Bullish Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta confident he’ll get cover for injured striker Gabriel Jesus
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta says he has “other alternatives” to consider as he looks to deal with the “huge blow” of losing Gabriel Jesus to injury. The Gunners are in a brilliant position at the summit of the Premier League table, five points ahead of second-placed Manchester City. They will...
Argentina airlifts Messi & Co by helicopter as four million adoring fans deemed risky to safety of World Cup winning team
Argentina’s World Cup heroes had to cut short their open-top bus victory parade and greet jubilant fans from the sky in helicopters after fans threw projectiles and tried to jump on the team’s bus. Lionel Messi and his fellow World Cup-winning players were transferred to helicopters after four million supporters...
Fifa plans World Cup every three years on the back of improved revenue after the Qatar fiesta
Fifa president Gianni Infantino wants to hold the World Cup every three years as part of a long-term plan to revolutionise international football. The commercial and sporting success of the tournament in Qatar has emboldened Infantino, who gave an indication of his grand ambitions last week by announcing that an...
Agony of African stars in Europe: France’s Black players subjected to racial abuse for World Cup loss
Kingsley Coman, Randal Kolo-Muani and Aurelien Tchouameni were all subjected to vile racial abuse following France’s World Cup final defeat to Argentina. The defending champions failed in their bid to become only the third team to retain the title on Sunday night, losing 4-2 on penalties following a pulsating 3-3...
Messi and Mbappe gave us World Cup to cherish in a bland soulless, faceless state in the desert
At the end of it all, the Emir of Qatar dressed Lionel Messi in a flimsy black robe, which seemed to be the ultimate emblem of how a host nation whose own side were so abysmal have claimed him as one of their own. The man in question, crowned player...
Proposed 32-team Club World Cup elicits strong resentment from clubs and football associations
Fifa President Gianni Infantino has confirmed the introduction of a new quadrennial men’s Club World Cup that will kick off in 2025 and feature 32 top teams from across the globe. The Fifa Council met in Qatar on Friday to discuss a variety of matters, including international match calendars and...
World Cup: Africa teems with talent but local leagues should pay players competitive salaries to retain them
In Africa itself, professional football doesn’t do so well, certainly not the club leagues. I’m afraid that, for all the solemn promises and grandiose schemes from Fifa, this will continue. It shouts to the powerhouse football countries that elite-level coaching in the lesser developed world is first-class. And the skills...
Germany ‘keeper Oliver Kahn opens up on his ‘depression as two billion people watched me fail’ in 2002 World Cup
“Two billion people watched me fail,” says Kahn in a recent statement while remembering the 2002 FIFA World Cup final. In Brazil’s 1-0 first half lead, Rivaldo shot from distance, Kahn failed to keep the ball firmly in his grip, and Ronaldo scored from the rebound. After the game that...
Decolonising science: How to confront racism in Black maternal healthcare in the US
Science is steeped in injustice and exploitation. Scientific insights from marginalised people have been erased, natural-history specimens have been taken without consent and genetics data have been manipulated to back eugenics movements. Without acknowledgement and redress of this legacy, many people from minority ethnic groups have little trust in science...
Morocco’s painful loss to France in World Cup semis signals shift in balance of power in football
Morocco can leave Qatar with their heads held high. It was the feet of Theo Hernandez, however, held even higher, that got France through this semi-final. What a battering the world champions took. Ultimately it was Hernandez’s fifth minute goal – the fastest in a World Cup semi-final in 64...
