Asia

Record-Setting Tifo Presented In Unique Book Form

It’s storybook time with East Bengal FC. 

Supporters for East Bengal, which competes in India’s I-League, unveiled a unique, record-setting tifo before its home match with Real Kashmir on Wednesday at the Kalyani Stadium. The tifo featured a book of sorts, with six pages venerating the club’s accomplishments.

Founded 99 years ago, East Bengal has no shortage of history. The East Bengal tifo on Wednesday leaned into that. 

Yeah We Lost, But We Scored A Mighty Fine Bicycle At The Beach Soccer World Cup

The 2019 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup kicked off today in Luque, Paraguay, and we’re going to be all about it over the next 10 days. 

There’s nothing like it — the way you can make a little tee for your free kick before smashing it off a sand dune to leave the keeper wrong-footed; the sight of a goalie slowly juggling it up the beach with one knee while looking the supreme image of concentrated paranoia and anxiety; the civil engineering majors giving it hell; the sound of “What’s Luv?” by Fat Joe and Ashanti blaring out the speakers.

Mexico Advances To U-17 World Cup Quarters And Somehow Manages To Make U.S. Soccer Look Even Worse

While the U.S. was sent packing after the group stage following its worst-ever showing at a FIFA U-17 World Cup, Mexico is through to the quarterfinals following a 2-0 victory over Japan in Gama, Brazil, on Wednesday. If you were already a little disappointed with U.S. Soccer following the dismal showing, you’ll be pleased to know that Mexico’s success is even further damnation of our bumbling federation.

Think They’re Excited About Hosting The 2020 Olympics? Japan’s New Jerseys Are Incredible

For a country that’s madly in love with the game, the football tournaments at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics will be sources of exorbitant amounts of pride and pressure for the host nation of Japan. 

The women’s team treated the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup as something of a trial by fire for a squad that featured 14 players aged 23 and under, including young midfield maestro Yui Hasegawa. That side advanced to the Round of 16 before losing to eventual finalist the Netherlands.

Debes mirar: El cortometraje 'Nefta Football Club' es divertidísimo y salvajemente entretenido

Si tienes 15 minutos libres durante el recorrido de hoy o la pausa para el almuerzo (sabes qué, es un lunes, sólo míralo en tu escritorio), deberías gastarlos viendo este cortometraje titulado "Nefta Football Club" de Yves Piat.

Tiene todo: comedia, suspenso, fútbol y un final brillante. La película se estrenó en 2018, pero acaba de salir en Vimeo. Hasta la fecha, ha obtenido cerca de 50 prestigiosos premios cinematográficos, incluyendo una medalla de plata en el Festival de Cortos de Manhattan y el premio a la mejor comedia en el Aspen Shortsfest.  

Incredible Display Of Sportsmanship Shows How Soccer Unites Cultures

The discussion from social media and various news sources over the past couple weeks has been high praise for a group of female soccer players from Jordan’s Shabab Al-Ordon Club. 

In the middle of a recent match, the Jordan club sportingly defended its opponent from the Amman Club and kicked the ball away when that player suddenly had stopped playing because her hijab was falling off. 

FIFA Cozies Up With China As Rest Of Sports World Backs Away

FIFA has once again chosen money over human rights. And FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s indifference is infuriating. 

China will host the revamped, 24-team Club World Cup in 2021, FIFA announced Thursday, once again eschewing human rights in favor of handing coveted hosting rights to authoritarian governments. 

South Korea Begins Long Wait For Match DVDs After First Trip To North Korea In 29 Years

It was historic, but amidst renewed tensions and the recent launching of some unidentified projectiles toward the Sea of Japan (as well as a forthcoming "Hog Apocalypse"), it wasn’t exactly euphoric. For the first time since a 1990 friendly, the men’s teams of North and South Korea faced off in Pyongyang. 

Iran Welcomes Women Into Stadium With Historic 14-0 Thrashing Of Cambodia

One section of Azadi Stadium in Tehran burst with colors, enthusiasm, joy and revelry.

The rest of the stadium echoed, empty and still.

The first men’s soccer match attended by women in Iran in nearly four decades was a stark reminder of where fans have come from and where they still have to go.

Iran smashed Cambodia 14-0 in a World Cup qualifier on Thursday, but the match was of little significance compared to what happened in the stands at Azadi Stadium. 

FIFA Joins NBA, Blizzard In Kowtowing To China Over Hong Kong

When the Hong Kong national team hosted Iran in a World Cup qualifier in September, fans of the home side showed support for Iranian women, who are still fighting for the right to attend soccer matches in their home country. Even amidst the region’s turmoil and unrest with massive protests staged against the Chinese government, the fans found room to empathize with their opponents. 

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