footballlatest news & developments

DAVID SHAPIRO: The day English football lost its soul

The league’s great strength has always been trust. No longer

Celebrating change

The Striking Viking is no longer the mane man

Gambling tax slot machine. Rawpixel/Currency collage

UK and Child reunion

Best-selling author Lee Child has relocated to the UK from the US, citing tax reasons and a preference for England’s living costs over New York City’s multi-layered taxation.

Fifa’s fandangos

Fifa President Gianni Infantino faces a major challenge to his authority. With an endorsement from Trump, his re-election bid hangs in the balance.

Fifa vampire squid. Rawpixel/Currency

Fifa is the new vampire squid

Football’s greatest show has become Fifa’s greatest cash machine – and fans are happily buying in

US celebrations. Rawpixel/Currency

A summer of celebrations in America

A trip to the US, complete with a graduation, basketball and the World Cup, reminds David Shapiro that joy is best when shared

LONDON, ENGLAND – MAY 18: An Arsenal fan holds up a sign saying ‘ 22 years of waiting ends this season’ in reference to Arsenal possibly winning the Premier League ahead of the Premier League match between Arsenal and Burnley at Emirates Stadium on May 18, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)

Arsenal: a century of family devotion

The Shapiro family’s loyalty to the football club began in 1927, when a feature on the club lit a spark in a young Jewish Joburg immigrant

OHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA – JULY 11: Singer Shakira performs “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” with South African band Freshlyground during the Closing Cermony ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa Final match between Netherlands and Spain at Soccer City Stadium on July 11, 2010 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

Fifa, Sony, and the mystery of the missing ‘Waka Waka’ millions

Fifa and Sony still refuse to detail the distribution of the hit song’s royalties, nor to whom the money is going