A Website Dedicated to the Study of Strength, Health, Fitness and Sport Across Centuries, Countries and Contests.
We all use phrases like “fair play” and “good sportsmanship” every day, but sports are not always that noble and fair. The world of sports is smeared with many affairs, but there are a few that certainly stand out as the biggest scandals in sports history. Maradona vs. Honest Football 1986 World Cup is one... Continue Reading →
Sports uniforms have come a long way since they first appeared. Originally, the idea was to have all the players in the same team dressed the same in order for their teammates to see them better and not mistake them for an opponent. However, very soon after they were introduced, sports uniforms started representing the... Continue Reading →
Sports uniforms have come a long way since they first appeared. Originally, the idea was to have all the players in the same team dressed the same in order for their teammates to see them better and not mistake them for an opponent. However, very soon after they were introduced, sports uniforms started representing the... Continue Reading →
Every athlete’s worst nightmare is not whether they’ll miss out on a trophy or whether they could have signed a more lucrative deal or played for another team. There is one thing they all dread more than anything and that’s an injury that could seriously affect their career. While every athlete experiences at least one... Continue Reading →
Part of the functional training fetish exhibited by members of the strength and conditioning community in the opening decade of the twenty-first century, the Bosu Ball was not too long ago, a ubiquitous piece of gym equipment. Nowadays found in the corner of the gym floor, if at all, the Bosu Ball, along with the... Continue Reading →
It’s often difficult to pinpoint seminal moments in sport. This is especially the case in football. Ask people when the first football match was played and the answers will range from the fifteenth-century to the recent 1800s. History teaches us to be weary of ‘first ever’ occasions in a sport with such a long past.... Continue Reading →
From 1960 to 2004 UEFA and their counterparts in South America were responsible for the Intercontinental Cup, an annual tournament that pitted the winners of the European Champion Clubs’ Cup against the winners of the Copa Libertadores. In part driven by lofty ideals of creating a closer footballing family, the first decade of the... Continue Reading →
"The masses of the people of Africa are crying for unity…" Kwame Nkrumah Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first president in the nation's post-colonial history was a controversial figure at the best of times. He proposed African unity but was at times an authoritarian leader. He lent a helping hand to those in need, but often... Continue Reading →
Is there a Jewish style of football? Once upon a time this question would have been answered definitively. Yes. In the early 1900s, Hakoah Vienna or Hakoah Wien were a dominant force in Austrian football who were staunchly proud of their Jewish roots. From 1909 to 1938, Wien rose up the ranks in Austrian football... Continue Reading →