“Holy sh*t. Holy sh*t!” was how US sports website Deadspin began its match report on Australia’s defeat of Brazil in the FIFA Women’s World Cup. It was that big a deal, the first time an Aussie team, male or female, had won a World Cup knockout game. And to do it, they had secured Brazil’s…
Friday Funnies: The big guns of tennis take aim
Boris Becker has decided to have a crack at, of all people, Roger Federer for, of all things, being too nice. In his new book, Boom-Boom backhands the Swiss maestro, saying: “The reason Roger is one of the highest-paid athletes of all time is because he’s liked by everybody. “But think about this — you…
The one thing missing from women’s soccer
If there’s one thing that stands out about the FIFA Women’s World Cup, it’s the distinct lack of diving. There are no amateur dramatics like this. Maybe it’s because there’s not enough pay in the women’s game to cover acting lessons. Or because throwing yourself around on artificial turf is like going ten rounds with…
Friday Funnies: thrills, spills, a couple of dills
It’s one of my favourite clips so far from the Women’s World Cup. Swiss striker Ramona Bachmann gets the ball at the halfway line, evades one, two, three, four, five defenders, then the goalie, sets herself for an angular shot at goal… and then falls over. Not one of those I’m-in-the-penalty-box-so-let’s-milk-it-for-all-its-worth dives but a legitimate…
Women’s soccer far from a level playing field
After a week of arrests and resignations at the highest level of the game, FIFA has some actual football to focus on. The FIFA Women’s World Cup kicked off in Canada over the weekend, not a moment too soon for soccer’s embattled ‘governing’ — if you’ll pardon the looseness of the language — body. There…
Friday Funnies: Blatter ‘working hard’ on reforms
Today, in the most ironic timing ever, the film United Passions is being released in the United States. Almost entirely funded by FIFA to the tune of more than $30 million (!!!), it dramatises the early days of soccer’s governing body and the introduction of the World Cup. Without the corruption. So it’s a short film….
The demise of comic genius Sepp Blatter
In the end, it all happened very quickly. One minute he was there and then he was gone. A bit like this. The man who just a few days ago declared euphorically to be the ‘President of everybody’ suddenly wasn’t feeling the love anymore. “I do not feel that I have a mandate from the…
The killing fields of the Qatar World Cup
The 2022 FIFA World Cup will be held in a graveyard. Already an estimated 1,200 workers have died building Qatar’s World Cup stadiums and associated infrastructure. This number is expected to rise to 4,000 over the next seven years. Basically a worker a day. The International Trade Union Confederation compiled these numbers based on statistics…
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