Lost In Time Futbol

While cricket is by far the most popular sport in India, football is actually the most followed in some states like Goa, Kerala and West Bengal. The latter in particular is known for its passion for the game, and the city of Kolkata, the state's capital, is one of the main hubs of Indian football.  There's three main football clubs in Kolkata. Mohammedan SC, who represent the Muslim community of West Bengal, are the least successful of the three: the  Black Panthers  had a golden era in the 1930s and 1940s, but had a major downfall in the late 20th century and have only recently made a return to the top division, competing in the Indian Super League in 2024-25. The two other clubs, on the other hand, are total juggernauts of Indian football. While not necessarily being representative of the Hindu community in the region, the fact that Mohammedan has "claimed" the Muslim following has left the remaining fans split between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal.   A moment from a...

When on October 1st 2022 Arema FC fans were entering their home ground, Kanjuruhan Stadium, they never would have imagined how that evening would change their club, their lives and Indonesian football forever. The match was massive: the Super East Java Derby against Persebaya Surabaya is one of the fiercest rivalries in Indonesia. The distance between Arema's city Malang and Surabaya is just a two hour drive, so supremacy over the East Java province and bragging rights are at stake.  Indonesia has had extensive problems with football hooliganism in the past: 95 deaths have happened in football-related incidents between 2005 and 2018. For this reason, authorities banned Persebaya fans from travelling to Malang, closing the away end.   Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang, Indonesia [dreamstime.com] Concerned because of the buzz around the match, the police tried to move the game from the evening to the afternoon and to reduce the tickets available from 42,000 to 38,000, without success...

The club earned the attention of football fans all over the world with its unbelievable domestic results  FK Arkadag. From Getty Images Turkmenistan is a country in Central Asia that the western world knows very little of. It is home to 7 million people and declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1990 and has since then been ruled by yet another totalitarian regime, that of the Türkmenbaşy or "Head of the Turkmens", the President for Life Saparmurat Niyazov, who then died and left all power to his vice-president, who won a non-democratic election and now rules together with his own son. The country, often criticized for its poor record as far as human rights are concerned, owes its wealth to the massive amount of natural resources it sits on, in particular gas, and to be fair the money earned through this export was used (until 2019) to provide free electricity and water to all citizens, although a lot of it was invested in the construction of surreal cities ...