Sports

Fifteen-year-olds from a DCXI soccer team practice together in Washington, D.C., in November. Club co-founder and coach Pierre Hedji says some of their team members pay and some don't. "If you can afford to pay the whole thing, pay the whole thing. That way we can afford to help the next kid that can't pay anything at all."

Arts
Sports

Club soccer puts the sport out of reach for many kids

5:07am December 08, 2022

by Elizabeth Blair

Playing competitive youth soccer can cost families a small fortune, excluding kids who might excel at the sport. There are efforts around the country to get more kids in the game.

Sports

Morocco's World Cup success energizes Arab fans

5:02am December 08, 2022

by Tom Goldman

Many soccer fans are catching their breath after a string of exciting World Cup matches. Especially Tuesday, when Morocco became the first Arab nation to make it to the World Cup quarterfinals.

Sports

'Dead money' in college football is at an all time high

4:42pm December 07, 2022

NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with Washington Post sportswriter Liz Clarke about the prevalence of "dead money" in college football as universities and boosters buyout coaches.

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Will Castillo, 42, looks to his U.S. Para Bobsled teammates before taking a trial run at the Para Bobsleigh World Cup at Mount Van Hoevenberg in Lake Placid, N.Y.

Sports

Bobsledding isn't a Paralympic sport. These athletes are racing to change that

5:00am December 07, 2022

by Quil Lawrence

Teams from a dozen counties are leaving blood on the ice in their quest to get bobsled and skeleton on the Paralympic roster.

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Portugal forward Gonçalo Ramos celebrates scoring his team's fifth goal, his hat-trick, during the Qatar 2022 World Cup round of 16 football match between Portugal and Switzerland on December 6, 2022.

Sports

Portugal dismantles Switzerland to reach the World Cup quarterfinals

4:42pm December 06, 2022

by Tom Goldman

Gonçalo Ramos scored three goals - the first hat trick of this World Cup - to power Portugal past Switzerland 6-1. Ramos was playing in place of star Cristiano Ronaldo who did not start the match.

Sports

HBCUs ponder a prime exit after football coach Deion Sanders leaves Jackson State

4:35pm December 06, 2022

NPR's Juana Summers talks with LA Times Sports Culture Critic Tyler Tynes about football coach Deion Sanders' consequential departure from Jackson State University to the University of Colorado.

Morocco's Achraf Hakimi scores the decisive penalty Tuesday past Spain's goalkeeper Unai Simon at the end a round of 16 World Cup soccer match at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar.

Sports

Morocco shocks Spain to become the first Arab team to reach the World Cup's final 8

4:00pm December 06, 2022

by The Associated Press

After a goal-less 90 minutes and extra time, Spanish players missed all three of their penalty kicks. No other team from outside Europe or South America made it this far in this year's tournament.

Boxer Legnis Cala, center, talks with fellow female boxers during a training session in Havana, Cuba, Monday, Dec. 5, 2022. Cuban officials announced on Monday that women boxers would be able to compete for the first time ever.

Sports

Boxing powerhouse Cuba lets women boxers compete

5:02am December 06, 2022

by The Associated Press

Cuban officials say women boxers will be able to compete officially after decades of restrictions, though they didn't yet confirm if that would be taken to a professional level like Cuban male boxers.

Sports

France's World Cup team is diverse, but the country has struggled with acceptance of immigrants

5:01am December 06, 2022

French writer, filmmaker and activist Rokhaya Diallo speaks with NPR's A Martinez about racism and integration in France as the country's multiracial soccer team competes in the World Cup.

Kyrie Irving is pictured during a game against the Chicago Bulls on Nov. 1 in New York City. Nike has terminated its contract with Irving.

Sports

Kyrie Irving's partnership with Nike is officially terminated

8:06pm December 05, 2022

by Matt Adams

Following an initial suspension a month ago, Nike has now terminated its contract with Irving over his antisemitic social media posts.