The weather in Boulder, Colorado, where The18 is headquartered, has been nothing short of miserable this week. Since a snowstorm blew in on Sunday, the temperature hasn’t gone above freezing, with windchills dipping below zero. Boulder has received 16 inches of snow since Sunday in an unusually cold end to October. (Thanks climate change!)
But soccer stops for no Old Man Winter.
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.
It’s not been the best week for Neymar. On Monday, the Brazilian missed out on the 30-player shortlist for the 2019 Ballon d’Or award. On Tuesday, he missed PSG’s 5-0 beatdown of Club Brugge due to a hamstring injury he picked up on international duty.
Colorado native Lindsey Horan recently shared her story about how she started her journey to achieve her dreams with The Players’ Tribune. Horan had her goals set from a young age, when she dreamed of being the best football player in the world. Her mindset remains the same today, except now she’s living out her dream.
After Sydney Leroux made her return for the Orlando Pride after giving birth to her second child, the Pride continue to prove they breed powerful and strong women.
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.
Longtime Chelsea and Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Čech has signed with ice hockey club Guildford Phoenix of the NIHL. Čech recently signed on for a developmental role in the Chelsea system, and he's since confirmed that the new goaltender gig does not interfere with his ongoing work at Cobham.
**PETR CECH SIGNS WITH THE PHOENIX**
The ex professional footballer will begin his ice hockey career this Sunday when he makes his debut for the Phoenix!
The England national team has collectively agreed it will leave any match if any player is subject to racial abuse from fans.
The Three Lions' next two matches will be in the Czech Republic and Bulgaria, where the team has previously suffered from abuse.
Manager Gareth Southgate called a meeting Monday night with all English players to discuss the possibility of another racial attack.
Players have sometime taken matters into their own hands and left the pitch in the midst of a match.
Alas, Bastian Schweinsteiger will not win a World Cup for the Chicago Fire.
That much was confirmed when the iconic German midfielder announced his retirement on Tuesday, calling to an end an 18-year professional career that included eight Bundesliga titles, a Champions League and the 2014 World Cup with Germany.
Without warning, the Iranian Football Federation made 3,500 tickets for Iran’s World Cup qualifier against Cambodia on Thursday available to women, essentially permitting women to attend a men’s soccer match for the first time in 40 years.
Through social media, women found out about the tickets anyway, and within minutes they were all gone, Reuters reported Friday.