“It is billed as FIFA’s new era of club football, a ‘prime club competition’ involving 32 clubs from around the world all descending on the United States from this month to try and win the Club World Cup. Clubs from six federations and 20 nations will be competing in the expanded competition from June 14 to July 13, starting with a group stage then three knockout stages until the final, which will be at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. The decision to expand it from seven clubs to a full-blown tournament a year before the 2026 World Cup in the U.S., Canada and Mexico has prompted criticism from the global players’ union, some national associations and some clubs due to the congested fixture calendar. Ticket pricing and the impact on the transfer window have been topics of debate too — players will possibly be changing clubs during the tournament — as has the way qualification was decided. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

Custom-made Diadora shin pads made for Roma’s Francesco Totti in 2006, which now appear thoroughly retro by modern standards
“… The International Football Association Board (IFAB) laws of the game state that shin pads must be worn by all players. There are no specific rules regarding size but Law 4 states that they ‘must be made of a suitable material and be of an appropriate size to provide reasonable protection, and be covered by the socks’. For years, many footballers have been playing fast and loose with their interpretation of the rules. The low socks and micro shin pads trend made cool by the likes of Manchester City’s Jack Grealish and Chelsea’s Lauren James has become vastly popular in recent years. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

“The #MeToo movement swept through Hollywood and fundamentally shifted the paradigm of accountability for powerful individuals accused of sexual misconduct. It ignited a global reckoning that sought repercussions for actions long shielded by status, money, and influence. The movement dampened the careers of comedians, actors, film and television producers, and executives accused of inappropriate sexual behavior and led to the criminal convictions for some high-profile figures such as Harvey Weinstein, R. Kelly, Danny Masterson, and Bill Cosby—though Cosby’s conviction was later overturned. It has also extended beyond Hollywood and seen a similar reckoning in the music industry, academia, medicine, finance, and even religious and political institutions. In the arena of sports, one of the most shocking and biggest sexual abuse scandals centered around Larry Nassar, who served as the team doctor for the United States women’s national gymnastics from 1996 to 2014. During his tenure, he exploited his position to sexually abuse hundreds of young athletes, many of whom became Olympians. …”
Africa Is a Country

“In the space of 48 hours, FIFA announced a $1billion (£785,000) broadcast deal with DAZN for next year’s Club World Cup and carried out the draw for the competition during a surreal affair in Miami that included a video message from the U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. Their agreement with DAZN means that all 63 matches next summer will be made free to air across the globe in an attempt to attract as many viewers to the first edition of the revamped Club World Cup, which will be held across 11 cities between June 14 and July 13.  The Athletic breaks down FIFA’s agreement with DAZN and what the $1billion deal means for the clubs participating next summer. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

“The Laws of the Game are the codified rules of association football. The laws mention the number of players a team should have, the game length, the size of the field and ball, the type and nature of fouls that referees may penalise, the offside law, and many other laws that define the sport. During a match, it is the task of the referee to interpret and enforce the Laws of the Game. There were various attempts to codify rules among the various types of football in the mid-19th century. The extant Laws date back to 1863 where a ruleset was formally adopted by the newly formed Football Association (FA) and written by its first secretary, Ebenezer Cobb Morley. Over time, the Laws have been amended, and since 1886 they have been maintained by the International Football Association Board (IFAB). The Laws are the only rules of association football FIFA permits its members to use. …”
Wikipedia
History of Association Football

“The penalty area or 18-yard box (also known less formally as the penalty box or simply box) is an area of an association football pitch. It is rectangular and extends 18 yd (16 m) to each side of the goal and 18 yd (16 m) in front of it. If any part of the ball is over any part of a line demarking the penalty area then the ball is considered to be inside the penalty area. Within the penalty area is the penalty spot, which is 12 yd (11 m) from the goal line, directly in line with the centre of the goal. A penalty arc (often informally called ‘the D’) adjoins the penalty area, and encloses the area within 10 yd (9.1 m) of the penalty spot. It does not form part of the penalty area and is only of relevance during the taking of a penalty kick, when any players inside the arc are adjudged to be encroaching. …”
Wikipedia

“What I remember the most about my visit to the ruins of the Pontiac Silverdome in 2016 is how the place sounded. The way the wind played with the tattered roof panels and whipped past the support cables of the dome, playing them like guitar strings. As I walked across the playing field, I’d occasionally hear bits and pieces of metal hardware falling from above and hitting the ground around me. It was a little unnerving. The stadium in the northern suburbs of Detroit, Michigan, had been disused for years by the time I arrived with my camera. A snowstorm in 2013 had torn the roof to shreds. A year later, much of the equipment was auctioned off, leaving the place an empty shell. At that point, the once-sterile, polished stadium had begun to fall back to nature: I remember gazing downwards at my feet and seeing tiny shoots of natural grass pushing their way up through the artificial turf. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

“… [Kyle] Campbell is a real estate lawyer in California these days. But back in 1991, he was playing in goal for the United States at the Under-17 World Championship in Italy, where he performed brilliantly and was named in FIFA’s team of the tournament. Campbell saved a penalty from Alessandro Del Piero in that opening game against the hosts, and Pele presented him with his man of the match award afterwards — a state-of-the-art twin-cassette JVC stereo. Yet the story that he dines out on is handling that first ever backpass. …”
The Athletic

“It’s mid-afternoon in Malta, the sun is shining, a cooling breeze wafts from the coast and nothing, in particular, is happening. At a hotel in the northern part of the mainland, the mood is calm and peaceful. Then a faint noise catches the ear. It’s a low hum at first, but as it grows, it sounds like singing, which is odd, as this particular hotel has been almost empty for the previous 24 hours. The singing gets louder and louder… and leerier. It comes into focus. It’s being carried over the waves. It’s unmistakable now. Yes, it’s the sound of drunk Englishmen. …”
The Athletic (Video)

A group of young Parisians playing foosball at a cafe in 1958.
Jan. 2013: “In the best tradition of skulduggery, claim and counterclaim, foosball (or table football), that simple game of bouncing little wooden soccer players back and forth on springy metal bars across something that looks like a mini pool table, has the roots of its conception mired in confusion. Some say that in a sort of spontaneous combustion of ideas, the game erupted in various parts of Europe simultaneously sometime during the 1880s or ’90s as a parlor game. Others say that it was the brainchild of Lucien Rosengart, a dabbler in the inventive and engineering arts who had various patents, including ones for railway parts, bicycle parts, the seat belt and a rocket that allowed artillery shells to be exploded while airborne. …”
Smithsonian