UEFA has banned vuvuzelas from matches at all UEFA competitions. That includes the European Championships, the Europa League, and the UEFA Champions League.
My first instinct was: That’s rather ignorant and authoritarian. But then I realized that I had a bigger gripe. UEFA’s decision to ban vuvuzelas in European competition sets a very strange precedent. (more…)
Fox Soccer Channel’s Soccer Talk Live, hosted by former U.S. international Kyle Martino, is a painful, soul-crushing experience.
I wish there was something more positive to say, but at some point, the kid gloves need to come off. Fox Soccer Channel won’t critique itself, while many of those in the professional media will hardly consider challenging a peer even though feuds are great for publicity.
It’s probably not much of a stretch to say that the U.S. soccer machine is an incestuous mess of symbiotic parties hardly capable of discussing hard truths about itself, probably out of fear of biting the already impoverished hands that barely feed them. While this fear is understandable, it is no way for the game to grow, that is, if you feel the media has a role in soccer’s growth by challenging the status quo when the status quo needs challenging. (more…)
Holy bejesus. I’ve seen it all.
I was watching Morning Joe this morning. Judge me on that if you will. I was kind of paying attention as Al Sharpton and Joe Scarborough talked Glenn Beck, Martin Luther King, and whether Sharpton will allow Beck to reclaim Martin Luther King’s dream. Sharpton basically concluded that Glenn Beck should have a different dream.
As the Sharpton segment finished, I heard someone reference a segment recapping the weekend’s football action after the break. Surely the reference was about the ol’ gridiron variety, so I paid no attention. (more…)
ESPN Soccernet’s Headlines at 5 pm on Tuesday, August 24:
… and of course the headliner: Hair-pulling New Mexico soccer player back (with video). One of these stories is out of place, and no, it’s not the North Korean on a German team. (more…)
The past few years have seen an influx of investors from the Far East, India, and the Middle East looking to break into the English game. Worries about diluting the purity of the English game have become the issue du jour.
These sentiments are not restricted to England. Italy has struggled with the introduction of “others” into Italian society. France’s inverse love affair with African and Arab populations is well documented. This same narrative can be found in immigration debates in the United States where conservatives continuously harp on about our immigrant nation losing itself through, well, immigration. (more…)
Italian Football fans have something to rejoice about in the aftermath of the National Team’s poor display in the World Cup. Media tycoons Silvio Berlusconi and Rupert Murdoch are engaged in a corporate catfight to win over the hearts and wallets of Italy’s football fans. Mediaset, owned by Silvio Berlusconi, and Sky Italia, owned by Rupert Murdoch, have been waging a price war for television soccer viewers. The gloves are apparently off and the media moguls are going at it like two shameless divas. (more…)
Black Entertainment Television (BET) used to be a decent channel back before there was a tried and tested formula for how to ruin television. It had a show called Teen Summit focused on issues affecting African-American youth. Donnie Simpson’s Video Soul covered, well, R&B and soul, of course. Rap City hosted by Prince Dejour, rap. You get the point. BET had some decent programming. Then BET became a bastion of nonsense.
The first black major cable network soon began consistently projecting a one-sided, commercialized view of African-American culture, relegating “black entertainment” to booty shaking and bling. Now don’t get me wrong, gyrating and shiny objects have been enjoyed across cultures for years, but the elevation of shaky and shiny as worship-worthy cultural gods was the wrong decision at the wrong time for a relatively new voice for African-Americans. (more…)
I’m starting the slow clap.
On July 25, Maria Rebello became the first female referee to officiate a senior-level professional men’s match in Indian soccer. Rebello, a former midfielder who once captained the Indian women’s national team, managed the proceedings between Delhi and Madhya Pradesh in the group stages of the Santosh Trophy competition, earning solid reviews for her performance. Rebello’s long journey to this destination deserves praise, not just as a personal milestone, but also as a special moment for Indian women eager to break into soccer. (more…)
So soccer is boring, huh. Not enough goals being scored? Not enough action?
Well a recent Wall Street Journal article turns a common complaint advanced by many American football fans on its head. Maybe soccer doesn’t have enough scoring to appease the gridiron faithful, but if your buddies continue harping on and on about the lack of action in soccer, the Wall Street Journal’s study on NFL coverage provides some pretty damning figures. (more…)
Wei Di, head of the Chinese Football Association, has spoken. China wants the 2026 World Cup. Given China’s explosion over the past decade, it might be hard to say no to the world’s most populous nation, even with the recent corruption scandals in Chinese soccer.
According to Wei, “It really moved us to see all the social benefits South Africa got from hosting the World Cup.”
And by social benefits, we should probably assume that he also means financial and publicity benefits.
Wei continued, “Everyone has been debating whether China should bid for the World Cup or when to bid, but seeing how successfully South Africa hosted it, I have to say that China has no reason not to bid and now is the best time.”
And there you go.
So prepare yourself for forty-nine year old Shakira with an umbrella under the hot Beijing sun singing an English version of some Chinese song over and over again in the summer of 2026 if the Chinese bid is successful. But first, there is a bid process to navigate. (more…)
If you love perms or Didier Drogba, you’ll love the Les Éléphants shirt …
Spain is trying to conquer the world again. This time, they might succeed.
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Football for Change is a feature in which Nutmeg Radio highlights work being done by organizations across the globe using soccer to promote development.
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