In an unusual attempt to pre-empt England’s inevitable World Cup failure, the FA has published a report to investigate problems affecting the national team. The report represents the findings of the England…
I remember the “next big thing”. His name was Wayne Harrison and when he moved from Oldham Athletic to Liverpool in 1985, aged 19, he became the world’s most expensive teenage footballer. He was Kevin…
Napoli fans clash with police in Rome.
Massimo Percossi/EPA
The Italian Cup final has come to serve as a magnifying glass for Italian football’s worst problems. The 2014 final between Fiorentina and Napoli, marred by violence which left three people in hospital…
The national obsession: But do we make the most of it?
Alasdair Middleton
After the Scottish National Party had a bad result at the 1992 general election, deputy leader Jim Sillars famously accused the Scots of being “90-minute patriots”. His point, to paraphrase wildly, was…
Chelsea could soon be champions of England and Europe, but they may end up with nothing.
EPA
There is a scene during the film Pulp Fiction in which Vincent Vega (John Travolta) recounts his experiences of eating at McDonalds in France to his fellow partner in crime, Jules Winnfield (Samuel L Jackson…
The signs did not augur well for David Moyes. He began his career as the Chosen One, anointed by no less a person than Sir Alex Ferguson, the most successful manager in Manchester United’s history. Very…
Patience at Manchester United has run out. David Moyes has been sacked possibly sooner than was expected, but entirely predictably given the huge financial pressures that were looming if the team continued…
Liverpool and Manchester City pause to remember the dead of Hillsborough.
Peter Byrne/PA
It is the 25th anniversary of the worst sporting tragedy in the UK: the Hillsborough football disaster, where 96 Liverpool fans died at an FA cup semi-final game against Nottingham Forest. As a mark of…
Reigning premiers Hawthorn was the first AFL club to trial the WASP tracking technology – so how does it work?
AAP/David Crosling
With the AFL season in full swing many of us are glued to our screens marvelling at the speed and tactics of the athletes. Midfielders, such as ex-Cat-now-Sun Gary Ablett Jnr, can run between 12 and 20km…
Bayern keep churning out winning sequels.
John Walton/PA
So Bayern Munich won the German Bundesliga following a win against Hertha Berlin. It is the 23rd time the Bavarian club has claimed the title – and the third time in the past five years. This year is particularly…
Johnny Warren argued that no other sport reflects life the way football does.
Dan Himbrechts/AAP Image
If you had to argue for the merits of one Australian book, one piece of writing, what would it be? Welcome to our occasional series in which our authors make the case for a work of their choosing. See…
There are now only a few months to go until the biggest sporting event of 2014 – the FIFA World Cup in Brazil – and questions are being asked. Will the stadiums be ready? Are the airports ready for the…
Dexter Blackstock will have his day in court.
Andrew Matthews/PA
Footballers are employees, and they deserve the same protections from loss of earnings through injury as you or I. But the astronomical sums involved in the modern game could lead to a worrying situation…
Sky Sports presenter Charlie Webster has said she revealed details about sexual abuse by her coach when she was young in order to “break the taboo about abuse as a whole.” There are certainly issues within…
Kamel Mellahi, Warwick Business School, University of Warwick
Qatar has just introduced a “charter” to protect its migrant workers; will anyone notice the difference? Migrant workers represent around 88% of Qatar’s 1.9m residents, and the numbers are set to increase…
In attempting to succeed as owner of a Major League Soccer team in Miami, Florida, David Beckham has taken on perhaps the biggest challenge of his career. The city is not short of major sports teams. It…
God may not play dice, but Dieudonne does.
Michel Euler/AP
French comedian Dieudonné M’Bala M’Bala has been acquitted over a video in which he called for the release of a man who tortured and murdered a Jew in 2006. The court ruled it could not prove he was behind…
When Neymar scored for FC Barcelona against Villareal in a recent Spanish La Liga game, it was a momentous occasion. As the Brazilian international turned to celebrate, he pulled up his shirt to reveal…
Hawk-Eye is a device used to reconstruct the track of the ball for LBW decisions in cricket and for line calls in tennis. It will be much in evidence during the remaining Ashes tests and is now being used…
Falling prices? £85m Gareth Bale could move clubs for nothing.
Adam Davy/PA
Footballers, it turns out, want the same rights as everyone else. If you or I want to move jobs, our new employer doesn’t have to pay anything. Should football players be any different? To gain this freedom…