When Sepp Blatter announced Qatar as host of the 2022 World Cup, his words echoed around the vast Zurich conference hall where the FIFA Executive Committee had gathered. Then, like a baby taking a breath before crying, came the reaction, one of shock and exasperation. Also, jubilation among the small bid team that had travelled […]
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Human Traffic – Africa’s Lost Boys
It has been a starting point for some of the world’s top soccer players. As youngsters, the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Andrea Pirlo, Carlos Tevez, Javier Mascherano, Thierry Henry and Nicolas Anelka all played in the Mondial Montaigu youth tournament in France. Known as “Mondial Minimes,” the 40-year-old competition is contested by under-16 national teams over Easter, […]
Roberto Baggio
In football, history only remembers the losers. Roberto Baggio’s glittering career is defined by a single penalty miss and that’s not fair: ‘the divine ponytail’ was a player to rank among the greats. It ended as it started: in Pasadena, with a missed penalty. A calendar month after Diana Ross’ orchestrated shot trundled hilariously wide, […]
Gazza downfall a warning to young players
When a young Paul Gascoigne was asked for his footballing hero, he gave an unequivocal answer. Bryan Robson, captain of England, was his choice but the reasoning was troubling. He had not chosen ‘Robbo’ for his bravery, goalscoring from midfield or inspirational leadership. Instead, Robson was hailed above all others because of his ability to […]
Extreme sport: Footballers flirt with danger on ice
GILGIT (Pakistan): For some, playing a friendly football match on the frozen surface of a 70-feet deep lake in bitter cold was more adventurous than scaling the K2, the second highest peak after Mount Everest. A match was organised on the frozen Khalti Lake in Ghizer Valley of Gilgit-Baltistan (Northern Pakistan) with G-B’s Minister […]
Hijab and Football
Veil, Burka, Babushka or Bedsheet? I live in Toronto. Hijab is hardly a foreign concept. Many women from varied ethnic communities choose to cover. Some fully. Some partially. Some in amazingly-coloured, culturally-inspired fabrics. Some in pristine designer brands. On the subway. On the street. At concerts. At a Masjid. At schools. At the flea market. […]
The Premier League’s forgotten marksman
In November, Robin Van Persie scored in Manchester United’s 2-1 win over Arsenal. It made headlines not just because he had found the net against his former club, but also because it meant he was one of two players to have scored against every single one of the 20 current Premier League teams. So who […]
Carolyn Radford – Football’s youngest CEO stands by her Mansfield
Carolyn Radford does not take long to show her steel. Mansfield Town’s chief executive reacts with a mix of anger and sarcasm to being asked why she and her now husband, John Radford, who owns the club, did not disclose their relationship when he appointed her as English football’s youngest CEO in September 2011, when […]
How video games are changing the face of soccer
…The men met as fraternity brothers at the University of Alabama, but the image of innate Southerness they convey is shattered the instant the immense television glows with the home screen of EA Sports FIFA 2012 video game. With a flurry of dexterous controller-clicking, the two men assemble their teams with the cold, calculated eyes […]
The 100 Best Footballers in the World
The Guardian’s 11-strong international panel of experts set about ranking the best footballers in the world, and end up with their top 100. #99 Diego Forlan Age: 33 Nationality: Uruguayan Team: Internacional The striker became the most capped Uruguayan of all time at the 2011 Copa América and is also the country’s record scorer. That seemed implausible when […]
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