Planet Sport Football Africa

Liverpool and England legend John Barnes shares his thoughts on why an African nation has yet to win the World Cup and what needs to be done for that to happen.

We review the latest matches in the CAF Champions League and assess the differing fortunes of African defenders in the English Premier League. With the World Cup just three months away we visit the Maracana Stadium in Rio where the final will be played. And we discuss this week's Big Question: Is the South African Premier League good for African football? Tempted by high salaries many of Africa's top players head for the SAPL but end up sitting on the bench and missing game time. We ask for your thoughts on the subject.

With the World Cup less than 100 days away we consider the differing fortunes of the five African teams who have reached the finals after Wednesday's friendly matches. We review the unfolding CAF Champions League and Confederations Cup competitions and reflect on Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho's apparent criticism of striker Samuel Eto'o.

Two months ago a football fan in Kenya killed himself when his team Manchester United lost to Newcastle. How much do you love your team, how do you react when they win or lose and do we take football too seriously? We talk to fans in Mombasa and hear from former England striker, Cyrille Regis.

Has the flair gone out of African football since the 1980s and 90s when African side played with an entertaining style that captivated the crowds? Is the style today too predictable and safe? Steve Vickers leads a discussion with correspondents Solomon Izang Ashoms in South Africa and Stuart Weir in the UK and we hear from former Nigeria star Nwankwo Kanu.

We look at the challenge facing small teams at club and international level to improve against all the odds. What if anything can be done to help them or will they be perpetual losers? And in this light we explore success, which may mean winning a trophy for one team and simply qualifying for the next round for another.

We review Libya's success at the African Nations Championship and look forward to the start of the CAF Champions League and Confederations Cup.

We reflect on the African Nations Championship ahead of the final between surprise package Libya and Ghana and review the big transfers featuring African players in Europe.

We report from the African Nations Championships in South Africa where home-placed talent is having the chance to shine on the international stage and look at the contrasting last seven days for Samuel Eto'o, Emmanuel Adebayor and Nicklas Anelka in the English Premier League.

We consider the challenges facing referees in Africa who often experience pressures from fans and officials to make decisions in their favour and consider whether fans should be more understanding.

We preview the CHAN tournament in Southern Africa and discuss refereeing standards in Africa.

Continuing our discussion on whether football in Africa was better in the old days. We talk to footballers past and present in Kenya and hear from our studio analysts.

We hear from Liverpool and Nigeria striker Victor Moses and look back on the past year's African football.

Was football better in the old days? We talk to a former player in Zimbabwe and fans in Kenya to find out their views.

This week we pay tribute to Nelson Mandela as we reflect on his passion for sport and how he recognised sport as an effective way of uniting all peoples. We also look back on the World Cup draw and ask your thoughts on the chances of the teams from Africa.

In another packed show we preview the FIFA Club World Championship in Morocco, share your thoughts on Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure, salute Lille and Nigeria goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, investigate whether juju works in African football and take a tour of the Maracana stadium in Rio where next year's World Cup final will be played.

This week we focus on Manchester City and Ivory Coast midfielder, Yaya Toure, who has been nominated as the only African for the 2013 FIFA's Ballon d'Or. Manchester City assistant manager Brian Kidd talks about his qualities and we ask whether Toure was right to threaten to boycott the 2014 World Cup unless FIFA gets to grips with the menace of racism.

The same five African teams have qualified for the 2014 Fifa World Cup as four years ago - Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Ghana and Algeria. Congratulations to them but is having the same teams qualifying good for African football? Let us know your views. We hear from Cameroon midfielder Enoh Eyong and Nigeria's coach Stephen Keshi and captain and goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama.

Al Ahly's win at the weekend over Orlando Pirates has given them their 8th CAF Champions League title. With 6 titles now in the past 13 years will the Egyptian side become the African club side of the 21st century? We also consider whether Nigeria's win in in the Under-17s World Cup will be reflected in their senior team and hear from Cameroon's Eyong Enoh ahead of the second leg of the World Cup qualifier against Tunisia, with the tie evenly poised at 0-0.

We look forward to Sunday's CAF Champions League final, second leg between Al-Ahly of Egypt and South Africa's Orlando Pirates, with the tie finely poised at 1-1 after the first leg. We hear about the Street Child World Cup aiming to raise the profile of the world's street children and ask your predictions on the upcoming African World Cup qualifiers.