I plead terrible memory and accept this may be more accurate

This is a particularly influential World Cup to sit out

The loss is not only historical but consequential. Nigeria will miss out on developmental funding with next year’s prize fund expected to rise from the previous tournament four years ago. In 2023 the Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, pledged to equal the men’s and women’s tournaments prize funds by 2027. The figure for the men’s World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico was $727m (roughly £539m). Recent news suggest Fifa will miss out on its target but it is nevertheless a blow for Nigeria not to be involved.

I gather the investigation for involuntary manslaughter is standard, but the questions about how treatment was administered are not

Spain's National Police opened an investigation into possible involuntary manslaughter, a standard procedure for a non-natural death. Investigators are expected to assess whether Andorra goalkeeper Jesus Owono's challenge went beyond the normal course of play.

The Reign have been much more successful as the Reign then they ever were as the Sounder Women, and the Sounders joining the ownership group hasn’t been the resounding success we hoped

The central issue is not whether a women’s team carries a larger club’s name. It is whether the organisation has enough money to keep paying its players and staff.

A parent club can supply facilities, expertise and funding. But problems elsewhere in the club can still affect the women’s team. A separate company can protect the women’s team from problems elsewhere. But still needs reliable income and owners willing to support it. Licensing can test financial information, it cannot supply the money needed to finish a season.

Until that question has a clear answer for each team, the name on the shirt says little about how secure it is.

We used to sing “We’re gonna scalp you, Stanfurd/We’re gonna scalp you blue/we’ll do it with the tomahawk we took from you” at Cal when they were still the Indians, to give you a sense of what that mascot was like (and it gets worse from there)

This outcome is a rather disappointing half-measure all the way around, especially for those who remembered the uproar over Stanford abandoning the nickname Indians in 1972. The students preferred the nickname "Robber Barons," in tribute to 19th-century rich guy Leland Stanford, after whom the school was named and who was indeed that thing. The adults in the room, devoid as adults typically are of a sense of humor, instead declared that they would listen to the people who donated the money and declared their sports teams to be first the Cardinals and then simply Cardinal. In the process, the mascot went from, well, you know, to a disturbing anthropomorphic tree with no discernible sense of rhythm that looks as if it had been stung by the inhabitants of a hundred beehives and ate children at team rallies.

For Sounders’ fans, RBW’s inclusion is particularly bittersweet

This group is a blend of experience and fresh options as Pochettino and his staff build a new defensive core. Reed Baker-Whiting is in line for his US debut after a steady season starting at left-back for MLS’s best team. A feature on the Guardian’s Next Generation list in 2022, the 21-year-old made a smooth transition to Nashville after a winter transfer from boyhood Seattle and is a steady defender who integrates swiftly into a system. He’ll deputize for Antonee Robinson, who has appeared in all but one of Fulham’s first nine games.

Let’s get that bronze, cats and kittens

For the Czechs, returning to their bronze-medal ways of 2022 and 2023 would be a huge success. For the past two years, Czechia has finished fourth at the World Championships. Bringing a medal back would be a great success for this team.

We’ve had other articles discussing this, but I always enjoy the Defector’s editorial voice

This is a rare example of nations and companies scrapping plans to make money because some suits have decided to act against humanity's best interests. Even the IIHF was stunned by the backlash, releasing a statement with the telling phrase, "the global impact of the decision made by the CAS Panel and the challenges it creates for all involved were significantly underestimated." The word "significantly" is risking a hernia for the work it is being asked to do here.

Someone get her a backpack because she’s carrying this team

The honour comes after the 25-year-old forward from Montreal won the Golden Boot with a league-leading 13 goals over 25 regular-season games.

This is the dumbest uniform-related brouhaha I’ve seen since the NWSL cleat debacle

The IIHF signed a contract with TRUE Hockey in 2025 to become the "exclusive supplier of team uniforms and apparel for all IIHF Member National Associations for all international events." In a Swiss court-ruling involving Hockey Canada and the IIHF on Sept. 16, the design of the generic IIHF-designed jerseys were shown in official court documents.

It’s a reasonable take, I swear! Most fedi platforms seem to have an English-speaking population that is ~50% Germans speaking English, ~25% the UK and the rest is a smattering of other English speakers. Lemmy, in my experience, is the odd one out with regards to US defaultism.

Fedi: look it's not that complicated, you just need to understand how decentralization can improve stability and openness by allowing users to...