Worldcrunch
Tourists found Largo Maradona sealed off this week after municipal police fined stalls, seized goods, and flagged illegal licenses, prompting ultras leader “Bostik” to cover the famous mural of the soccer legend in protest. A neighborhood continues to defend its secular shrine.
Particularly young sports fans are digitally oriented, and tend to be more “crypto-native”, which makes them a natural target for the industry.
June 14-15 • Putin’s long game• Music world mourns Brian Wilson, Sly Stone…• “Climate-responsive” paint• … and much more ⬇️ STARTER Israel’s Iran strikes required extensive planning, with parallels to pager attack in Lebanon On Sunday, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff was due to meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi in Oman to negotiate a […]
For a dual-national soccer player, choosing a national team goes beyond the sporting sphere: It involves family, identity and geopolitical issues, pitting major European nations against Maghreb countries.
Playing to defeat their male opponents — and gender division in sports.
The Egyptian people love soccer, but those who rule its professional leagues don’t seem to care about the sport. The people had to find a solution, on city streets and remote villages — and special once-a-year Ramadan tournaments.
The birth of a football legend, a massive gold discovery, and a cinematic classic.
Inside volcanoes, in front of trains, atop skyscrapers … From Iceland to Japan and Brazil, the love of soccer is finding roots in the unlikeliest, and most breathtaking locations.
A largely racially homogenous country, Poland is becoming more diverse — including on the soccer field. As Polish-Nigerian Maximillian Oyedele and Polish-Ghanaian Michael Ameyaw make their debut on the country’s national team, sports journalist Rafał Stec examines how this will impact Polish society.
Updated Oct. 10, 2024 at 12:00 a.m. Some 3,500 women were the first since the Islamic Revolution to be allowed to attend a football match in Iran for a World Cup qualifier in Tehran on this day in 2019. What was the first sporting match attended by women in post-Revolution Iran? In October 2019, Iran […]
Updated October 3, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. O.J. Simpson’s acquittal in the murder trial of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman on this day in 1995 was a highly publicized and controversial event in American legal history. Who is O.J. Simpson and what were the charges against him? O.J. Simpson, was a former professional football […]
Marta Lida Arias, a veteran LGBTQ+ activist in Medellín, discusses how she’s created a community for other women who were once intimidated by Colombia’s patriarchal society and norms, and why their fight isn’t over yet.
An Israeli missile struck children playing soccer in a schoolyard a day after international outrage at Russia’s bombing of Ukraine’s largest children’s hospital. As the Israel-Hamas war drags on, ceasefire negotiations get harder as the rest of the world looks away.
Updated July 9, 2024 at 12:00 p.m. Italy defeated France in the final of the FIFA World Cup on this day in 2006. The World Cup final took place at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, Germany, and was marred by French icon Zinedine Zidane’s headbutt and ensuing red card. What was the score of the Italy […]
Updated June 29, 2024 at 11:30 a.m. Brazil won their first World Cup on this day in 1958 which was hosted by Sweden with the final match held at the Rasunda Stadium in Solna. Who did Brazil beat in the final to win their first World Cup? In the final match, Brazil defeated Sweden by […]
As the Olympic flame of Athens prepares to illuminate the world of sports, Africa remains in the shadows. Yet the world’s youngest continent has an unparalleled potential to become a major hub for sports on a global scale.
The competition dreamed up by Spain’s former soccer star Gerard Piqué is developing at breakneck speed in Spain, and beyond. Thanks to a fun format and rules borrowed from a number of other sports, it is attracting a younger audience, which is something advertisers are keen to see.
Italy’s highest-profile nemesis of organized crime networks, prosecutor Nicola Gratteri, discusses the mob’s use of social networks, and how TikTok allows criminal organizations to advertise their lifestyle to impressionable viewers. Sound familiar?
The Argentine Lionel Messi is the personification of soccer sublime . He has come to move fans in ways that art lovers are moved by a painting.
A coach who trivializes a gang rape, a ballon d’or winner who is asked if she knows how to twerk, Spanish national team players chanting “bottle blonde…” When Luis Rubiales kissed Jennifer Hermoso without her consent, it was just the latest example of how the male-dominated sport hasn’t changed with the times. In Spain, and beyond…
Coverage of the Women’s World Cup has been more about the athletes’ personal lives than sport. Once again, sexism in sport is on fully display.
The River Plate sports club in the Núñez area of Buenos Aires, Argentina, is home to many sports, but renowned for its decorated professional football club, which is also making a name for itself for its inclusive policies.
In Mexico City, the “Football, Sweat and Joy” football club is creating a welcoming space for women and LGBTQ+ soccer players to play and socialize.
Saudi Arabia suddenly now leads the world in golf, continues to attract top European soccer stars, and invests in culture and entertainment… Its “soft power” strategy is changing the kingdom’s image through what critics bash as blatant “sportwashing.”
Sometimes, a soccer win is all that a troubled mind needs.
Of financial hardship, staged accidents — and calcio rivalry.
Reflections from a still celebrating padre …
It’s been hailed as one of the most riveting finals in World Cup history ever. After 120 minutes of improbable reversal of fortunes, Argentina beat France on penalties. Argentine striker Lionel Messi scored twice (plus a penalty in the decisive showdown), securing his status of one of the sport’s all-time greats. This is how newspapers […]
This is the Argentine author’s fourth world cup abroad, but his first as the father of two young boys.
The deaths of migrant worker deaths and Qatar’s poor human rights record will linger over the upcoming World Cup. Foreign powers need to intervene to help the situation of those trapped in slavery-like conditions.
The Qatar World Cup has been making headlines for all the wrong reasons. However, the newly constructed city of Lusail in the country makes one thing clear: the West is not the target audience for this World Cup. Qatar has different, even bigger ambitions.
The Ukrainian football season is restarting in Kyiv on Tuesday after a long break due to the war. The first game is taking place at 1 PM (local time) between Donetsk’s Shaktar team and the FC Metalist 1925 Kharkiv. The two clubs hail from cities in east Ukraine, a region which is currently fighting against […]
The Russian invasion of Ukraine forced the sport world to abandon its long-held political neutrality, including the Olympics and FIFA. Is this a one-off event or a sign of a fundamental shift in sport?
From St. Paul to St. Diego…
Ukraine’s former president Petro Poroshenko has taken refuge in Poland after being accused of treason and cooperation with Russia. It’s a film we’ve seen before in Kyiv.
The legendary soccer star of FC Barcelona has signed up with the Parisian club, owned by the Emirate since 2011…and just in time for the World Cup slated next year in Qatar.
It’s not just England and not just the reaction against the team’s loss in the European final. Europe’s football culture, and culture in general, reflect deep-seated prejudices that require a real response.
Using pure economic power to reorder the world of soccer was clearly a bad idea, though not necessarily a new idea. Some reflections from a conflicted fan of one particular Italian super squad.
Diving, flopping and faking for the referee’s benefit have become an integral part of modern football. But Guatemalan player Wilfredo Ramos Pérez has taken the craft to the next level of the absurd. During a match in the Central American country’s third division, with one player already on the ground, the referee stopped the match […]
The South American soccer legend has left us, but his spirit and exploits will live on, along with the country he so perfectly personified.