There’s a Buddhist temple in Bangkok that has a golden statue of David Beckham himself built into its altar If you didn’t know it was there, you wouldn’t necessarily it because rather than being a free-standing sculpture like those of the Buddha, Beckham’s image is actually carved into the altar itself. Read more Watch video
Posts Tagged ‘soccer’
Season’s over, so back to school for Liberato Cacace
Thursday, April 26th, 2018
Now that the A-League Phoenix season has come to an end, it is time for Liberato Cacace to go back to school. With the start of the new term next week, the year-13 pupil will be back at St Patrick’s College in Wellington. At the back end of the season, following a series of consistent performances for Read more
Archbishop of Lima says Peru will beat the All Whites
Monday, November 13th, 2017
The Archbishop of Lima, Juan Luis Cipriani, is backing Peru to beat the All Whites in their second contest in Lima on Wednesday. In his programme ‘Dialogue of Faith’, broadcast on a cable TV channel, Cipriani said he does not think much of the All Whites. “Honestly, the other team is bad, you have to Read more
Why is FIFA so corrupt?
Tuesday, June 2nd, 2015
Ibn Khaldun offered a cogent explanation of why corruption thrives within close-knit societies. To everyone’s great shock and surprise, a number of FIFA officials have been arrested on corruption charges at the behest of US law enforcement agencies. Whatever the outcome of these investigations, it is no secret that FIFA is beset by corruption, which Read more
Soccer supremo says FIFA more influential than every religion
Tuesday, March 31st, 2015
FIFA president Sepp Blatter has boasted that his organisation is more influential than any country in the world and every religion. The boss of soccer’s governing body told Swiss paper Sonntags Zeitung that FIFA’s influence is because of “the positive emotions it releases”. He said his organisation reaches 1.6 billion people. “FIFA is more influential Read more
Pope Francis sends message to World Cup participants
Tuesday, June 17th, 2014Pope Francis has delivered a message to organisers, players and fans of the soccer World Cup, promoting the sport’s values. The Pontiff, who is a soccer fan himself, delivered the video message in Portuguese before the tournament started last week. He promoted the sport’s values of bringing people together, teamwork and opposing racism. The Pope Read more
Brazil’s bishops give red card to World Cup
Tuesday, June 10th, 2014Brazil’s Catholic bishops have given a red card to the organisers of the World Cup Soccer tournament in their nation. The bishops are critical that billions of dollars were spent on stadiums, but Brazil’s public services are still poor. In a red card-shaped brochure distributed in churches, the Brazilian bishops’ conference urged their government to Read more
Pope Francis meets soccer’s world-class stars
Friday, August 16th, 2013
Pope Francis met with Barcelona football star Lionel Messi and his teammates on the Argentine national soccer squad and Italy’s national team players at the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican early this week. The teams met Wednesday in Rome in a friendly match. The pope told the players to remember they are role models on Read more