At the youth level, the long-term effects of football hits aren’t known.
Brian J. McDermott/flickr
When pro football players like Chris Borland quit, it should send a strong message to parents. But there are a host of issues, besides health, to consider.
Still a beautiful game?
EPA/Alexey Nikolsky/Ria Novosti
Russia sees last week’s FIFA arrests as politically motivated mischief-making by the US. A UEFA boycott would add to this paranoia.
UEFA could break away from FIFA.
Ververidis Vasilis / Shutterstock.com
UEFA might lack the members to out-vote FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, but it’s got a lot of power in other forms.
The FBI’s net may fail to ensnare FIFA’s “teflon don,” but it could inspire other probes.
Reuters
Corruption at the pinnacle of sports sets a tone for all the rest. Targeting its roots is the right thing to do no matter what comes of the FBI’s investigation.
Zurich: while FIFA bureaucrats are in crisis mode, referees train for the Women’s World Cup.
Steffen/Schmidt
While FIFA officials face charges, women footballers face poor conditions and underinvestment ahead of the World Cup.
Preparing for scrutiny. Wednesday’s FIFA press conference gets ready to roll.
Ennio Leanza/EPA
Football’s governing body and its President Sepp Blatter are used to annual meetings which run like clockwork. US and Swiss police have made sure this time it’s different.
“You’re offside Sepp.”
EPA/Amos Ben Gershom
Palestine is spearheading an international effort to get Israel booted out of FIFA – but the organisation just wants to stay out of politics.
Top seed.
Erik S Lesser/EPA
Canadian tennis star Eugenie Bouchard has topped the list of most marketable athletes.
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady during Super Bowl XLIX.
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports via Reuters
As Patriots quarterback Tom Brady vows to fight his four-game suspension by the NFL, a scholar examines “deflategate” in the context of sports history and safety.
The AFL does best in attracting young women to games and then maintaining their loyalty in later years.
AAP/David Mariuz
The AFL draws the biggest crowds in the country and its growth has been driven by female fans being drawn to the game and sticking with it as they get older.
The Green’s need to be more radical with their plans for sport.
Peter Byrne/PA
The potential of sport is overlooked in the Green’s manifesto.
The NFL’s winning formula has made it the most popular and profitable professional sport.
Football closeup via www.shutterstock.com
It turns out, there are few benefits to remaining nonprofit, but many reasons to give it up.
Lib Dems keep sport on the sidelines.
Paul Townsend
Lib Dems want to “build a healthier society”, but hardly address physical activity.
The real game gets filtered by the imaginary.
OlegDoroshin / Shutterstock.com
Football games are now watched through a haze of statistics, generated by betting, fantasy football and video games.
Bend it like Miliband.
Stefan Rousseau/PA
Labour hasn’t made any new evident spending pledges for sports. Is it failing to see sport as a crucial part of culture?
The SNP manifesto only mentions sports in two places.
Chris Radburn/PA
The SNP should acknowledge the role sport could have in many of their manifesto pledges.
The process by which women become fans is more complicated and interesting than people previously imagined.
AAP Image/Joe Castro
Men might believe that women don’t have what it takes to be serious sports fans but new research into female AFL fans proves them wrong. Some women are footy converts, some have it in the blood – and some were born to it.
Rivals: Manchester United and Liverpool.
Peter Byrne/PA Wire
The highest level fix in English football took place a century ago, but professional sport is still full of fixing allegations today.
Homegrown talent.
Nick Potts/PA Wire
Keeping foreigners out of the Premier League won’t make the England team perform any better.
Would a little extra pay make the Coyboys’ Demarco Murray more likely to take risks (like plowing headfirst into another player)? Would the threat of a fine deter him?
Reuters
It turns out professional football players are perfect lab rats for labor experiments, and the answer has implications well beyond the NFL.