The Kick Project

First confession: I had a shower with Andy Gray when he was on the downside of his career with Wolves and I was having trials there - 1981 (Group showers, post-training, nothing odd and no, I didnt look). Second confession: I reckon sometimes I dont understand the offside rule either, or at least how it is applied (Tevez goal v Mexico at South Africa 2010, anyone?) However, a complete shocke r from both Gray and Keys. I reckon women should be playing in the EPL, not just running lines. The really interesting thing is that the transgression is not in holding such sexist views, but in being caught holding them. If both Keys and Gray had the same chat with with, say, the CEO of SkySports over a pint, they wouldnt have been coughed at, let alone fired. Still a long way to go....

FIFA vice-president Prince Ali bin Hussein, half-brother of Jordan's King Abdullah II, plans to introduce "new work ethics" in Asia, he told AFP in an interview on Thursday. "We want to introduce new work ethics, not ones based on coming from above, but through working hand in hand with the national associations," said Prince Ali, who on January 6 unseated South Korean Chung Mong-Joo as FIFA vice-president. "This is very crucial because sometimes when it comes to work and development and football, they will take a model, let's say a European model, and they want to implement it completely on the continent." The prince has become the youngest member of the FIFA executive committee at the age of 35 after rallying Arab support behind him. "We have different countries, different societies, different economic backgrounds," he said. "We have to build things on a case-to-a-case basis. We want to fulfill that," he added, calling...

A spotlight on institutional discrimination UEFA is involved in the organisation of a seminar in Amsterdam this week which will be examining the issue of institutional discrimination. The seminar on Tuesday and Wednesday is being co-hosted by European football's governing body; the Royal Netherlands Football Association (KNVB); the English Football Association (FA); and the Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) network, UEFA's long-standing partner in the campaign to eliminate racism, intolerance and discrimination from the game. The gathering in Amsterdam is a first in the specific area of institutional discrimination. UEFA and its partners are determined to identify, raise awareness of, and approach this issue, with experts and interested parties being brought together to look at possible solutions. Exclusion will be one item on the agenda, and delegates will be debating, for example, how to bring about greater involvement of ethnic minorities and women represen...

This piece from FC Business provides an insight into some of the racist sledging that passes for competitivness in some football cultures. Possibly an isolated incident - let's hope so - but also be interesting to see how it is dealt with.   "Mon 10th Jan 2011 | Legal Liverpool Football club are embroiled in a racism row said to involve the club’s academy players. It’s alleged that Liverpool’s young academy players subjected Crystal Palace players to a torrent of racial abuse when to clubs met for a FA Youth Cup fourth round tie at Anfield on Saturday. It’s understood that the Football Association will contact Palace today for a full account of what happened and to ascertain whether they intend to make an official complaint. According to the Guardian newspaper, the FA may also ask to speak to Dan Pringle, one of the players involved in a 3-1 defeat for Palace. Pringle expressed his dismay on his Twitter account after the match, saying: "Disappointed with result but ...

Really interesting spot on football wages in England particularly.   Showing my age, but I remember pre-EPL when players would set up businesses post-career to maintain an income. Trevor Brooking from memory had a sausage factory...I had trials with then first div clubs in England (Coventry and Wolves) and recall it wasnt the money I was interested in, it was the glory, and if could simply make a living doing something I loved, then life was good. It was the same for the other lads I was trialling with. Sounds like the "Good "Ol Days" I know but I think something is missing with all the money. One thing I have to mention is that for years Australian TV would have English football highlights on free-to-air TV, now its only on pay-TV, which means lots of kids miss out on the opportunity to watch top English football (still the best), as I was able to every week. Money talks alright but sometimes I reckon it talks rubbish. See this piece I wrote a few years ago for the...

This detailed article shows the dangers of using football for politics. Clearly, the Kremlin has dabbled too far into the beautiful game and now it has become a political soup in which us v them battles are waged and where the actual game is marginalised. Clearly, the incident that set off the latest riots in Moscow had nothing to do with football. What is shameful is that football becomes the rallying point for the violence and a means to emphasise ignorant views. It may seem this blog is obsessed with Russia, but its the site of the 2018 World Cup people.....is this really the best the football world can come up with?

Winners of the bid for the 2018 World Cup, Russia, have been given the equivalent on a stud-run down the shinbone as racist nutters in the capital rallied for the bad ol' days in the Red Empire (yeh, I know this is a little old, but I've been on a break...) Not for the first time, football has been used as a popular point of interest or front around which to send all manner of bigoted rubbish, particularly targetting non-white immigrants, students and visitors in Russia, into orbit. How will Russia face this dilemma? Will it allow it all to just simmer away and try and ignore it or will it come down hard, at the risk of alienating some of the government's own support base? They've got 8 years to sort out generations of racism.

A football tournament to encourage peace in this benighted land concluded with a (peaceful) bang in northern Somalia last week. I havent been able to get much detail on it, but this rather excited piece from a local news outlet gives a hint of the event. As noted, the games were co-sponsored by FIFA. Photo credit: BBC (nb: this shot is not from the tournament but is a nice pic of Somalis having a kick)