Human Interest

NWSLPA’s #NoMoreSideHustles Campaign Reveals Extreme Lengths Players Go To Be Pro Athletes

Cleaning toilets, mopping floors, 10-hour days packing Amazon boxes, working at least two side jobs, living with parents. These are the lengths many NWSL players have gone through just to be “professional” athletes. The NWSLPA hopes to ensure a living wage for all NWSL players with its new No More Side Hustles campaign launched this week.

Why Olympic Men’s Soccer Has An Age Limit

The reason you won’t see some of the best men's soccer players at the Olympics is sort of peculiar. In order to preserve the status of the World Cup as the greatest international event for men’s soccer, an Olympic soccer age limit was instituted for the men's tournament.

The men's Olympic soccer tournament only features players under 23 years old, with three exceptions for each country. 

Canadian Footballer Quinn’s Impassioned Response To Becoming First Openly Trans Olympian

OL Reign and Canada midfielder Quinn made history on Wednesday, becoming the first openly transgender athlete to compete in the Olympics. Their comments afterword highlighted both the pride of being the first and the disappointment of the realities trans women face in sports around the world. 

Lionel Messi Claims Most-Liked Instagram Crown Among Athletes

After winning his first major international trophy, Lionel Messi posted a picture with a wide smile holding the Copa América trophy and it quickly became the most-liked photo of an athlete on Instagram ever.

While it isn’t shocking to see so many people come to support one of the greatest footballers ever in his first international trophy at the age of 34, it intrigued me in wondering what other athletes can garner this amount of attention and love on social media. 

Here we take a look through the most-liked social media posts made by athletes from all around the world. 

100-Year-Old Argentine Abuelo Keeps Handwritten Notes On Every Messi Goal, All 700+ Of Them

BUENOS AIRES — Hernán Mastrángelo, a 100-year-old grandfather in Argentina, has gone viral after it emerged that for years he had been taking handwritten notes of almost every goal scored by local hero and Barcelona star Lionel Messi.

Mastrángelo, a chocolate maker by profession, made it his hobby to keep track of each of Messi's goals, an achievement his grandson Julián has announced on social media, catching people's imagination including the striker himself.

Meet The Greatest Athlete At The Olympics: 35-Year-Old Zambia Striker Racheal Nachula

At the age of 22, Racheal Nachula was representing Zambia at the 2008 Summer Olympics in the women’s 400 meters after winning bronze at the African Championships. She did her country proud in Beijing, qualifying for the semifinal round after running a hugely impressive 50.62.

Three Olympics and 13 years later, now age 35, Nachula is back, but in an entirely different discipline — soccer.

Clubs Get Serious About Tackling Football’s Silent Epidemic: Gaming Addiction

LEEDS, England - When you think of addiction, the first things that come to mind are gambling, alcohol and drug abuse.

Footballers down the ages have not been immune to falling into either of those vice's grips — some of the best players to have ever graced the pitch, George Best, Diego Maradona and Paul Gascoigne to name but a few.

But there is one addiction, previously seen as a harmless bit of fun, that is becoming a serious issue among professional footballers, of all levels — a compulsion to play computer games.

Marcos Llorente Just Raised The Bar For Marriage Proposals Into The Stratosphere

Atlético Madrid and Spanish star Marcos Llorente is going to be a married man. Llorente divised a master plan to pull off one of the greatest marriage proposals ever. I’ll be thinking of this Marcos Llorente marriage proposal for some time to come.

Germany's Olympic Team Abandons Friendly Match After Alleged Racist Abuse

The German men's Olympic soccer team left the pitch five minutes before the end of their warm-up game against Honduras in Wakayama, Japan on Saturday after defender Jordan Torunarigha was allegedly racially abused.

UK Police Arrest Four People Over Online Racist Abuse Of England Players

LONDON - Four people have been arrested over online racist abuse aimed at members of the England soccer team after Sunday's European Championship final, British police said on Thursday.

A specialist team is looking into the offensive comments, police said, after three Black players — Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka — were targeted with racist abuse on social media sites Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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