Podcast Summary

Podcast: New Books Network

Episode: Claire Nicolas, "Une si longue course: Sport, genre, et citoyenneté au Ghana et en Côte d’Ivoire (années 1900-1970)"
Host: Keith Rathbone
Guest: Claire Nicolas
Publication Date: February 11, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode features historian Claire Nicolas discussing her new book Une si longue course: Sport, genre, et citoyenneté au Ghana et en Côte d’Ivoire (années 1900-1970), which investigates the roles of sport, gender, and citizenship in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire from the early colonial era through the first decades of independence. Nicolas and host Keith Rathbone delve into the unique comparative approach of the book, the theoretical foundations underpinning its analysis, and the nuanced relationships between sport, colonial and postcolonial state policy, gender roles, and African agency.

Main Discussion Themes & Insights

1. Origins and Ambition of the Book

• Book Title and Inspiration:

  • The English translation: Such a Long Race: Sport, Gender, and Citizenship in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire (1900–1970s)
  • The title Une si longue course nods to Mariama Bâ’s Une si longue lettre, evoking the lived experiences of navigating colonialism and postcoloniality in West Africa, both in politics and everyday life, including sports.
  • [03:55] Claire Nicolas:

    “...it was a way of paying homage to [Mariama Bâ] and also to point out... the very different ways people... tried to go through these hectic years in West Africa and towards independence, towards emancipation, and not just by political means, but also literally on the field and through sports.”

• Comparative Methodology:

  • Unlike many studies focused on a single country, Nicolas purposefully compares Ghana (British colonialism) and Côte d’Ivoire (French colonialism) to explore both similarities and differences.
  • She draws from both sport history and African/postcolonial studies to avoid becoming “a country specialist” and challenge notions of monolithic colonial and postcolonial trajectories.
  • [07:11] Claire Nicolas:

    “It was really evident from day one that I didn't want to become a country specialist... I felt also that comparing between British Empire, French Empire... really helped, maybe going against the grain of preconceived ideas...”

2. Theory as Foundation

• Interdisciplinary Approach:
  • Theory was not an afterthought—postcolonial theory, gender studies, and intersectionality informed analysis from the outset.
  • Nicolas emphasizes the need to “sit on someone else’s shoulders” (i.e., theorists) when reading archives to better interpret what gender, sport, and colonial relationships meant.
  • [10:27] Claire Nicolas:

    “It came naturally to me... that I had to, I don't know, to sit on someone else's shoulders... because I really needed help from what people wrote about sports, about what does gender mean in West Africa...”

3. Colonial Era: Sport, Gender, Modernity, and Agency

• Pre-Colonial and Colonial Sporting Life:

  • Both local/traditional and European sports existed before and after colonization, but the colonial period brought increased institutionalization, exclusion of women, and attempts to use sport as a “civilizing mission.”
  • Example: The Ghanaian game ampe (played by women) faded from formal recognition as men institutionalized European-style sports.
  • [15:17] Claire Nicolas:

    “In the archives you can see [ampe] presented as a real contest between teams of... adults playing it... At the beginning... you have this shift when it becomes more clearly defined what sport is. And then sport becomes what we understand as sports nowadays... and then you don't have any women anymore until the 50s.”

• Structures and Agency in Schooling and Scouting:

  • Physical education and scouting were crucial for structuring gender experiences; schools provided rare glimpses of girls’ sports.
  • Children and youth often displayed agency, subverting colonial intentions—sometimes preferring academic subjects over compulsory PE, or not complying with the intended usage of sports and scouting as tools for imperial citizenship.
  • [20:15] Claire Nicolas:

    “Kids be kids, right? So they don't care about the broader colonial economy. And they just create a bit of havoc sometimes... sometimes they don't want to do PE because they want to do the literary subjects... And that's something that's a bit of a problem for both authorities.”

• Scouting as a Site of Contradiction:

  • Scouting, too, was a contested terrain: sometimes a tool for conservative, pro-colonial values; sometimes inadvertently fostering anti-colonial networks (notably via “La Chaîne” in French West Africa).
  • The Ghanaian scouting movement, in particular, tried to distance itself from radical anti-colonial activism.
  • [26:12] Claire Nicolas:

    “Scouting is way more political also on the part of members, than sports and physical education. So in Cote d’Ivoire... it was banned [at one point] because it was too political and too worrisome for the French colonial authorities.”

