Human Interest

New Podcast Explores The Music That Inspires The World’s Top Footballers

What inspires the world’s best footballers? What do World Cup legends Carli Lloyd and Ivan Rakitić listen to before the biggest games of their lives? That’s what a new FIFA music podcast hopes to explore.

The FIFA PlayOn podcast, which launched Wednesday, delves into the relationship between musician and footballer. Hosted by former One Direction member Liam Payne, each episode features one world-class soccer player and a musical artist to discuss the soundtrack to their lives. 

To Stretch Or Not To Stretch Before Playing Soccer

Over the past 20 years, static muscle stretching has gotten a bad rap. Once considered an essential part of any sport or exercise warm-up, static stretching has now been removed from the picture almost entirely.

This move followed extensive research showing that static stretching — where we stretch and then hold the muscle at an extended length for seconds or minutes — can reduce muscle strength (reflected in things like lifting weights), power (for example, jump height), running speed, balance and other capacities for a short time after the stretching.

Father Tears Up Seeing His Son Who Was Diagnosed With Rare Disease As A Child Make Pro Debut

In its most basic form, soccer is a simple game of kicking a sphere into a designated rectangle. Despite the simplicity, this elementary sport possesses the capability to capture an infinite range of emotions and moments. This magic of the game is why we love it so much.

One of these heartwarming moments took place during Saturday’s FA Cup tie between Sheffield Wednesday and Exeter City.

What’s In A Name? The Giovanni In Gio Reyna

Names in and of themselves are not all that interesting. It’s the meaning behind a name, bestowed upon a child at birth, that makes it special. When Giovanni Alejandro Reyna was born in Sunderland, England, to a pair of U.S. soccer players in 2002, the future Borussia Dortmund star was given a name that proved prophetic for his footballing prowess. 

Premier League Says It's Confident Season Will Continue Despite Record High 40 Covid Cases

The Premier League is reassuring fans that the season will continue after its latest round of COVID-19 testing produced 40 positive cases among players and staff in the past week. This is the highest amount of Premier League COVID cases reported since the start of the pandemic, breaking the previous week’s record of 18 positive cases.

Despite 58 positive cases since Dec. 21, the EPL said in a statement that the season will go ahead as scheduled.

Alex Ferguson Says It’s His Duty To Raise Awareness On Dementia

Former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has said it is his personal duty and the game's responsibility to address the problem of dementia that has impacted several former players.

The issue of dementia in the professional game was sparked by the death of England's Nobby Stiles in October and there have been calls for the issue of head injuries in sport to be given further attention. Stiles and many of his 1966 World Cup winning teammates had been diagnosed with dementia before their deaths while United great Bobby Charlton also disclosed his diagnosis recently.

Orlando Pride Teammates Marta And Toni Pressley Announce Engagement

Six-time FIFA Women’s Player of the Year Marta and her Orlando Pride teammate Toni Pressley announced their engagement on Monday morning through Instagram.

Marta, who’s the all-time record goalscorer in FIFA Women’s World Cup history with 17 goals, posted a photo along with the caption, “This is another chapter of the story that we are writing together.”

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