Early end to migrants’ contracts leaves many owing large sums to recruiters and unable to support their families• World Cup hotel shields England team from fans – and Qatar’s labour abusesThousands of poorly paid migrant workers in Qatar are being forc…
Protests over Cristiano Ronaldo statue in former Portuguese colony of Goa
Local politician says statue is meant to inspire young people, but critics say it is inappropriateHe is idolised as one of the greatest footballers on earth, with his number seven shirt treasured by millions of youngsters dreaming of superstardom. But …
China bans footballers in national teams from getting tattoos
Authorities also tell inked players to remove or cover up their designs to set ‘a good example for society’Chinese authorities have banned footballers from getting tattoos and instructed national team players who have been inked to remove them or cover…
‘A modern-day Schindler’s List’: Afghan junior women footballers land in UK
International rescue effort brings 130 young footballers and their families to London after Taliban takeoverShortly before 4am on Thursday morning, a private chartered plane touched down on a freezing London runway. On board were 130 exhausted, nervous…
UK urged to resettle fleeing Afghan women’s football team
Leeds United have offered support but players face return to Taliban regime unless accepted soonThe UK government is being asked to urgently resettle female players from Afghanistan’s junior football team who fled the Taliban and have been offered a ne…
Female athletes from Afghanistan leave Kabul after being granted Australian visas
• Group of 77 included Afghanistan women’s football team• Players suffered beatings and had to pass Taliban checkpointsA group of 77 Afghani athletes and family members, including members of the Afghanistan women’s national football team, youth team an…
Football’s first fa’afafine: trans rights trailblazer Jaiyah Saelua on stardom and sisterhood
Fa’afafine athlete and advocate Jaiyah Saelua, and Kaimana, the fa’afafine actor who will play her in Taika Waititi’s latest film, find shared celebration in a uniquely Polynesian storyJaiyah Saelua is a footballer first.The first openly transgender wo…
China appears to demote Premier League football broadcasts
Observers link apparent decision to growing hostilities between UK and ChinaChinese state television appears to have demoted broadcasts of Premier League matches to lesser watched channels amid deepening hostilities with the UK.Bloomberg reported on Th…
Former Afghan football president’s life ban for abusing female players upheld
Karim banned by Fifa after female players reported abuseCourt of arbitration for sport confirms punishmentThe court of arbitration for sport (Cas) has dismissed the appeal of Keramuudin Karim, a former president of the Afghanistan Football Federation, …
South Korea football league imposes record fine on FC Seoul over sex dolls outrage
K-League says club ‘deeply humiliated’ female football fans and damaged the league’s reputationSouth Korea’s professional football league has imposed a record fine on one of its clubs for placing sex dolls in empty seats during a recent match played wi…
South Korean football team apologises for using sex dolls to fill stands
K-League club FC Seoul said the dolls, used to make stadiums look less empty, had been ordered inadvertently after a ‘misunderstanding’Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageA professional football team in South Korea has apologise…
Most Britons weren’t hostile to migrants | Letters
Most Britons were not hostile and helped south Asians and east Africans to settle, says Nitin Mehta, while Jane Lane believes racism needs to be tackled at an early ageKavita Puri, like so many others before her, talks about the racism faced by immigra…
Mesut Özil row: China’s Arsenal fans burn shirts in anger at Xinjiang post
Player, who has 4 million followers on Chinese microblog Weibo, is called a ‘dirty ant’ for attacking ChinaChinese football fans have burned Arsenal football shirts and called on the club to fire star player Mesut Özil after he publicly criticised Chin…
‘It’s an act of hope’: the fairytale rise of the Real Kashmir football team
For 90 minutes, while their team plays, people of the war-torn Indian region of Kashmir forget curfews and protests and enjoy normalityBefore an away match, Mohammed Hammad used to call his mother in Srinagar in Indian-administered Kashmir and ask her …