The Archive

Neil Wills reports from Guatemala on the incident which led to massive loss of life among spectators gathered for a World Cup match

The headlines of the morning papers the next day said it all: National Tragedy; National Mourning. The reporters on the evening paper dug around and declared: Corruption Caused Tragedy. Close, but no cigar. The Mateo Flores stadium disaster, which claimed the lives of 82 Guatemalan football fans, was caused by corruption, but even more so by incompetence on such a grand scale as to leave one speechless.

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German politicians understand the importance of declaring an interest in football, though some are more sincere than others as Uli Hesse-Lichtenberger explains

Sometime in early May, Helmut Kohl walked into a cabinet meeting. As usual, he was the last to enter the room. Maybe this befits his position as party captain, maybe it is a superstition left over from his days as a footballer. ( He is said to have been a not entirely untalented midfielder when he was younger. And, presumably, slimmer). He looked like a man who had just heard the greatest joke of all time and yearns to share it with someone. He stopped dead in his tracks just as he was about to pass Seiters.

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Filippo Ricci looks at the connections between Italian politics and football

From Benito Mussolini, who even wanted the national team to play in black shirts, to Silvio Berlusconi, politics and football in Italy have walked together. Until the eighties Roma had just won one title, in 1941-42, the season since known as “Mussolini’s championship”. The Duce simply decided that the title must come to the capital and so it came.

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Premier League fixtures get unfixed. Football League matches get put off at short notice. Steve Parish wonders whether internationals are worth the chaos

Premier League clubs, with only 38 matches to play, get Saturdays off when there are international matches on, but down in the Nationwide First Division those weekends bring chaos.

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Conrad Thomas explains how incidents surrounding Portadown v Cliftonville led to questions about the nature of sectarinism within football in Northern Ireland

In September, Cliftonville were due to play their North Belfast rivals Crusaders in a cup semi-final. This was to be played at a neutral venue, The Oval, in predominantly Protestant East Belfast. The majority of Cliftonville fans are Catholic but we have happily travelled to The Oval on many occasions to watch our team play Glentoran. The route that we take to the ground is strictly decided upon by the police.

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