403 Forbidden

One of football’s greatest mysteries is why China and India haven’t performed on the World stage. Combined, these countries account for around 40% of the global population, yet they both struggle to make any sort of impact in the World’s most popular sport. But something is happening in India, and it could be the start of a footballing revolution. A...

If you play football for a local team, the chances are you’ll be playing more than once during the Christmas period. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with indulging in a few festive treats, but what you don’t want is to have your fitness levels and weight fall back. Being out of shape means you won’t be able to perform anywhere near...

The potential link between repeatedly heading footballs and brain injury has been discussed many times over the years. However, the BBC documentary Alan Shearer: Dementia, Football and Me seems to have taken the discussion to the next level. Following intense campaigning from key figures in both football and the medical profession, a study into the connection between heading and brain...

This Christmas there could be some disappointed Premier League football fans that were hoping to wake up to their team’s football kit as research from The Soccer Store shows the cost difference between replica football kits is huge. Fans keen to snap up a Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, or Chelsea kit can expect to pay over £100, while other diehard...

A number of County FA’s observed a Silent Sidelines weekend this month in an attempt to improve the behaviour of coaches and spectators at grassroots youth football matches. Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire’s FAs both held a “Respect Weekend” that involved strict guidelines on what coaches and spectators could do during matches — and by all accounts the initiative was a complete...

Switch on to Premier League football, and there’s a good chance that, sooner or later, you’ll see an example of unprofessional behaviour from the game’s big stars. Unfortunately, we’re now conditioned to accept this as part of the game, but this definitely shouldn’t be the case. The highest paid athletes in the UK are swearing, intimidating officials and opposition players...

The Hillsborough Disaster in 1989 tragically killed 96 Liverpool FC fans on a day that should have brought joy. One of the legacies of the catastrophe is the continued ban on standing in the upper echelons of English football. However, there are signs that the stance of the FA, the Football League and the police is softening. It’s important to...

Despite the latest technology making them more effective than ever, artificial pitches still have a major image problem in professional football. If you’re of a certain age, you will remember the awful pitches at Luton and QPR, which deliver unpredictable bounces and some serious leg burns. Today, however, 4G pitches are safe and very playable; and more importantly, they’re durable...

The growing chasm in quality between the Premier League’s top six and the rest of the league is causing a real problem for managers. How do you get a team of honest yet limited players to stop some of the most talented stars in the World cutting through your defence like butter? The only way the league’s second and third...

Football in China is still in its infancy, but it has already made waves around the World. Chinese multi-billionaires are funding a huge expansion in the game, bringing stars like Carlos Tevez and Oscar to the Chinese Super League. But while the high-profile transfers make the headlines, it is the work going on at the grassroots level that is most...