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Monday, April 6, 2026
TopicFootball

Topic: Football

Iraq’s long road to FIFA World Cup qualification is a story of survival, defiance

Historically, football has been used as a lens through which political anger, identity, and resistance come into focus. From Mohun Bagan to Didier Drogba’s Ivory Coast, this claim can be easily cemented.

Meet Minerva FC—this Indian football club is winning junior championships around the world

Founder Ranjit Bajaj claimed that he's not got any support from the government. The club crowdfunded over Rs 45 lakh for their latest tournament in Spain.

Mo Salah changed Liverpool beyond football. Hate crimes dropped by 19% after he joined

In a city like Liverpool, Salah became something more than a footballer. 'Salah became so popular that most of the babies born in Merseyside were named after him.'

No refund for flop Messi Kolkata event yet. Fans ask, ‘Who is accountable?’

For many, the memory of seeing Messi — even from a distance — has already faded. What remains is a transaction unresolved, and a demand that platforms, organisers, and authorities stop passing the buck.

English Premier League teams no longer dominate football’s rich list

Spain’s Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, as well as Germany’s Bayern Munich and France’s Paris Saint-Germain, now make up the top four.

Photos of the Week: Uttarakhand’s man-animal conflict, Army chief’s annual briefing, Netflix India @ 10

In PhotosOfTheWeek, we bring you pictures clicked by ThePrint’s photojournalists, video journalists and reporters this past week.

‘Goal Machine’ Anushka Kumari, 14, was taunted, stopped. Now she’s India’s rising football star

Anushka Kumari started out on an uneven village ground, playing barefoot with boys despite family resistance. Three years later, she is India’s U-17 ‘Goal Machine’.

‘I met Messi’ was the headline of the GOAT tour. Football and fans were ignored

Perhaps the clearest indicator of how shallow the tour was lies in how Luis Suárez and Rodrigo de Paul were treated. These aren’t random names.

Messi mania in Delhi: Fans pull all-nighters to see the GOAT, tight checks to avoid Kolkata-like fiasco

Fans of the Argentine legend like Alben, 24, who stood in 3 km-long queues, have called the Delhi crowd and the management 'much better' than Kolkata.

ThePrint photos of the week: Gujarat’s hybrid coconuts to a Messi chaos & a jumbo protest

New Delhi: This week in photos, ThePrint brings together images of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi paying tribute to security...

On Camera

US pilot rescue in Iran must be seen more than war cost. Nation protects its warriors

A live American pilot paraded on Iranian state television would have been an intelligence windfall and a propaganda coup of historic proportions.

What to expect from China’s new 5-year plan—trade innovation, tensions with partners

ASEAN is struggling against a flood of 'underpriced Chinese goods', while Brazil has imposed anti-dumping duties on Chinese steel.

UAE walks away from financing Rafale F5 due to restricted access to technology, reports French media

French newspaper La Tribune earlier last week indicated that UAE withdrew from deal to fund EUR 3.5 billion. India is looking to order 114 new Rafales, which could include the F5.

China insulated itself against energy shocks. India is ‘all talk, no walk’

China patiently invested capital, skill and technology in coal gasification. Unlike it, we won’t move from words to action. As crude prices decline, we lose interest.