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English Football Association chief executive Mark Bullingham says he has been told LGBTQ+ fans won't be arrested for holding hands or kissing in public at the World Cup in Qatar. The LGBTQ+ community had raised concerns over how safe they will be at the tournament in November-December as same-sex sexual activity is illegal in the Gulf state. Some English LGBTQ+ fans will reportedly stay away from the World Cup because they have not received adequate assurances. But Bullingham revealed on Wednesday that he has been told police in Qatar are briefed to be tolerant during the tournament. ...

A year-long investigation has found rampant abuse in the National Women's Soccer League. A new report details allegations of sexual, emotional and verbal abuse, along with claims that players' complaints were ignored in favor of keeping coaches and owners.

Becky Sauerbrunn, one of the stalwarts of the US women’s national soccer team, said Tuesday that players are angry and want immediate changes following an independent investigation that found systemic abuse and misconduct within women’s professional soccer in the United States. On Monday, the US Soccer Federation released a lengthy, scathing report it commissioned from former acting Attorney General Sally Yates that revealed the National Women’s Soccer League along with the soccer federation failed to provide a safe environment for NWSL players. Some of those players are members of the US national team, the defending World Cup champions. The national...

The US Women's National Team lost its second game in five days Tuesday evening. The reigning World Cup champs haven't lost back-to-back games since March 2017. The pair of losses in Europe come as the USWNT gears up to defend its World Cup crown next summer. The US Women's National Team is on a losing streak for the first time in more than five years. And the timing doesn't bode well for the Stars and Stripes. The reigning World Cup champions lost back-to-back games during their highly anticipated European trip to start October. On Friday, the USWNT lost a 2-1...

The United States men's national team's 26-man roster for the 2022 FIFA World Cup is officially out after coach Gregg Berhalter released the team in an event in New York. With Wales, England and Iran on the schedule, the pressure is on for the national team to erase the lows of the eight-year wait to return to the tournament and build off of the highs we've seen with domestic success over Mexico. ... Let's get to know the 26 players one by one that will board on the plane to Qatar for this month's tournament:

After the death of 22-year-old Iranian woman Mahsa "Zhina" Amini, on September 16, 2022, after Iran's morality police beat her because she was not wearing a head covering correctly, Iranian protestors took to the streets throughout the country. Footage showing thousands of protestors clashing with security forces have quickly made it to social media platforms under multiple hashtags. As the protests expanded and gained momentum, Arab intellectuals on social media expressed their disappointment in coverage of the protest by the Qatar-based and funded TV channel Al-Jazeera, which they accused of ignoring the protests, abandoning the protesters, and focusing on promoting...

England's World Cup squad will land in Qatar on a Gay Pride jet in a show of defiance over the host nation amid concerns over the treatment of LGBTQ+ people at the tournament.

England’s gay fan groups have been advised to stay away from the World Cup by locals in Qatar despite claims from FIFA and the organising committee that it will be safe for them to visit. The FA said this week they had received assurances that gay supporters who hold hands or wave a rainbow flag will not be prosecuted as the Qatari government will bring in legislation to permit previously outlawed behaviours for the duration of the tournament, but they are still seeking details about how the laws will be enforced in practice. Gay fans remain concerned however, particularly after...

An England fan is pursuing his childhood dream as he prepares to fly out for at least five games at the FIFA World Cup finals in Qatar. Paul Anthony, who lives in Dubai, has watched every Three Lions game since he was a boy but this will be his first trip to the game’s biggest stage. The airline worker inherited his passion for football from his dad, Gerry, who joined in celebrations when Sir Alf Ramsey’s side lifted the Jules Rimet trophy at Wembley in 1966. He is aware of negative headlines around the games but believes that the UAE...

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly triggered a barrage of criticism Wednesday for telling soccer fans to “be respectful” of Qatar’s anti-LGBTQ culture when the World Cup kicks off there next month. Cleverly, a member of the ruling Conservative party, said on LBC Radio that he has spoken to Qatari authorities about how gay fans will be treated. He said the Qatari authorities are aware “they are going to have to make some compromises” with regard to their “very different set of cultural norms.” “They want to make sure that football fans are safe, secure and enjoy themselves,” Cleverly said. ...

A naked man truck surfing atop a Ford Ranger as it traveled on a New Mexico highway fell off the vehicle and triggered a chain reaction crash that left a motorcyclist seriously injured, police report. As detailed in a probable cause statement, a passing motorist told cops that he spotted a naked man standing on the truck as it drove along State Road 522 in Taos last Friday night. The man, later identified as Alexander Werner, 27, fell off the truck “and was lying on the side of the road.” A motorcyclist traveling in the opposite direction “was slowing down...