https://www.scmp.com/rss/327895/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com https://www.scmp.com/infographics/sport/football/article/3250175/lionel-messi-living-argentinian-football-icon-visual-explainer-scmp-graphics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/infographics/sport/football/article/3250175/lionel-messi-living-argentinian-football-icon-visual-explainer-scmp-graphics?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 01 Feb 2024 02:00:09 +0000 Tap here to launch this special feature https://www.scmp.com/infographics/sport/football/article/3208740/why-pele-was-so-great-brazilian-football-legends-goals-greatest-achievements-and-most-famous-moments?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/infographics/sport/football/article/3208740/why-pele-was-so-great-brazilian-football-legends-goals-greatest-achievements-and-most-famous-moments?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Feb 2023 03:00:09 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/infographics/hong-kong/article/3134214/visual-story-who-asias-football-king-lee-wai-tong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/infographics/hong-kong/article/3134214/visual-story-who-asias-football-king-lee-wai-tong?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 May 2021 07:00:07 +0000 There are various reasons a soccer team loses a match, but the color of its players’ hair is certainly a new one.  A women’s soccer team in China was banned by officials from taking the field because their players’ hair was “not black enough.”  The team from Fuzhou University was scheduled to play Jimei University in the south-eastern province of Fujian as part of a two-week tournament, but was told by officials beforehand it was in breach of the rules that ban jewelry, “strange hairstyles” and... https://www.scmp.com/sports/soccer-team-china-forfeited-match-because-hair-not-black-enough/article/3113336?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sports/soccer-team-china-forfeited-match-because-hair-not-black-enough/article/3113336?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Dec 2020 10:46:31 +0000 When Diego Maradona died on Wednesday, it was a moment of nostalgia for many soccer fans in China, who were reminded of childhood memories of watching the World Cup with their parents. Maradona is often mentioned as the greatest soccer player in the history of the sport. While he retired from professional-level soccer in 1997, millennials remember watching him as kids, when he played for the Argentinian national team in the 1980s and 1990s.  “When I was younger, most of my memories with my dad... https://www.scmp.com/sports/death-soccer-god-sparks-nostalgia-among-chinese-fans/article/3111649?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sports/death-soccer-god-sparks-nostalgia-among-chinese-fans/article/3111649?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Nov 2020 12:07:01 +0000 A German soccer club and one of the country’s star players are feeling the heat from China.  News emerged over the weekend that Bundesliga side Cologne lost a deal with a Chinese gambling sponsor. Meanwhile, state-controlled Chinese media are still blacklisting Arsenal star and former German international player Mesut Özil. According to Cologne newspaper Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, the loss for the postponed deal was about $1.66 million.  The club did not offer comment but confirmed that the sponsors... https://www.scmp.com/sports/mesut-ozil-and-fc-cologne-are-still-counting-cost-criticizing-china/article/3045840?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sports/mesut-ozil-and-fc-cologne-are-still-counting-cost-criticizing-china/article/3045840?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Jan 2020 12:11:39 +0000 German soccer club FC Cologne has pulled out of a $2 million deal to run a football academy in northeast China, as a member of the club council said they should not support “such a totalitarian and brutal dictatorship.” Cologne’s president, Werner Wolf, told the local paper Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger on Wednesday that the Bundesliga club had decided not to proceed with the project. Stefan Müller-Römer, a member of the club council, told the paper: “I understand that the Federal Republic of Germany... https://www.scmp.com/sports/german-soccer-club-fc-cologne-pulls-out-academy-deal-board-member-criticizes-dictatorship/article/3042926?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sports/german-soccer-club-fc-cologne-pulls-out-academy-deal-board-member-criticizes-dictatorship/article/3042926?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Dec 2019 10:45:37 +0000