Excavating American soccer fields, uncovering buried layers of sport
Martha Saavedra conducts a virtual excavation of youth soccer fields, showing that all sporting terrain leaves a legacy in sediment and memory.
Soccer as a second language
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Recent articles
- Football made in Nigeria | A short story by Uzor Maxim Uzoatu
- ‘Before funny things started’ | A World Cup monologue by Tapuwa Moore
- Taking a turn ‘in the woods,’ confronting the goalkeeper’s choice
- Koman Coulibaly, refereeing and the electronic scrum over ‘truth’
- Excavating American soccer fields, uncovering buried layers of sport
Video
Boys' sides from two Khayelitsha children's homes compete in 30mph winds and occasional horizontal rain on Cape Flats on 24 Jun 09. Match referee Shaun Daweti laments the swearing during the game, especially over two vigorously contested late goals. As a result, he awards neither side "fair-play points."
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- Bosnia | 'Joyful fandom' & the flares of Sarajevo (w/ podcast)
- A portrait with fluidity | Preserving Zidane's day of work on 'the green of the field'
- Dramatic figure | Roy Keane saga continues on the boards
- Villains, for a moment | New York Times' Fugee tale exposes soccer-challenged Southerners to public ire
- Africa | Showing Mugabe the red card proves a difficult trick
Press & publicity
"It's a global game, indeed. Thank you ... for an incredible resource of a website" (Hannah Sung, “Soccer Is a Global Game,” CBC Book Club, 14 Jun 10). More »
Anthology
David Goldblatt calls The Global Game: Writers on Soccer "the first truly global survey of writing" on world football. Buy from Amazon »
Podcasts
Our podcasts include conversations with authors Aleksandar Hemon, Gay Talese, Jennifer Doyle and Paulo Coelho. Go to archive »Site tools
Grassroots
- Football Unites, Racism Divides Sheffield, England, group provides a resource library and encourages participation in football from minorities and women.
- Global Voices Online Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society spotlights “bridge blogs,” sites that help explain unfamiliar cultures. Frequent posts on football.
- Play the Game “Home for the homeless questions in sport.” From Copenhagen, advocates for sports journalists and improvements in sports coverage.
- Soccer in the Streets Atlanta-based group emphasizes positive choices in bringing soccer to urban areas across the USA.
- Street Soccer Organizers of the Homeless World Cup.
- Street Soccer 945 The street soccer program of the Urban Ministry Center, Charlotte, North Carolina.
- streetfootballworld Based in Berlin, the organization acts as a clearinghouse for information on grassroots football worldwide.
Recent comments
- Rick on When Kanoute scored and Iraq exploded—a Spurs’ supporter’s prison diary
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- ALYCE on Books | For centuries, life has had its uppies and downies
- Nonso uzozie on Football made in Nigeria | A short story by Uzor Maxim Uzoatu
- Jim Harte on Morocco | Players on a masculine stage
Most e-mailed articles
- History | Were Paterson FC the first stateside association football club? - 6 emails
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- History | Remembering New Jersey’s immigrant soccer past - 5 emails
- Books | Born in ‘invisible town,’ Marta gains life in visible ink - 4 emails
- Iran | ‘As if one were under water’ - 4 emails
- South Africa | At the top of our thoughts, near the bottom of the world - 4 emails
- Remembering Eudy, KwaThema’s brightest, killed on its darkest night - 4 emails
- In places without a name, ‘Pelada’ films the football we never knew - 4 emails
- Taking a turn ‘in the woods,’ confronting the goalkeeper’s choice - 4 emails
- Historically black and proud | At Spelman, women’s soccer pushes beyond expectation - 3 emails
Themes
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