Search - soccer

 
 
Japan Times
PARALYMPICS
Jun 6, 2021

Successful World Grand Prix a boost for blind soccer ahead of Paralympics

Tokyo hosted the IBSA-sanctioned event in a bubble environment, enacting strict protocols to ensure the safety for the participating teams amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 11, 2014

Pele, Maradona and Messi: soccer's holy trinity

With Lionel Messi's last performances, there should now be no doubt that he belongs in soccer's holy trinity with Pelu00e9 and Diego Maradona.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / HIT AND RUN
Apr 16, 2013

Taking cues from soccer could help baseball reach goal

Judging by popular opinion, many seem to think convincing MLB to commit to sending its top players to the Olympics is the key to getting the sport back into the program in the future, preferably in time for the 2020 Games.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 22, 2021

The antitrust case against Europe’s breakaway soccer league

The latest proposal hews more closely to the American model of sports where the same teams compete and see steady income and higher valuations as a consequence.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Jan 27, 2020

Soccer player Shiho Shimoyamada helps blaze trail for Japan's LGBT athletes

Soccer player Shiho Shimoyamada has been encouraged by the response she has received since she became Japan's first openly gay professional athlete in February last year.
SOCCER
Nov 3, 2015

Police raid German Soccer Association over payment to FIFA

Germany's DFB Soccer Association was raided by prosecutors and police on Tuesday morning in a probe into a €6.7 million payment ($7.4 million) to FIFA linked to the country's application to host the 2006 World Championship.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Jun 8, 2023

Soccer great Lionel Messi chooses Miami as next destination

'After winning the World Cup and not being able to go to Barca, it was time to go to the U.S. league to experience football in a different way and enjoy the day-to-day,' Messi said.
INAC Kobe's Megumi Takase (left) battles Hiroshima's Funa Yanase during a match in Hiroshima in 2022.
SOCCER
Oct 20, 2024

Struggling WE League seeks course correction as it aims close gap with world’s top leagues

The top women's soccer league in Japan has struggled to meet its ambitious targets. Officials hope a new vision can right the ship.
Since the Abu Dhabi takeover in 2008, Manchester City has gone from a middling team to winning six of the last seven Premier League titles, an unprecedented success in over 130 years of English soccer.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 21, 2024

Soccer needs to avoid a tyranny of the rich

A dispute between the Premier League and Manchester City has both sides claiming victory.
Al Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo in action with Al Ittihad's Abdulrahman in a Saudi Pro League match in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Friday
SOCCER
Dec 10, 2024

'Humanizing' Saudi soccer': Netflix show paves way for World Cup

The series depicts how the Saudi Pro League has been transformed by the arrival of global stars.
Former China coach Li Tie, seen during a World Cup qualifier in September 2021, was sentenced to 20 years in prison on corruption charges on Friday.
SOCCER
Dec 13, 2024

Former China men's soccer coach Li Tie sentenced to 20 years in jail for corruption

Anti-graft authorities in China took aim at the sports industry in 2022 and announced a string of convictions for former soccer administrators this week.
Players from Team China compete during the Arena of Valor final at the Asian Games in Hangzhou on Sept. 26, 2023
SOCCER
Jul 23, 2025

China's top soccer body to form esports team after World Cup flop

While China languishes at 94th in FIFA's world rankings, two places below tiny Luxembourg to the dismay of its vast fanbase, the country's esports sector is booming.
Former Japan manager Zico, second from right, prays at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima on Sunday.
SOCCER
Jul 28, 2025

Soccer great Zico pays tribute to atomic bomb victims in Hiroshima

Zico, 72, who also served as head coach of Japan's men's national soccer team, laid flowers at the cenotaph for the atomic bomb victims in Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park.
New Zealand's Football Ferns earned their first-ever Women's World Cup win in their Group A opener against Norway on July 20.
SOCCER / Women's World cup
Aug 9, 2023

