Occasionally, controversies arise that remind us of the link between sport and politics. It was once common for leading figures in the sporting world to declare that sport was, effectively, a politics-free zone. Sport was cast as the perpetual innocent party, liable to be corrupted by any connection with politics. However, it has become increasingly clear that these assertions are fundamentally wrong and there are numerous examples where sport and politics mix only too well. This free course examines how sport and politics exist, support and challenge one another through the contextual backdrop of the football World Cup.

England's three group games at the 2022 UEFA European Championships are a sell-out and Alex Twitchen looks at the how women's football in the UK can become even bigger.

A study in 2019 found female footballers had more than double the incidence rate of an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury compared to male football players. Nigel Wright looks at the reasons behind this.