Sports

A year ago, North Korea's women successfully defended their U-17 World Cup title after defeating the Netherlands 3-0 in Morocco. It was the fourth time that the country has won the competition. Now the country's U-20 team enter the World Cup in Poland as defending champions, having won their third World Cup in 2024. North Korea's women have clearly cemented their status as the dominant force in women's youth football. But what is it that makes a state that, according to the United Nations, "does not have any parallel in the contemporary world," so good at youth football? "International sport is one of the few ways to demonstrate their sovereignty, existence and identity to the international community, so this type of big success, from their point of view, is an important occasion where ...

A year ago, North Korea's women successfully defended their U-17 World Cup title after defeating the Netherlands 3-0 in Morocco. It was the fourth time that the country has won the competition. Now the country's U-20 team enter the World Cup in Poland as defending champions, having won their third World Cup in 2024. North Korea's women have clearly cemented their status as the dominant force in women's youth football. But what is it that makes a state that, according to the United Nations, "does not have any parallel in the contemporary world," so good at youth football? "International sport is one of the few ways to demonstrate their sovereignty, existence and identity to the international community, so this type of big success, from their point of view, is an important occasion where ...

When the Austrian women's national ice hockey team took to the ice in the Women's European Cup of Nations in Slovakia in August, they did so without 11 of their top players. Captain Anna Meixner and the rest of her team were frustrated that the Austrian Ice Hockey Association (ÖEHV) still hadn't responded to a list of grievances outlined in a letter to the organization last March. Meixner stresses that the players only went public with their complaints as something of a last resort. Among the nine complaints on their list of demands were the standard of accommodation, having to change in unheated dressing rooms in the winter and not being paid per diems during training camps and international tournaments. They also said they had to make do with hand-me-down equipment from the men's team....