Kiwi players hope World Cup leaves legacy in rugby-mad homeland

Half of the tournament's 32 teams were based in New Zealand, often sharing training facilities with local clubs.
Spain players celebrate with the trophy after winning the World Cup in Sydney on Sunday.
SOCCER / Women's World cup
Aug 22, 2023

Success of Women's World Cup can't hide financial gap with men

The 2023 World Cup buoyed hopes that the women's game can start to bridge the yawning financial gap.
Persepolis soccer team fans at Azadi stadium in Tehran in August 2022
SOCCER
Mar 12, 2024

Tehran soccer derby ignites passions in Iran

The Azadi stadium, home to both teams, is one of the largest in the world, and will see its seats packed for the game.
Ben Binyamin attends a training session for the Israel amputee soccer team in Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv, on March 28.
SOCCER
Apr 3, 2024

Oct. 7 survivor is now a star of Israel's amputee soccer team

Six months after the attack, Ben Binyamin is the rock at the heart of the defense for Israel's national amputee soccer team.
Malaysia's Faisal Halim runs with the ball during an Asian Cup match against Bahrain in Doha on Jan. 20.
SOCCER
May 10, 2024

Malaysian soccer star 'responding well' to surgery following acid attack

A top Malaysian soccer player who was attacked with acid is "responding well" after undergoing a three-hour skin graft procedure.
Al Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring a goal during an Asian Champions League contest in Riyadh on Sept. 30.
SOCCER
Oct 9, 2024

From boom to budgeting as reality bites for Saudi soccer

After a jaw-dropping 2023, Saudi transfer spending slumped from $957 million to $431 million in the latest window.
Japan goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita (front left) and defender Saki Kumagai (center) in action against the United States during the Paris 2024 Olympics on Aug. 3
SOCCER
Feb 18, 2025

Nielsen eyes mentality shift in first outing as Nadeshiko boss

Japan will make its fifth appearance in the SheBelieves Cup, and is pitted against Australia, Colombia and the host, the United States.
A WE League Cup championship match between Sanfrecce Hiroshima Regina and INAC Kobe takes place on Dec. 29 in Tokyo. A healthy increase in gross revenue has highlighted the WE League’s newfound growth potential.
SOCCER
Jun 24, 2025

WE League finally sowing seeds of growth under new stewardship

Yoshikazu Nonomura, who took the helm a year ago, oversaw improved attendance and financial numbers during his first season as chairman.
Lionel Messi has been a major draw for Inter Miami and MLS during his short time with the team.
SOCCER
Aug 11, 2023

Lionel Messi poised to take Major League Soccer to 'new level'

With the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner as the new face of its top league, soccer in the U.S. is heading for new heights.
Spanish midfielder Alexia Putellas (left) battles for the ball against English forward Lauren James during in the final of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Sydney on Sunday. Spain won the match 1-0.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 22, 2023

FIFA boss should read the pitch on women’s pay

More than 2 billion people are expected to have tuned in. About 2 million attended matches in person. Both records. The FIFA Women’s World Cup generated more than $570 million to break even.
Luis Rubiales, seen after the Women's World Cup final, stepped down as head of the Spanish soccer federation on Sunday.
SOCCER
Sep 11, 2023

Luis Rubiales steps down amid scandal over unsolicited kiss

Rubiales announced his resignation in a statement in which he said his position had become untenable.
Former President of the Royal Spanish Football Federation Luis Rubiales says he will use his right to appeal a three-year ban on all soccer-related activities.
SOCCER
Oct 31, 2023

Spain's ex-FA chief Rubiales gets three-year ban over kiss scandal

Rubiales said he will use his right to appeal, accusing FIFA of not giving him the chance to defend himself.
Palestine's coach Makram Daboub speaks to his players during a training camp in Abha on Dec. 29.
SOCCER
Jan 3, 2024

Gaza war overshadows soccer as Asian Cup looms for Palestine

The players have "a constant feeling of anxiety for their families," Makram Daboub, a former Tunisia coach and player, said by telephone.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight