The Archive | When Saturday Comes

A view from the inside

Scott Sloan on Zambia’s Africa Cup of Nations triumph from inside the country

As I lay in bed in downtown Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, a lonely vuvuzela pierced the night. It would only get worse. As each game progressed, the nightly noises would build to a crescendo: whistles, singing, dogs howling and horns honking. Lusaka was quiet before each game, but after the final whistle, the city would exhale as tensions lifted. Another game over and an even greater belief that anything is possible.

Sunday, April 1st, 2012 - The Archive

Nation’s grace

While the tournament was not an unqualified success, Zambia’s continental title win was poignant and triumphant in ways that could have never have been expected, writes Paul Giess

With so many of Africa’s major footballing nations not qualifying for this year’s Cup of Nations, the big story of the group stages was the unexpected success of co-hosts Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. Both qualified for the knockout rounds with a game to spare and both did it in dramatic style.

Sunday, April 1st, 2012 - The Archive

TV Times

Rupert Murdoch blew terrestrial channels out of the water to buy Premier League rights in 1992 but he could now face tougher competition, writes Gary Andrews

Two decades ago, Rupert Murdoch staked the success of his fledgling satellite TV business on paying £300 million for rights to the newly formed Premier League. Since then Sky has remained unchallenged in its dominance – and the sums of money are much larger – but there is a possibility they could be out-Skyed by companies looking to establish new technology in our living rooms.

Sunday, April 1st, 2012 - The Archive

Million euro drop

Nassos Stylianou on how football, like every other sector of Greek society, has been demaged by the financial, political and social crisis

After a chaotic summer for Greek football, the Super League filled its last two places seven games into the season. The delay was caused by an investigation in match-fixing, which resulted in Olympiakos Volou and Kavala being demoted to the fourth tier. The investigation, which concluded in June, lasted ten months and looked into 41 games from the 2009-10 season.

Thursday, March 1st, 2012 - The Archive

Critical masses

The ungrateful moaning directed at the game’s most successful managers only discredits the grumbling fans

“I very much support Arsenal. But to be honest, Wenger needs to coach another team now and Arsenal needs another coach.” So said Paul Kagame, president of Rwanda, after Arsenal’s third successive defeat, 2-1 at home to Manchester United in late January.

Thursday, March 1st, 2012 - The Archive