0 Have your say Ellie Roebuck does not strike you as an obvious candidate to be a potential football superstar. Friendly and polite, there is none of the cocky swagger that people often associate with young footballers. When posed with the standard questions about working hard and taking things one game at a time, she comes across simply as what she is – a 19-year-old with a microphone pointed at her, trying to remember her media training and say the right thing.Turn the conversation to her home county of Yorkshire, though, and she visibly animates, laughing and smiling as she remembers an unorthodox journey to the top of the game which started with a penalty from Phil Jagielka and has now brought about a starting spot at Manchester City and the prospect of an upcoming World Cup appearance.While she now brims with pride in a City shirt, as a youngster growing up in Killamarsh it was the red and white stripes of Sheffield United that she wore at the … [Read more...] about Weekend Interview: Sheffield United fan Ellie Roebuck aims to keep England in safe hands at World Cup
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Why the Women’s World Cup might be 2019’s biggest sporting event
Without cheating and looking at the calendar, what do you think will be the biggest sporting event of 2019? Those who haven’t had a look at the schedule for next year will be racking their brains in search of an answer, shorn of the obvious big-ticket events like last year’s Winter Olympics and the World Cup in Russia. Those who have cheated and taken a sneak peek at the year ahead might not be too much better off. For the coming year is an interesting 12 months of sport that might yet prove to be an inflexion point, and one that we should embrace. It is a damning indictment of too many structural issues to even list that a women-only sporting competition has never been the most talked-about event in a calendar year in the United Kingdom. But I have a theory that this year, quite possibly for the first time in Britain, it will be a major competition with no men taking part that will become the talking point of the sporting year. Join Independent Minds For … [Read more...] about Why the Women’s World Cup might be 2019’s biggest sporting event
Blasts, Royals, snow and the World Cup: A year in Leicester
Leicester has hit the headlines across the globe in 2018 with some major news stories on our doorstep. Chief among them was the tragic events of October 27, when five people including Leicester City's chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha lost their lives when the owner's helicopter crashed outside the King power Stadium. The huge explosion in Hinckley Road in February - and the subsequent murder convictions this month - sent shockwaves throughout the city. And the death of Bill Maynard saw a huge outpouring of grief and affection. But there was plenty to celebrate, including Royal visits, scores of new shops and restaurants opening, and of course, if you had forgotten, the days and days summer heatwave. Here reporter Tom Mack runs through a year in news. JANUARY As 2018 began, the New Year was not a great time for Leicester’s X Factor hero Sam Bailey, who was knocked out cold by the ladder to her loft . The singer was unable to perform in the De Montfort Hall panto after the … [Read more...] about Blasts, Royals, snow and the World Cup: A year in Leicester
A reputation battered, what has Qatar to gain from the 2022 World Cup?
This week in four years’ time will have such a distinctly odd feel that, right now, it’s a little hard to envisage. The first ever December World Cup final will be on our screens, and for the first time in history the biggest football match in the world will be played out in a giant neon bowl in the Middle East. It will be unique and historic, and although only time will tell its true legacy, there is every chance it will be infamous too. The 2022 World Cup has already become perhaps the most controversial sports mega-event since the 1936 Berlin Olympics in Nazi Germany. Ever since Qatar – a tiny gulf state with limited sporting infrastructure – beat England, the United States of America, Australia, Spain-Portugal, Netherlands-Belgium, South Korea and Japan to the right to host the tournament, the country has been hit by a deluge of negative press. It began with allegations that Qatar bribed Fifa officials for votes after suspicious payments worth … [Read more...] about A reputation battered, what has Qatar to gain from the 2022 World Cup?
Real Madrid v Kashima Antlers: 2018 Fifa Club World Cup preview
Real Madrid vs Kashima AntlersFifa Club World Cup semi-final Real Madrid are two games away from being crowned champions of the world once again as Los Blancos face Kashima Antlers in the semi-finals of the 2018 Fifa Club World Cup this afternoon. Real's third Champions League triumph in a row sealed them a spot in Fifa's prestigious club competition, and Santiago Solari's side will take on Japanese team Kashima Antlers, who won the AFC Champions League this year. The Spanish giants can make it a hat-trick of Club World Cup successes if they can navigate their next two games, ending the year in style after a chaotic start to their 2018-19 campaign. Follow all the latest news and build-up with Standard Sport's LIVE blog. Scroll down for predictions, betting tips and odds, TV channel and live stream information Live Updates New updates availableRefresh 2018-12-17T18:25:25.920Z Welcome to Standard Sport's LIVE coverage of Real Madrid vs Kashima Antlers!We will have all the latest … [Read more...] about Real Madrid v Kashima Antlers: 2018 Fifa Club World Cup preview