53 Items Tagged

Soccer

The Atlas Obscura Guide to the World’s Biggest Sporting Event

Explore the cities where this year’s players will leave it all out on the field, from Vancouver to Miami.

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Hamburg, Germany

Hamburger SV Fan Burial Ground

Europe’s first football club cemetery, where lifelong supporters remain close to their team even after death.

Muchachos

A hidden empanada shop run by the biggest Boca Juniors F.C Japanese fan.

Dublin, Ireland

Dalymount Park Murals

Outside an Irish football stadium are murals commemorating history and local heroes.

Kaiserslautern, Germany

Elf Freunde Kreisel

A team of concrete athletes stands in the middle of a traffic circle.

Bar Nilo

Locals pay their respects at a shrine to soccer player Diego Maradona—which claims to contain a real lock of his hair.

Ipswich, England

Bobby Robson Statue

A life-sized statue commemorating the former manager of Ipswich's football team.

Trogir, Croatia

Igralište Batarija

The local club's soccer field is practically surrounded by UNESCO-protected monuments.

Costumes and cheap beer are staples of most weird sports, says photographer Sol Neelman, but no one takes dressing up quite as seriously as contestants in one of his all-time favorite sports events: Kaiju Live Monster Wrestling (formally known as the Kaiju Big Battel) in Queens, New York.

space exploration

The Year in Weird and Wonderful Sports

From carriage racing to winter surfing to mashed potato wrestling, these competitions captured our imaginations in 2023.

Roxanne Hoorn December 21, 2023

Kvareli, Georgia

Kvareli Fortress Football Pitch

This medieval fortress is (or was till 2017) the home stadium of the football club FC Duruji Kvareli.

Singer-songwriter Noah Kahan is obsessed with London's Chelsea F.C. soccer team.

How Cheering for a Soccer Club Brought a Singer’s Family Closer

Chelsea fandom has had its highs and lows, but it can make moment that stay with you.

Noah Kahan July 21, 2023

London, England

Tottenham Hotspur Lamppost

A replica of the gaslit streetlamp under which three teenagers founded a football club.

Plymouth, England

Jack Leslie Statue

A statue of a pioneering Black footballer outside his former home stadium.

Bill Struth's Grave

Glasgow, Scotland

Bill Struth's Grave

The unconventional Scottish soccer coach required players to wear a collar, tie, and bowler hat for matches.

Can garlic help you win a soccer match?

5 Must-Read Football (or Soccer) Stories

Who needs the World Cup when we have so many con men, trendsetters, superstitions, and architectural rivalries?

April White December 6, 2022

Eriskay's unique football pitch.

19 Places Dedicated to World Cup and Football History

Discover the origins of the sport and event.

Jonathan Carey December 2, 2022

Haarlem, Netherlands

Frederikspark

The heart of Dutch football history.

AAMI Park

Melbourne, Australia

Melbourne Rectangular Stadium

Equipped with thousands of LED lights, this geodesic dome-shaped stadium is an engineering delight.