the unpredictability of the sports market.

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Intro

00:00 • 3min

Exploring Masculinities through Football in Cameroon

02:40 • 23min

The Global Aspirations of Local Football Culture

26:00 • 2min

Dreams and Precarity: The Migrant Experience of Cameroonian Footballers

27:46 • 18min

Exploring the Intersection of Football and Pentecostalism in Cameroon

45:48 • 6min

Precarious Masculinity in Cameroon

51:31 • 13min

Hope and Aspiration in Pentecostal Practices

01:04:31 • 8min

A compelling work that explores the lives and aspirations of young footballers with deep nuance and insight, The Precarity of Masculinity: Football, Pentecostalism, and Transnational Aspirations in Cameroon (Berghahn Books, 2022) shows how precarious masculinity, Pentecostal spirituality, and aspirations of prosperous futures are intertwining and interrelated in the everyday lives in Southwest regions of Cameroon.

Since the 1990s, an increasing number of young men in Cameroon have aspired to play football as a career and a strategy to migrate abroad. Migration through the sport promises fulfillment of masculine dreams of sports stardom, as well as opportunities to earn a living that have been hollowed out by the country’s long economic stalemate. The aspiring footballers are increasingly turning to Pentecostal Christianity, which allows them to challenge common tropes of young men as stubborn and promiscuous, while also offering a moral and bodily regime that promises success despite the odds. Yet the transnational sports market is tough and unpredictable: it demands disciplined young bodies and introduces new forms of uncertainty. The book unpacks young Cameroonians’ football dreams, Pentecostal faith, obligations to provide, and desires to migrate to highlight the precarity of masculinity in structurally adjusted Africa and neoliberal capitalism.

Uroš Kovač is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Groningen’s Centre for Religion, Conflict, and Globalization. He is a social anthropologist researching gender, migration, religion and development, often through the prism of sports in Africa and Europe.

Yadong Li is a PhD student in anthropology at Tulane University. His research interests lie at the intersection of the anthropology of state, the anthropology of time, hope studies, and post-structuralist philosophy. More details about his scholarship and research interests can be found here.

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