4. Postcolonial Era: Continuities, Ruptures, and Gender

• State Use of Sport After Independence:

  • Both Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire centralized sport within national identity-building, but with distinct political and ideological flavors.
    • Ghana: State-led, socialist, Pan-African vision under Nkrumah. Institutional support led to significant advances for women’s sports, including the historic Olympic participation of Ghanaian women.
    • Côte d’Ivoire: Maintained close ties to France (Françafrique); sporting institutions mirrored those of the former metropole and continued to be staffed by French officials.
  • [34:29] Claire Nicolas:

    “Both colonial states really relied heavily on sporting activities... in order to train the youth... And on the other end, also, I think... it's a moment where both states enter as nation independent and autonomous nation states, enter the global sporting arena...”

• Limits and Possibilities for Women and Girls:

  • Postcolonial regimes largely continued colonial gender paradigms in physical education and sports, with women confined to “appropriate” activities (e.g., netball, dance).
  • Examples of breakdowns—when girls used supposedly “feminine” activities like netball as sites for transgressive behaviors, challenging educators’ aims.
  • [44:22] Claire Nicolas:

    “Ideas... that you should not do the same activity if you're a girl or if you're a boy... Girls' sporting education is kind of similar and doesn't change much... there's an example in the book about a fight between two teams during a match of netball... the initial goal again is not really accomplished.”

5. Postcolonial Biopolitics: Unique or Colonial Legacy?

• Was Postcolonial Policy Truly Distinct?
  • Nicolas contends that postcolonial regimes were meaningfully different in their aims (projecting dignity, future-oriented citizenship, African identity), even if practical methods and structures still echoed colonial legacies.
  • The main rupture: the purpose of state involvement in youth—training “good subjects for the colonial economy” (colonial) vs. building futures and national identity (postcolonial).
  • [48:58] Claire Nicolas:

    “I do believe it was fundamentally different between colonial and post colonial era, mostly because of the core project... The colonial authorities allowed sporting activities for civilizing purpose ... Meanwhile ... [postcolonial states] train young people because you want to project a new dignified identity.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• On why comparison matters:
  [07:11] “Comparing between British Empire, French Empire... really helped, maybe going against the grain of preconceived ideas...if you never get them to speak to each other, you kind of miss maybe how things work in the same way in both territories.” – Claire Nicolas

• On archives and the need for theory:
  [10:27] “It came naturally... that I had to... sit on someone else's shoulders in a way to read them, and that I could not just read them and tell what's in there.” – Claire Nicolas

• On children’s agency under colonial rule:
  [20:15] “Kids be kids, right? So they don't care about the broader colonial economy. And they just create a bit of havoc sometimes.” – Claire Nicolas

• On netball as a site of rebellion:
  [44:22] “The initial goal again is not really accomplished. And you can see here like the cracks within this very strict ideas surrounding girls education and sports.” – Claire Nicolas

• On the enduring complexities of postcolonial power:
  [48:58] “It's what they are turned into and what they are used for... It's very different to train young people because you want to project a new dignified identity... which is never the case, of course, during colonial era.” – Claire Nicolas

Important Segment Timestamps

• 03:55 — Nicolas introduces the book and explains the title’s meaning
• 07:11 — Motivation for comparative approach (Ghana vs. Côte d’Ivoire)
• 10:27 — Importance of theory in archival reading
• 13:30 — Overview of sport’s arrival and transformation in colonial West Africa
• 15:17 — Exclusion of women in the institutionalization of sports
• 20:15 — Youth agency in colonial physical education
• 26:12 — Scouting as an institution and its political implications
• 34:29 — Postcolonial visions for sport and the “new African man”
• 38:39 — Divergence of postcolonial strategies in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire
• 44:22 — Continuity and change in girls’ sport and physical education
• 48:58 — Postcolonial biopolitics: continuity vs. rupture
• 53:12 — Nicolas’s current research on the World YWCA

Future Work

• Claire Nicolas is now researching the World Young Women’s Christian Association and African women’s transnational activism in faith-based organizations, with a continued comparative perspective (especially Ghana & South Africa).
• [53:25] “The project I’m leading in Basel is a study of the world’s Young Women’s Christian Association... and I’m interested in African women, how they moved around the organization, sometimes leading it...” – Claire Nicolas

Conclusion

This episode provides a rich, comparative, and innovative look at how sport became a stage for negotiating power, gender, and identity under both colonial and postcolonial regimes in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. Claire Nicolas’s work brings together archival depth, theoretical sophistication, and a refreshingly comparative lens, inviting listeners to rethink the histories of sport, empire, and emancipation. The discussion is essential listening for anyone interested in the intersection of sport, politics, gender, and African history.