Life After Soccer For Four Of The Game’s Greats Including Manchester United Legends

Of all the sports, football manages to elevate its star players to a greater level of stardom than perhaps any other. The game’s international nature pits regional neighbors against one another with gold and glory on the line, while club play creates the same level of passion within cities and neighborhoods. Those special players who … Read more

Soccer Players Featured In Video Games

The annual battle between the FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) series of computer games is almost a fixture in the football calendar. Both are incredibly popular games and each year, their game play and their portrayal of individual players becomes ever more precise and accurate. Football games though have had a chequered past and … Read more

Soccer And Autocracy: Who Do National Football Teams Represent?

Little better illustrates the inextricable link between sports and politics than the frequent perception of Middle Eastern and North African national football teams as representatives of repressive autocratic regimes. That perception is reinforced by players’ adoption of a neo-patriarchic acceptance of their autocratic leader as a father figure that leads them to keep a distance … Read more

TEAM MEETINGS: Where Real Football Change Happens

The temperature outside has been soaring and the rays of sunshine are starting to wear on more than just your skin. Your joints ache with every movement and your body screams at your stupidity while also pleading with you in a child-like innocence to just find the neatest soft, comfortable location and just sleep. Yet, … Read more

Turkey Moves To Prevent Protests In Stadiums And On Campus

  Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government has announced a series of measures to prevent soccer stadiums and university campuses from becoming major protest venues as the football season and the academic year begins. In doing so, Mr. Erdogan is taking a leaf out of the playbook of Egyptian military strongman Gen. Abdel Fattah … Read more

The Development Of Football In Europe’s Smaller Countries, A Pressing Concern?

Although many Premier League managers may view international friendlies with much distain, especially just a few days before the new campaign starts, the matches this week provided much entertainment for fans all over the world and especially Europe. The Paraguayan squad twice led Germany, one of the favourites for next year’s World Cup, before eventually … Read more

Soccer Militants Put Their Mark On Egyptian Protests – A Report

A soccer brawl last year in which more than 70 militant soccer fans died galvanized significant numbers of Egyptians against the military and security forces. The brawl accelerated the military’s desire to turn power over to an elected government. Eighteen months later, mass protests, involving Muslim Brothers, non-Brothers and militant, street battle-hardened soccer fans are … Read more

A Decade Of Defiance And Dissent: A Wake-up Call For Sports

The wave of popular defiance and demonstrations across the Middle East and North Africa parallels twidespread protest acrosss the globe from Latin America to Asia against sports organisations’ mismanagement and mega-events. It is driven by lack of confidence in institutions that have failed to root out corruption and meet demands for justice, dignity and inclusiveness. … Read more

UAE Exploits Soccer To Counter Charges Of Human Rights Abuse

The recent sentencing in the United Arab Emirates of scores of dissidents on charges of plotting to overthrow the government and UAE support for the military coup that ousted Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi has sparked assertions that the country is using its acquisition of Manchester City and a franchise to establish a New York-based Major … Read more

Tactical Retreat: Ultras Absent From Protests In Egypt And Turkey

Militant, highly politicized soccer fans who played key roles in the toppling of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, opposition to post-Mubarak military rule, and last month’s mass protests against Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan have been as organizations conspicuously absent from the dramatic scenes in Cairo with the overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi and ongoing … Read more