Articles from When Saturday Comes. All 27 years of WSC are in the process of being added. This may take a while.
Henrik Manninen reports on how a side in Lapland have benefited from a long-established relationship with Zambia
In January 1994, two Zambian footballers touched down at the Arctic Circle for a trial with Finnish side RoPS. Returning home after two weeks in the snow and freezing conditions of Rovaniemi few expected this to be the start of a partnership that is stronger than ever today.
While goal-line technology is a popular concept in theory, Rob Freeman explores the issues it may bring into the game
It’s not often that UEFA makes changes in the Champions League that benefit football at all levels, but this season sees the use of extra officials behind the goal, as piloted in last season’s Europa League. This is in line with FIFA’s recent decision to ignore renewed calls for goal-line technology, and refusal to even consider the subject, despite incidents such as Frank Lampard’s World Cup “goal” against Germany. Such a decision has angered those in the media supportive of using technology, but have they thought it through?
A World Cup post-mortem full of recrimination, sulking, blame and self-doubt. Sound familiar? Mike Ticher reports
Picking over the World Cup carcass in Australia is still a fairly new experience, but after the excitement of competing in South Africa the questions remain wearyingly familiar. What are our realistic ambitions? How can we reconcile the interests of the national team with those of overseas-based players and a weak domestic league? What country should the coach come from? And how is Harry’s groin?
Negative press stories allowed some World Cup visitors to justify staying in a sanitised environment. But those who did so missed out on the complete experience of South Africa in 2010. Jonathan Wilson reports
Maybe what I did was stupid – certainly the South African woman sitting next to me on the plane home thought so – but, frankly, the air of paranoia was driving me insane. In most cities in the world walking ten minutes out of a football stadium to a bar would be a normal thing to do; not in Johannesburg.
Al Needham attempted to fulfil a long-term ambition again this summer. He didn't manage it but doesn't really mind
Doing the Sixty-Four – watching every single game in a World Cup, as they happen – has been a tantalising yet impossible dream, but, like a solar eclipse, all the celestial forces appeared to click into alignment for me in 2010. I was old enough to live away from my parents (so no dad saying: “Get this bleddy rammell off, Taggart’s on” – West Germany v Uruguay, 1986) and mature enough not to go on dates when games were on (England v West Germany, 1990 – yeah, I know). The hosts were in a decent time zone – so no missing games due to Sunday morning lie-ins (South Africa v Paraguay, 2002) or conking out on the settee at stupid o’clock (most of USA 94).