John Motson channelled the exhilaration of football, but commentary has moved on
For many fans the veteran commentator’s death has been the focal point for a wider sense of loss.
ByFootball
Dive into the world of football with our collection of columns from Jonathan Liew and Hunter Davies, as well as longer-read features from guest writers.
Stuck at home ill, thank goodness I have football’s follies to keep me entertained
Singing to mock a record signing, a mighty Wolves victory, and sympathy for Antonio Conte over the pain of gallstones.
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Football remains spectacular, but the trust between clubs and the public is broken
The game’s richest teams have disfigured the economic terrain of the sport – but a reckoning is on the horizon.
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The unstoppable rise of football’s nepo babies
Even the game’s players are becoming an oligarchy.
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The myth of England’s “fair play” fetish
In sport and politics, the English boast that they always play by the rules – but history tells a different…
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Can the Conservatives use football reform to rebuild Red Wall trust?
A new report underlines the sport’s importance in the north of England. For Rishi Sunak, club regulation could be an…
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Norway’s golden generation of athletes proves the value of sport as a public good
A unique commitment to making the “joy of sport” available to all is producing world-class talent in everything from golf…
By I missed one of the best World Cup finals ever, but now I know all about the crisis in the NHS
We asked if we could turn the match on in A&E and were told: “This is a hospital. Not a…
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The problem with sport’s endless “greatest of all time” debates
Fans’ fixation on the concept of greatness has become an absurd identity politics.
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Don’t deny that Pelé was the greatest footballer
The real problem for many is that the Brazilian played in an older, unfamiliar time, but his legacy will never…
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Qatar are the real winners of the World Cup
Despite the migrant deaths, the homophobic laws, the alleged corruption, in the end football trumped everything.
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How much does it cost to watch a game of football?
Is it cheaper to watch matches at home or the pub? The football cost-of-living crisis – in numbers.
By How I went viral at Spurs, why believing isn’t magic, and Jack Grealish’s calves go global
It feels weird having it in the desert, but the highlight of the season is still the World Cup.
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Gareth Southgate’s real legacy will be measured not in trophies but in happiness
This is one of the most united England squads in recent memory.
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Qatar proves that sportswashing works
Once we promised not to watch the World Cup, but now the excitement of football has silenced concerns over corruption,…
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Qatar 2022 is gaslighting LGBTQ+ people
Fifa pretends to show allyship, but uses us as a political football.
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The Qatar World Cup is a moral disaster – is it braver to step away, or step inside?
Nothing that happens on the pitch can possibly salvage the horrors that brought this tournament about.
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Leader: What the World Cup tells us about power
In sport, as in politics, principles do not count for much if we only observe them when the cost of…
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Iran’s brave act of defiance puts England to shame
The day before England faced Iran on the pitch, Ehsan Hajsafi told the media that Iranians should know “we are…
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Don’t kid yourself any good can come of the Qatar World Cup
My experience shows Qatari events cannot transcend their debased foundation.
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