The Archive

Going to your first football match isn't always memorable for the normal reasons, as Josh Widdicombe explains

With the exceptions of the third round of the FA Cup and the career of Stan Bowles, few things are over-romanticised by the average football fan more than their first visit to a live match. So, as a man easily won over by a nostalgic ideal, I have long bought into the received wisdom that to be a proper fan your first taste of professional football in the flesh must have been like some sort of religious conversion; rather than just sitting in a cold church hoping the monotonous service would soon be over. 

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There is a section of Italy that it using football as a way of campaigning for independence. Matthew Barker tells all

Last month’s European and local elections saw the Lega Nord increase its support base beyond the traditional heartland of the Veneto and Lombardy in the north-east of Italy, reaching as far down as Emilia Romagna and the northern edges of Tuscany. The Lega, seeking to break away from the national government in Rome and the Mezzogiorno south, forms a strong coalition with Silvio Berlusconi’s ruling People of Freedom party, and has been steadily winning over disgruntled voters with far-right policies based exclusively around twin obsessions of immigration and security.

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Bolivia's home ground in their capital city La Paz has always been controversial, says Keith Richards

If there was any consolation for Bolivians after their national side’s 1-0 defeat on June 6, the first ever on home soil by Venezuela, it was the unquestionable proof that altitude is not unbeatable. A team can come from near sea level and win in La Paz, the world’s highest international football venue, if it is sufficiently motivated and well enough trained – and enjoys the requisite stroke of good fortune. 

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Australia's bid to host the World Cup in 2022 has encountered unprecedented problems, says Mike Ticher

If logic counts for anything on FIFA’s executive committee, Australia will host the 2022 World Cup. It is the obvious candidate on FIFA’s past form, if not its explicit criteria. It has only one serious rival, a fact so far obscured in most of the coverage of its bid. If it does win, it will reinforce the genuinely global nature of the competition; if not, there may be only half a dozen countries outside Europe that can host it in future.

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With Newcastle being relegated and Arsenal fans unhappy at their defeats to Manchester Utd and Chelsea, the question is raised as to just how much is expected from the teams in the Premier League

In these turbulent times for their club, let’s spare a thought for the silent majority among Newcastle United fans. “Passion” has long been deemed to be a key attribute in English football, whether it’s shown by players, managers or supporters. For several years now, Newcastle followers, or at least a subsection of them, have been seen as the epitome of the committed fan whose life revolves around their club. Thus the arrival of Alan Shearer as manager was greeted on television and radio by blethering idiots hailing the return of the saviour. Many supporters questioned the wisdom of appointing a novice but their views couldn’t be summed up in a crass soundbite so we didn’t get to hear from them.

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