403 Forbidden

Disabled football has been short-changed compared to other “para” sports in recent years. While millions have been poured into Olympic sports, the beautiful game has been something of a poor relative — which is shocking given the huge amounts of cash in the game. While there are associations, charities and clubs promoting disability football in the UK, they’re relatively small...

Despite being far and away the UK’s most popular sport, football has an image problem in this country. Season ticket prices in the Premier League and Championship are making it impossible for ardent fans to see their team in action. TV money continues to flood in at an unprecedented rate, and the game’s biggest stars are richer than ever. But...

Lizzy Yarnold (GBR) The UK will never be a major power in the world of winter sports. With the exception of a very small area of the Scottish Highlands, we just don’t have the climate or the landscapes to excel. In addition, the most poverty-stricken, disadvantaged children in British society don’t aspire to be skiers — they aspire to...

The plight of grassroots football in the UK has now transcended the sport. This desperate situation is now common knowledge, yet we are still having exactly the same conversations — more than a decade after the issue first hit national headlines. While the problems facing the game at youth and amateur levels are never really far from the back pages...

If you’re old enough to remember English football in the early 1980s, you’ve probably witnessed overt racism aimed at black and Asian players. The likes of the late Cyrille Regis and Justin Fashanu were subjected to the most horrific abuse every Saturday afternoon — and little or nothing was ever done about it. Thank goodness that’s all a thing of...

The FA has finally started to take the issue of abuse at grassroots football matches seriously. New codes of conduct and various initiatives related to Respect have already been put in motion — but former Leicester City and Wales midfielder Robbie Savage has his own thoughts on the issue. Robbie may have played at some of the most famous football...

When Bolton Wanderers’ Fabrice Muamba collapsed during a televised Premier League football match, the issue of potentially fatal heart conditions among young footballers made the headlines. Muamba was one of the lucky ones, as medical teams from both Bolton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur managed to revive him on the pitch. More than 80 professional and semi-professional players have died while...

Grassroots referees in England have suffered a torrid time in recent years. Rising levels of verbal and physical abuse have led to thousands of FA referees leaving the game for good. And despite the relaunch of the Respect campaign, England’s match officials came perilously close to a nationwide strike last year. A major advertising campaign and a new, zero-tolerance approach...

The Football Association is at a crossroads in its illustrious history. Facing threats of forced modernisation by the government, the game’s governing body in England knows it needs to be more representative of the game it promotes. Finally, it seems that the constant threats from MPs are finally having a positive effect, as the FA has just announced plans to...

In this age of instant rewards and gratification, it is often too easy for youngsters to give up on their footballing dreams at the first sign of trouble. But had Mo Salah taken that attitude, he wouldn’t now be one of World football’s hottest properties. The prolific Liverpool forward’s rags to riches story is truly inspirational, and it should be...