World Football

It’s Champions League romance as Kazakhstan’s Kairat Almaty face the mighty Real Madrid.

Kairat player Damir Kasabulat tells Mani Djazmi what it means just to be in the competition, the reaction when the players discovered that their first home game would be against Real Madrid, and who he might take to London when they play Arsenal.

Image: Geovany Quenda of Sporting CP with Damir Kassabulat and Luis Mata of FC Kairat Almaty in actio...

Not many football players will be like Christian Burgess. The English defender has a first-class honours degree in history and is making history on the pitch for Belgian champions Union Saint-Gilloise.

He’s captaining the side as they make their Champions League debut this season and Burgess tells World Football’s Mani Djazmi about his path from university to now Champions League football.

He shares his disbelief at making his debut ...

Every season teams across Europe compete for a place in the Uefa Champions League, but who are the clubs from Cyprus, Norway, Belgium and even a team north of the Arctic Circle making their debuts in Europe’s top-tier club competition?

Pafos FC of Cyprus, Norway's Bodo/Glimt, Kairat Almaty of Kazakhstan and Belgium’s Union Saint-Gilloise all advanced through the qualifying rounds to make history by reaching the competition’s league ...

The Fluminense goalkeeper, Fabio, is the new holder of the world record for the number of professional appearances. His former teammate at Cruzeiro, Fabiano, tells Mani Djazmi about Fabio’s dedication and describes him as an inspiration for any player who wants to keep going for as long as possible.

We also hear from Fluminense fan Bruno Stefano who was at Fabio’s historic 1,391st appearance.

Photo: Fabio of Fluminese during the FIFA...

The future of England and Crystal Palace forward Eberechi Eze has been one of the major talking points of the current transfer window.

It had been thought he would join Tottenham, with a deal agreed between the clubs until their biggest rivals in North London, Arsenal, also reached an agreement with Palace.

Eze started his youth career with Arsenal, and has been one of Palace’s key players and helped them to win the FA Cup last seaso...

Ahead of the start of the European leagues, John Bennett brings together our European football experts to preview the Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1.

Joining John is World Football’s Mani Djazmi, German writer and broadcaster Constantin Eckner, Italian football expert Daniele Verri, Ernest Macia from Radio Catalunya and L’Equipe’s Loic Tanzi.

The panel discuss the big clubs and key battles in Europe as well as the teams and...

The Marshall Islands’ claim to sporting fame, according to themselves, has been that they’re the last nation in the world to have a senior national football team.

They’ll take to the pitch for their very first 11v11 international match against US Virgin Islands at a tournament in Arkansas - where they'll also be playing against Turks and Caicos.

Head coach Lloyd Owers describes the feeling of history being made and tells World Footba...

Are Liverpool the team to beat again? Will Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea be their closest challengers? Where will Manchester United finish? Can the three promoted clubs stay up?

World Football’s John Bennett is joined by former Blackburn Rovers, Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur and USA goalkeeper Brad Friedel and former Everton, Fulham, Liverpool and England striker Natasha Dowie to preview the Premier League season.

They discus...

In this edition of World Football we’re chatting with one of the biggest names in Egyptian football, Mido.

As a striker he spent his career with some of the biggest clubs across Europe representing the likes of Ajax, Roma, Marseille and Tottenham while also winning over 50 caps for his country.

He’s now looking to unearth the next generation of Egyptian talent to follow in the footsteps of those who have gone before, and players like...

Maz Farookhi presents reaction from Rabat as Nigeria come back from 2-0 down to beat hosts Morocco 3-2 in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations final.

For Nigeria, it is a record extending 10th title, while Morocco have now lost the last two finals.

The Atlas Lionesses led 2-0 at the break in Rabat through Ghizlane Chebbak's fine curling effort and a scuffed shot from Sanaa Mssoudy.

But Esther Okoronkwo inspired the West Africans after th...

Maz Farookhi is joined by the voice of African Football Mark Gleeson to preview the final of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations between Nigeria and Morocco.

Four-time Wafcon winner Osinachi Ohale tells Maz about how she is helping the younger members of the Nigeria squad to prepare for the big occasion.

Moroccan sports journalist Kaoutar Alaidi explains the anticipation in the country ahead of the host’s ambition to win the competiti...

Bahiya Lahmidy, the head of women’s football at ASFAR, Morocco’s most successful club, tells Maz Farookhi about the club’s rise to dominance and how she hopes a Morocco win at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations could help develop football for females further in the country.

Maz is also joined by BBC Sport Africa’s Rob Stevens on the legacy of this tournament and what needs to be done ahead as the country prepares to host a men’s and ...

The two finalists of this year's Women’s Africa Cup of Nations are now confirmed, but it wasn’t without drama for both Morocco and Nigeria.

BBC World Football’s Maz Farookhi is in Casablanca where she saw Nigeria beat defending champions South Africa 2-1 with a dramatic stoppage time winner. Maz dissects the match with sports journalists Firdose Moonda and Onyinyechi Obaroh.

Match winner Michelle Alozie shares the emotion of scoring ...

BBC World Football’s Maz Farookhi is joined by Ghanian sports journalist Veronica Commey to discuss the Black Queens run to the semi-finals of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.

Ghana have reached the last four for the first time since 2016 and Commey believes their future is bright, even if the three-times runners up don’t go on to lift the trophy. She also believes they face a difficult atmosphere against hosts Morocco but is conf...

The dust is still settling after two more dramatic quarter-finals went the distance on Saturday, and we now know our final four at this Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. It includes two of the tournament heavyweights: Nigeria face South Africa on Tuesday. The nine-time champions sailed through their quarter final with a 5-0 win over Zambia. Meanwhile, reigning champions South Africa failed to find a goal in the 90 minutes or in extra...

The semi-final line up is complete for the Women's Euros 2025. Italy will face defending champions England on Tuesday in Geneva while world champions Spain will come up against the eight time winners Germany on Wednesday in Zurich. Delyth Lloyd and Sophia Hartley are joined by experts to preview both fixtures – it’s the first time Italy have reached this stage since 1997, so are they the surprise team of the tournament? We hear fro...

Zambia take on Nigeria in the quarterfinals of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, looking to improve on their third placed finish in 2022.

Barbra Banda and Rachel Kundananji will be leading their attack, so how will Nigeria stop them? Standing in their way will be Nigeria goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie who’s been speaking to BBC World Football's Maz Farookhi.

Maz also speaks to Banda and is joined on the podcast by Zambian sports journ...

World Football's Maz Farookhi previews the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinals from Morocco with Nigeria journalist Biola Solace-Chukwu from Ladies March and Moroccan journalist Kaoutar Alaidi.

You’ll hear from Nigeria’s Rasheedat Ajibade about what it’s like to captain the Super Falcons players and what they have learned from the group stage as they face title rivals Zambia, plus Maz discusses the hopes of Morocco and South...