position:footballer

Football and fat fees : questions raised over funding of sporting conference | Football | The Guardian
▻https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/jul/16/football-and-fat-fees-questions-raised-over-funding-of-sporting-confere

After Russia’s wildly successful World Cup, the eyes of the sporting world have turned to the next host, Qatar – and a recent event in London gave an indication of the scrutiny that lies ahead for the controversial organisers, and of the Middle Eastern diplomatic battle that will shadow the tournament.

Journalists who attended the launch of the Foundation For Sports Integrity at the Four Seasons hotel were ushered through security to watch a series of panels featuring high-profile guests. The former Manchester United footballer Louis Saha appeared in a discussion alongside the former FA chairman Greg Dyke. Other guests included Damian Collins MP and the former US women’s goalkeeper Hope Solo.

But as well as the guest list and the glamorous surroundings, there was another striking feature of the event: questions over the funding of the previously unknown organisation, which was unveiling itself at short notice with a lavish conference and a public commitment to stamping out corruption in world sport.

Un à côté de la #nuit_torride entre les Qataris et leurs aussi riches voisins.

#Diego_Maradona’s misguided political statement on Western Sahara
▻http://africasacountry.com/2016/11/diego-maradona-on-western-sahara

Diego Maradona is considered as the greatest footballer of all time and scorer or the “Goal of the Century.” And now, it seems, a willing apologist for the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara. According to a number of news reports, as well as posts on Maradona’s official Facebook page and the Twitter account of former […]

#FOOTBALL_IS_A_COUNTRY #SPORTS_PAGE #colonialism #Morocco #Sahrawi_Republic

#Ruud_Gullit and the Struggle for South African Freedom
▻http://africasacountry.com/ruud-gullit-and-the-struggle-for-south-african-freedom

Ruud Gullit was more than a total footballer. It was not for no reason that the late #Nelson_Mandela praised him as ‘a source of tremendous inspiration for young people, not only in Holland or Europe, but throughout the world.’ More than a footballer, he was a musician (although not anywhere as accomplished in the latter field as he was the former). And more than a musician, he was a voice.

#Football_is_a_Country #AC_Milan #Apartheid #South_Africa #Suriname

#Lilian_Thuram’s Burden
▻http://africasacountry.com/lilian-thurams-burden

Lilian Thuram isn’t just any footballer; he’s emerged as the game’s moral conscience, not just in the French-speaking world, but more broadly. So much so that recently a packed hall at New York University came to listen to him talk about #racism in football … on a Friday night. Of course we went and got […]

#Football_is_a_Country #boycott #FIFA #Frederic_Kanoute #UEFA #Yaya_Toure

The story of #Chima_Okorie, the Nigerian architecture student who became the hero of Indian football
▻http://africasacountry.com/the-story-of-chima-okorie-the-nigerian-architecture-student-who-bec

He never played for the Super Eagles, but in India there’s only one Nigerian footballer everybody knows: Chima Okorie. Here are some excerpts from a new piece by #Kanishk_Tharoor (some readers may also know his brother #Ishaan_Tharoor) on football in India. He reflects on the lure of glitzy Champions League footballers to Indian […]

#Football_is_a_Country #SPORT #Lionel_Messi #Mohun_Bagan

Uefa accused of ignoring anti-Palestinian bias | Football | The Guardian
▻http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2013/may/28/uefa-accused-anti-palestinian-bias-israel

European football’s governing body, Uefa, has been accused of showing “total insensitivity” to the “blatant and entrenched discrimination” of Israel against Palestinian sportspeople.

A group led by Nobel peace prize laureate, former archbishop Desmond Tutu, and footballer Frédéric Kanouté have accused the body of “rewarding Israel’s cruel and lawless behaviour” against Palestinians by allowing Israel to host the European Under-21 Championship next month.

In a letter in today’s Guardian, they call on Uefa “to reverse the choice of Israel as a venue”.

Signatories of the letter include the actor Roger Lloyd Pack, film-maker Ken Loach, comic Alexei Sayle, Michael Mansfield QC and the Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn.