FIFA World Cup

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on June 14 that it had documented cases where workers building venues for Russia's 2018 World Cup had been left unpaid, made to work in dangerously cold conditions, or suffered reprisals for raising concerns.

Six Arab nations cut diplomatic ties to Qatar early on June 5 morning, further deepening a rift among Gulf Arab nations over that country's support for Islamist groups and its relations with Iran.
     

Bulgaria's Dimitar Berbatov and Martin Petrov are the latest players to confirm their participation at the show which will celebrate the 50th birthday of Bulgarian football legend Hristo Stoichkov.

The show entitled "50 years number 8" (after Stoichkov's jersey number) will take place at Vasil Levski national stadium in Sofia on May 20.

 The Bulgarian men's national football team climbed five positions in the latest FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking released on Thursday.

At present, Bulgaria occupies the 70th place jointly with the team of South Africa, with both teams having 500 points.

The Bulgarian men's national football team dropped three positions in the latest FIFA/Coca-Cola World ranking released on Thursday.

At present, Bulgaria occupies 75th position with 494 points, being between the teams of South Africa and Zambia.

There is no change to the first eighteen positions in the ranking as only 43 matches have been played since the start of the year.

One of the greatest Brazilian players Romario confirmed his participation in the show celebrating the 50th anniversary of Bulgarian football legend Hristo Stoichkov this year.

The adjudicatory chamber of the Ethics Committee, chaired by German judge Hans Joachim Eckert, banned Joseph Blatter and Michel Platini from “all football-related activities (administrative, sports or any other) on a national and international level” for a period of eight years.

Three football players from Bulgaria's golden generation will join the show celebrating the 50th anniversary of Hristo Stoichkov next year.

The first Bulgarian players to confirm their participation in the show are Nasko Sirakov, Yordan Letchkov and Lyuboslav Penev.

Together with Stoichkov, they were part of one of the most successful football generations in Bulgarian history.

Pope Francis is known for his love of football, and of course, being an Argentinean, he has never kept it a secret of which team he supports. So what did he tell the young 19-year old Brazilian girl who approached him wearing a Brazilian t-shirt and they both burst into laughter. The question he posed to her was “Pele or Maradona”.

We are still one year away from it, but Brazil's heart is already beating faster.

The Brazilian generous heart leaps up when confronted with two of its passions: Welcoming people from all over the world and competing with enthusiasm and fair play in a superb sport performance.