Somalia's search for a lucky break
As you flick on your television to watch , you may like to thank your lucky stars for being able to follow the game so easily.
It's second nature - a ritual almost without thought - as is playing football for most of the world's enthusiasts. But would you risk your life to carry out either pastime?
I only ask because they do in Somalia, which is why you might like to root for their embattled footballers on Saturday - especially if you have Britain's traditional fondness for the underdog.
Because there can be few teams with the odds more stacked against them than the collection of individuals who face a daily fight just to play the game - often having to disguise their intentions to do so.
Born in Wimbledon, my enthusiasm for the global game was already sizeable before the tragic demise of the boys from SW19. Having covered football in over 50 countries, I've been working in the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½'s African sports section since the early noughties, recently spending three years in Africa to report on the run-up to the continent's first World Cup.
