logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2021
34m 56s

Political Football

BBC News
About this episode

Another footballer tackles the government.

A tweet from Aston Villa footballer Tyrone Mings criticising the home secretary Priti Patel has turned attention to politicians’ responses to racism in sport. We speak to his club-mate and England Women veteran Anita Asante about the structural barriers faced by black sportspeople.

Meanwhile, US and Nato troops are finally withdrawing from Afghanistan after 20 years of war triggered by the 9/11 attacks. The BBC’s Chief International Correspondent, Lyse Doucet captures the mood in the capital Kabul and tells us what’s changed in that period, as well as where it feels like history is repeating itself.

Today's Newscast was made by Emma Close with Danny Wittenberg and Georgia Coan. Emma Crowe is the Studio Director. Sam Bonham is the Assistant Editor. Dino Sofos is the Editor.

Up next
Oct 8
Conservative Conference: Kemi Badenoch’s Career Saving Speech?
Today, Kemi Badenoch gave a speech at the Conservative party conference. Adam, Chris, and Henry Zeffman were listening and give their immediate reaction.She announced a flurry of new policies, including abolishing stamp duty and introducing a fiscal “golden rule”. Did she manage ... Show More
34m 30s
Oct 7
Conservative Conference: “It’s Tough Being A Tory”
Today, how much political danger are the Conservative party in?Adam and Chris are at Conservative party conference in Manchester where some comments from shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick have dominated the headlines. In a recording reportedly made during a dinner and publi ... Show More
38m 39s
Oct 6
Will Trump’s Gaza Peace Plan Work?
Today, negotiators from Israel and Hamas head to Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt to start indirect talks over an end to the Israel-Gaza war. It appears this is the closest both sides have come to a deal since the war began two years ago. But Donald Trump's 20-point peace plan - which Is ... Show More
37m 28s
Recommended Episodes
Jun 2024
Another Take: Will Spanish football tackle its racism problem?
Every Saturday, we revisit a story from the archives. This originally aired on May 26, 2023. None of the dates or references from that time have been changed. Three Valencia fans have been sentenced to eight months in prison after pleading guilty to racially insulting Real Madrid ... Show More
21m 42s
Jun 2024
Weekend Edition - The Sports Agents
This week on The Sports Agents, The extraordinary story of Khalida Popal - the first ever captain of the Afghanistan Women's National Football Team - hounded out of her country by those who believed women have no right to play and who orchestrated her team's daring escape from Af ... Show More
11m 53s
Feb 2023
The Killing of Tyre Nichols
After shocking video footage was released of the 29-year-old African-American being beaten to death by five black police officers in Memphis, we ask what might stop police brutality in the US. Sarah and her BBC colleague Chelsea Bailey share insights from their reporting trips to ... Show More
42m 16s
Nov 2022
What’s the cost of Qatar’s World Cup?
The Qatar World Cup, which began on Sunday 20 November, has been marred in controversy, from the country’s oppression of LGBT+ people and women to a last-minute decision to ban sales of beer inside stadiums. Thousands of migrant workers are believed to have died during constructi ... Show More
32m 34s
May 2023
Will Spanish football tackle its racism problem?
Vinicius Junior, a star footballer for Real Madrid, says Spain’s top league “now belongs to racists.” The Afro-Brazilian player’s declaration comes after a match in which opposing fans from Valencia were filmed chanting the racial epithet “monkey” at him after an altercation on t ... Show More
20m 37s
Dec 2022
Attacks on Palestinians are on the rise | The Listening Post
Israel’s incoming government, elected six weeks ago, is shaping up as the most extreme in the country’s history - waging war on media workers, then trying to cover up its crimes. But evidence of those crimes frequently ends up online thanks to citizen journalism and satellite ima ... Show More
24m 39s
Nov 2022
Immigration, migration and nationality in the World Cup
With days before the opening of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, players and teams are still changing countries. Some are even being questioned if the country they are playing for is the country they are from. What is the history of nationality in football and can it keep up with the ... Show More
20m 13s
Nov 2022
A history of US political violence
President Biden says there is no place for "political violence in America". His warning follows an attack on Paul Pelosi, the husband of US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, last week. Within hours of that attack a series of unsubstantiated claims began circulating o ... Show More
44m 40s