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Iranians feel conflicted about watching the World Cup amid protests at home

5:00am November 25, 2022

by Peter Kenyon

Iranians are watching their soccer team at the World Cup in nearby Qatar with mixed feelings about how to show support amid massive freedom protests at home.

Investigators enter the headquarters of major advertising company Dentsu in Tokyo Friday, Nov. 25, 2022 as the investigation into corruption related to the Tokyo Olympics widened. (Kyodo News via AP)

Japan investigators raid Dentsu in widening Olympic probe

1:50am November 25, 2022

by The Associated Press

Japanese prosecutors raided the headquarters of advertising company Dentsu as the investigation into corruption related to the Tokyo Olympics widened. Dentsu helped land the 2020 Games for Tokyo.

Signage for the FTX Arena, where the Miami Heat basketball team plays, is seen illuminated on Saturday. The rapid collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX into bankruptcy has driven arena owner Miami-Dade County to seek a break in its naming rights deal with FTX.

Miami-Dade County, stuck in a 19-year contract with FTX, seeks to rename its arena

7:50pm November 24, 2022

The county, which owns the arena where the Miami Heat play, wants a bankruptcy judge to let it end its $135 million contract with the failed cryptocurrency company so it can find a new sponsor.

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U.S. forward Tim Weah scores the team's only goal in its World Cup opener

6:20pm November 24, 2022

by Tom Goldman

In the U.S.'s opening World Cup game, forward Tim Weah scored the team's only goal. Now, the team prepares to play against England. But Weah may not even be the most famous person in his family.

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Fans watch from Copacabana Beach as Brazil plays its first World Cup game

4:25pm November 24, 2022

by Carrie Kahn

World Cup favorite Brazil is set to play its first game. NPR joins fans on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro.

Iranian soccer player Voria Ghafouri (right), then a member of the national soccer team, fights for the ball with Iraqi midfielder Hussein Ali during the AFC Asian Cup soccer match in Dubai in 2019. The semiofficial Fars and Tasnim news agencies reported on Thursday that Iran arrested Ghafouri for insulting the national soccer team and criticizing the government.

Iran arrests a soccer player for criticizing government and insulting the soccer team

1:55pm November 24, 2022

by The Associated Press

Voria Ghafouri, a prominent player who wasn't chosen to go to the World Cup, is an outspoken critic of Iran's authorities. Reports of his arrest came ahead of Friday's Iran-Wales World Cup match.

Fans arrive to the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil round of 16 match between Brazil and Chile at Estadio Mineirão in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, on June 28, 2014.

Why some Brazilians won't be wearing their national soccer colors for the World Cup

7:41am November 24, 2022

by Carrie Kahn

Brazilians who voted against President Jair Bolsonaro are torn about sporting the yellow soccer jersey after the far-right leader and his supporters adopted the shirt.

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Olivia Pichardo on making history on her Division I baseball team

4:55am November 24, 2022

NPR's A Martinez speaks to Olivia Pichardo, who is the first woman to make the roster for an NCAA Division 1 baseball team

For some, focus on World Cup host Qatar highlights Western double standards

4:47pm November 23, 2022

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with MSNBC Host Ayman Mohyeldin about what he calls double standards and western prejudice in coverage of Qatar hosting the World Cup.

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Five African teams qualified for the World Cup, but when will one win?

4:32pm November 23, 2022

by Mpho Lakaje

Five African teams qualified for the World Cup. They have the talent, but when will an African side win the gold trophy?