The decision of Manchester United and Liverpool not to have an embroidered red poppy on their shirts has caused quite a fuss. United have said that the poppy will not show up on their shirts and with all the work and charity they already do for the armed forces, don't feel that joining other Premiership clubs in having a poppy on their shirt will add to the contribution.

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I do not normally comment on non-soccer related items on this blog. While I have mentioned good causes to support in the past, they have all been soccer related somehow. This is a little different, no soccer involved but something I am supporting.There is a group known as Soldier's Angels. They help the wounded who arrive in Germany and the States from Iraq and Afghanistan. Click to continue reading...

The Dona may be a joke among us, but to the children in Afghanistan, he is still La Mejor / via AP

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Some good food for thought as we start the week.
Tom Englelhart asks an important question this week in his excellent article "Is America Hooked On War?"
And lest you think this is a jab at either major party, you'll find that Engelhart finds this addiction started long before Bush and seems to have broad approval by both parties. Click to continue reading...

You might have noticed a new advert at the bottom of the page. It's for the Homeless World Cup which kicks off in a couple of weeks in Milan. 48 teams of homeless people from around the world will travel to Italy.Milan is the seventh tournament and the event has grown and grown since it sprang to life in Graz in 2003. Click to continue reading...

A group of soldiers deployed to Afghanistan are bringing smiles to the faces of local children by handing out soccer balls from the USSF Passback program in partnership with Eurosport. Click to continue reading...

Sunday September 28, 2008
Football: Axe to fall on five
By ERIC SAMUEL
PETALING JAYA: At least five players will be axed following the national football team's dismal outing in the playing tour of Slovakia recently.
Malaysia lost three matches and drew one in the tour.
National material: Kedah striker Mohd Khyril Muhymeen (right) has been picked by national coach B. Click to continue reading...

OPERATION: Andy's Gift is a project the Stewart family of the Triangle Area is organizing to provide children in Afghanistan with new soccer balls and equipment. This project started out of a simple request from USAF Captain Andrew Stewart who is serving his third tour in the Middle East. This mission was derived out of Andy's love of sports and the fact that he is a father to two young children. Click to continue reading...

The Merdeka Cup in Malaysia is an annual event which was won last year by the hosts who beat Myanmar 3-1 in the final.
This time around it is being played in October and will feature eight nations. According to the Star these are the confirmed participants:
Malaysia, Sierra Leone, Myanmar, Vietnam, Nepal, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Click to continue reading...

We have tragic news that we have been informed of today, that a proud Geordie and Newcastle United fan, Kenneth Rowe, was recently murdered with his sniffer dog, while serving in Afghanistan. Kenneth Rowe - with Sasha - on duty recently in Afghanistan Click to continue reading...

After a beautiful weekend away and a great visit with HollyCornblog and CharlieHopbrew, there's a lot to catch up on. I'm sure I'll be back in the swing in a couple of days ... but right now it's pretty slow-going. On the USWNT front, Lauren Cheney is replacing Abby on the roster, as the team [...]SHARETHIS. Click to continue reading...

Some of her classmates at Blair Academy here know that Kohestani, 19, is the captain of the Afghanistan national women's soccer team. Some are aware that she is Muslim. Most know her only as the striking young woman who is eager to stock her iPod with any kind of music they recommend.

Until recently, they had no idea of what Kohestani has already endured in her short life.

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Some of her classmates at Blair Academy here know that Kohestani, 19, is the captain of the Afghanistan national women???s soccer team. Some are aware that she is Muslim. Most know her only as the striking young woman who is eager to stock her iPod with any kind of music they recommend.

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Klinsmann to coach the Galaxy?
Beckham arrived, the Galaxy are still terrible, and people are getting frustrated.
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Bigoted chants from Newcastle fans towards Ahmed Mido, an Egyptian striker playing for Middlesborough:

"I just think this was ridiculous.

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In an effort to better relations between the US and Afghanistan, soldiers dropped loads of balls by helicopter over the Khost province. Unfortunately, some of the balls contained the Saudi Arabian flag which just happens to incorporate the Muslim declaration of faith: "There is no god but God, Muhammad is the messenger of God." Needless to say, Muslims weren't too pleased. Click to continue reading...

The United States military reportedly issued a statement regreting it had handed out soccer balls emblazoned with the name of Allah as part of a public relations exercise in Afghanistan. At least one of the balls - which were dropped by helicopter to children in Khost province in eastern Afghanistan - carried a small picture of the Saudi Arabian flag. Click to continue reading...

Sports Sciences Club of Lahore won Pakistan's 3rd National Women's Football Championship after beating Afghanistan 1-0 in the final at the Jinnah Stadium. Ace striker Ayesha Akram netted the winner in the 26th minute of the first half to help her team lift the coveted trophy. "The winners gave no chance whatsoever to all out attacks of Afghanistan in the second session and kept their slender lead Click to continue reading...

The Afghanistan national women's football team has completed its first ever international match abroad competing in a club tournament in Pakistan. The squad of 20 female players and two female coaches faced neighboring Pakistan in a friendly on Saturday. They were beaten 2-0. Although there are now 500 registered women players across Afghanistan, the game has had to develop in a cautious way Click to continue reading...

The 15 local teams participating in the Pakistan Women's Football Championship in Islamabad (16-24 August) are set to welcome the Afghanistan women's national team. "It will be historic because Afghan women competing in Pakistan will be great for the relationship of these two countries," Pakistan Football Federation spokesman Akbar Wahidi told AFP. "The team's involvement "will promote football Click to continue reading...

The Afghanistan women's national football squad of 20 players and two female coaches will travel to Pakistan this month for a friendly. "This is the first time that Afghan women football players will go abroad for a match," coach Abdul Saboor Walizada told Reuters. Since the Taliban were ousted in 2001, Afghanistan has witnessed unprecedented personal freedoms. Click to continue reading...