Help Football
This is part of our efforts to improve football. In this column we discuss the key issues facing football – using more technology, money in the game, diving / simulation, developing young players and football training in general, changes to rules (governing football and clubs) and a lot more.
Should the African Cup of Nations be rescheduled for the summer?
If you didn’t know better, you’d think that this African Cup of Nations was a sneaky bastard. How dare it creep up on the Premier League clubs without them finding out until too late? What? There’s an International Calendar for FIFA events? Damn… Ok, but the sheer audacity of this tournament! How dare it disrupt…
Does Having Two More Referees On The Pitch Beat Video Technology?
Fabio Capello recently offered compliments to England referees when he observed how infrequently they stop the game. Capello praised the match officials, stating: “The first thing I noticed were the referees because they whistle so little compared to those in the rest of Europe.”
In 7 Days I Will Own a Football Club
Yesterday, I received this email: Dear Ahmed, Over 27,000 MyFootballClub members are one week from buying a 75% stake in Ebbsfleet United Football Club. Members have seven days to authorise the agreement to take control of Ebbsfleet United. Thank you, The MyFootballClub Team What? In 7 days I am going to own a football club?…
G14 disbands as Platini records 2nd victory
The G-14 knew what they wanted all along, it just took eight years and the presumed dissolution of their organization to get it. Platini called for the “elitest” G-14 to disband last year, but it wasn’t until Tuesday that he got his wish. UEFA, FIFA, and the G-14 signed a letter of intent, setting out…
Alhassan Bangura stays in England, but is Sierra Leone that bad?
The football world breathed a sigh of relief Monday as the Home Office announced that 19-year old Watford midfielder Alhassan Bangura would be granted a work permit and avoid deportation back to Sierra Leone. Though a work permit looked bleak, (Bangura has never been capped by Sierra Leone, who are absent from top 70 nations…
There is More to Life Than Football
This week, instead of following live coverage of the 3rd Round of the FA Cup, or scanning the rumor mills to see who could be moving where in this January’s transfer market, I was at a hospital with family, waiting for up-to-the-second reports on the condition of a relative. Once again, I was forced to…
She Shoots, She Scores…2 Points !?! – That’s Coed Soccer
Those of you who have never played organized coed soccer (mixed football) will be surprised to learn that in some coed leagues (e.g. UC San Diego’s intramural leagues) your team wins 2 points when women score. First time I heard that (while playing one weekend in a coed 5 aside league in Santa Monica, CA)…
Interview with Diego Gutierrez of the Chicago Fire
Last month, I wrote a brief article about the humanitarian efforts of a MLS player, Diego Gutierrez, a midfielder who plays for the Chicago Fire. Mr. Gutierrez, who is a native of Bogotá, Colombia, is the spokesman for a very interesting cause called Nothing But Nets. This charity was formed to help alleviate the spread…
Looking at English football fan arrests from the 2006/2007 season
In a recent article, I discussed the incident involving Manchester United and Roma fans that resulted in four United fans being jailed for assault and resisting arrest, and whether or not football violence was getting out of hand. In October 2007, the Home Office released a report detailing the number of arrests that occurred in…
Phil O’Donnell – Motherwell Captain – Dies
Motherwell captain Phil O’Donnell has died after collapsing towards the end of his side’s Scottish Premier League game against Dundee United.
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