Worldcrunch
June 7-8• Gulf architecture as soft power• Banning #SkinnyTok• Viral PSG éclairs• … and much more ⬇️ STARTER A timely reminder of what Ukraine’s defeat would mean for the rest of us Bahatyr and Vilne Pole. Oleksandropil and Mykhailivka and Malynivka. Here in Germany, these names mean nothing. They stir no feelings, no fear, no […]
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 September 23, 2024 at 11:30 a.m. On this day in 2017, women were allowed to enter the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for the first time ever. The women attended the stadium’s 87th anniversary celebrations and a qualifying World Cup match. Were there any restrictions or conditions for women attending the […]
Egypt disqualified a track cyclist from the Paris Olympics following an incident of unsportsmanlike behavior. But there is general confusion in Egyptian society — whether in politics or soccer — over the concept of competition.
European sports provide some feel-good stories of young people of color, children of migrant families, who have risen to the top of their disciplines. But these are far from fairytales as Europe still considers non-white or non-national bodies a hindrance and a potential danger, writes Italy’s Black writer and activist Igiaba Scego in daily La Stampa.
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.
What’s the difference between a nation before a voting booth and a nation before a soccer match? How can we reconcile electoral systems that don’t seem to match the popular will? How do we remember that democracy is about more than just casting your vote?
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 July 2, 2024 at 11:30 p.m. On this day in 2018, rescue divers found 12 boys along with their soccer coach trapped in Tham Luang Nang Non cave complex in Thailand. How did the rescue divers locate the boys and their coach in the cave? The rescue divers used a combination of methods to […]
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.
My eldest told me he wanted to quit going to football training. “When something feels hard, the mind and body resist because they seek comfort”.
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.
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.
Sometimes, a soccer win is all that a troubled mind needs.
Reflections from a still celebrating padre …
This is the Argentine author’s fourth world cup abroad, but his first as the father of two young boys.
Soccer is a useful political tool for dictatorships. But Qatar is able to milk the World Cup as much as possible because the sport is infected by unbridled capitalistic greed.
October 15-16 OUR WEEKLY NEWS QUIZ What do you remember from the news this week? 1. What country expressed outrage after Russian missiles that hit Kyiv crossed its airspace? 2. India had to halt the production of what medicine after a report linked it to dozens of child deaths in Gambia? Cough syrup/Insulin/Antibiotics 3. […]
October 8-9 OUR WEEKLY NEWS QUIZ What do you remember from the news this week? 1. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he will not negotiate with Russia as long as…? 2. North Korea fired a missile over what country’s territory for the first time since 2017? 3. Slovenia became the first Eastern European country […]
The warning comes after Washington’s latest military aid package to Ukraine.
From St. Paul to St. Diego…
? Tashi delek!* Welcome to Tuesday, where Barbados is finally fully independent, we learn more about the origins of the Omicron variant and Santa gets a boyfriend in Norway. Chilean-based business magazine America Economia also looks at how airlines are reconfiguring cabins and enlarging seats in hopes of boosting a recovery in air travel. [*TIbetan] […]
The decision not to get vaccinated against coronavirus is a personal one, a matter of individual freedom. But the fact that not everyone sees it this way shows the extent to which the pandemic has politicized the private sphere.
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.
European soccer is inspiring and professional, in sharp contrast with the national histrionics and ‘amateurish’ mediocrity of South American football.
You’ve heard of NSFW (Not Safe for Work), but what about NSFH (Not Safe for Hospitals)?
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.
El Pibe de Oro, Barrilete, El Dios, Cósmico, D10S, Dieguito, El 10, El Diez … The quantity of nicknames is just one more sign that fútbol legend Diego Armando Maradona was in a category of his own. His death Wednesday from a heart attack at the age of 60 was a bonafide global event. Here […]