Games to be played behind closed doors amid heavy security, mostly in stadiums in Kyiv and the west, far from the front lines. Continue reading In an act of defiance, Ukrainian football restarts amid war
COVID affected every aspect of football – from how the game was watched, to how it was played, to its finances. But as a sport of comebacks, shock victories, and deep cultural and political reach, it also generated collective hope. Continue reading Football was hit hard by the pandemic, but it also provided hope
Footballers often face huge psychological pressures, but a macho culture has traditionally taught them to suppress difficult emotions. Continue reading Football’s mental health crisis: Silence broken but what’s next?
With so much political, social, and financial capital invested in its national squad, why can’t Turkey qualify for a World Cup? Continue reading Why can’t Turkey qualify for the World Cup?
Fenerbahce is widely considered Turkey’s wealthiest, most politically important club, with millions of fans and a history of success. But the team is beleaguered, on and off the field. Can a challenger unseat the club’s powerful president? Continue reading Election day for a beleaguered Turkish soccer power
Ikranur Sarigul is only one of many girls in the eastern Anatolian region whose life was transformed by joining a girl’s school team set up to keep them in education and out of an early marriage. Continue reading How football is saving the lives of Turkish girls in Malatya
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was once an athlete. Now, he uses sport for his own purposes—even as fans use it to express dissent. Continue reading Understanding authoritarianism through soccer
Firas al-Ali, a former player for Al Shorta and the Syrian national team, has lost friends, family members and his home in the violence that has engulfed Syria. Continue reading The Syrian football star caught up in revolution and forced into refuge
The Olympiakos owner’s influence in football, business and politics has soared in recent years. But now he is at odds with the government and his rivals scent blood. Continue reading Greek game in crisis and Nottingham Forest’s Marinakis is at the heart of it
Greece’s economic crises have created opportunities for an evolving breed of oligarchs to tighten the relationship between football, business and politics. The beautiful game is a vehicle to realise ambitions that reach far beyond the sport. Continue reading The new Greek oligarchs’ path to power: Soccer
There is often also a poetic intensity to the love expressed in Turkish football songs. Many are suffused with longing and infatuation. Continue reading Love songs of Turkish football
Writing by Patrick Keddie 