The fake national soccer teamIt’s an odd tale: a “fake” team from the tiny African nation of Togo pretended to be the national soccer team and competed overseas. But it’s the underlying issues of political instability and violence that reveal the most about soccer in Africa, says Brian Phillips.
Football
Hudson: The “real” Julia loves her footy
Julia Gillard’s announcement that the “real” Julia will emerge prompts certain questions. Has she been fake up until now? Just who is this real Julia? One thing we know we certain: the real Julia Gillard loves her footy, and she’s pretty good at sport analogies too, says Phillip Hudson.
Guy Rundle: Rundle’s World Cup: sun sets on Bafana Bafana, but the party’s just begun
South Africa’s first goal came when I was halfway between the Formule One motel and the town centre of Nelspruit — navigating through dusty warehouses and car parts showrooms, whole areas thrown up from prefab metal in the last decade or so.
PHOTO GALLERY: Watching the World Cup around the globe
Australia’s Socceroos may be embarrassing themselves at the World Cup, but at least we can enjoy football fever with this photo gallery of the efforts fans go to to support their team.
What is that damn noisy horn the South Africans are blowing?
Meet the Vuvuzela: a noise-making horn that South African fans are obsessed with blowing loudly at football games. But will it become the must have item for fans or the bane of the World Cup?
South Africa: not just racism and slums
Australia is out of the hosting race for the 2018 World Cup, but dreams aren’t yet over for South Africa, where the Cup kicks off tonight. Can the influx of foreign fans change people’s perceptions of poverty-stricken Africa?
World Cup: At the World Cup’s dawn, Australia’s own bid is in turmoil
Asian Football Confederation President Mohamed Bin Hammam has thrown his weight for a European nation to host the 2018 World Cup — at the expense of Australia, writes Matthew Hall.
World Cup: How to explain football to AFL fans
A very clever concept, a guide to understanding World Cup teams by comparing them to similar AFL teams. So Brazil is the Geelong Cats of the Cup and North Korea is more of a Richmond Tigers.
World Cup: 
Football, a game played by Grannies
While the world waits for the FIFA Worlds Cup to start, meet the Vakhegula Vakhegula (Grannies Grannies), a South African women’s side, ranging in age from 49 to 84, that plays for love of the game.
PHOTO GALLERY: Artists kick goals
Seventeen artists, predominantly South Africans, give their take on the FIFA World Cup, from a latex elephant grabbing a ball by the trunk to embroidered biblical scenes.
PHOTO GALLERY: Mildly offensive World Cup mascots
The Olympics isn’t the only sporting event with dodgy mascots, with the FIFA World Cup emerging trumps in creating mascots of national stereotype. Like Mexico in 1986, who had a sombrero wearing jalapeño.
How to fix a World Cup match
Soccer (or “football” to you purists) is rife with match fixing, and author Declan Hill has put his life at risk exposing it. He explains how the games are rigged and why the World Cup is a fertile field for bribery and buy-outs to flourish.
Putting the boot into Aussie soccer
Just a few years ago the Socceroos were the darlings of the Australian sporting world, now Australia’s bid for the 2022 World Cup is at risk, Frank Lowy’s FFA is in trouble and the likelihood of success in South Africa is slim.
Gangs of footballers
One Premier League soccer player is being forced to pay £15,000 every three months to a London gang in protection money. Is this what happens when footballers from poor suburbs suddenly hit the big time?
PHOTO GALLERY: Premier League stars draw self portraits
Professional footballers have drawn self portraits of themselves for a charity auction. The Independent asked a graphologist to analyse what they tell us about the players. Our guess: that they can’t draw.
Goal! The secret of the penalty shoot out
The best thing for a goal keeper to do during a penalty shoot out? Stand still in the middle and don’t dive. But everyone’s too scared to do it. Serkan Ozturk explores the psychology behind the penalty shoot out.
How an Australian World Cup could damage the AFL
If Australia wins its bid to host the World Cup in 2018 or 2022, it will come at a cost to the AFL, which will lose potential future stars to the rival code and space for new footy ovals, says Sam Wylie.
Crikey Says: SBS v Crikey: game on
SBS claims that Crikey is profiting from the term “the world game” by selling our tea towels, socks and other paraphernalia off the back of their brand. To which we say, get your hand off it SBS, we’ve got Kevin Rudd’s pets.
SBS v Crikey: SBS pursues legal action over “the world game”
The battle between SBS and your very own Crikey has progressed, but sadly is about to be aborted by Crikey agreeing to change the tag for that section of its site that has been (until today) aggregating coverage of soccer under the tag “the world game”.
Football codes bury hatchet to defend alcohol sponsorship
Football codes are uniting against a Health Task Force recommendation that would see advertising during live sport broadcasts phased out during high adolescent/child viewing times and the end of alcohol sponsorship of sport, writes Simon Chapman.
Political snippets: Footy fever spreads
It’s not surprising that football is front page news today, since it’s that week in September. But, it is surprising that they feature in the editorials in both the Hun and the Tele.
The pain of sports journalists: footy clichés or one word answers
It’s being described as ‘footy’s worst interview ever’: NRL Dragons player Darius Boyd speaks just 28 words in response to eight questions. Naomi Toy imagines Boyd’s future footy cliché filled answers.
Emaciated EPL stares down the Continent
The hooplah over tonight’s English Premier League kick-off comes after a summer of record transfers to Spain, writes Martin Pegan.
Ronaldo tops worst haircut voting in soccer history
Ronaldo’s 2002 World Cup hairdo is voted worst ever by soccer fans.
Just when it couldn’t get any worse for the Dockers…
Freo are win-less, anchored to the bottom of the AFL ladder and like to swan around as Klansmen. A fan laments.
