Cultured Football #117

Women's Football Challenges. Football Divided. WBA Lost. J League Climate Action. Keeping Memories. Cool Goalkeepers

Welcome to Cultured Football where the best football writing of the past seven days is carefully selected, just for you.

Women's World Cup: Sub-standard pitches and lack of medical checks blighted qualifying, says Fifpro

By Emma Smith for BBC Sport

There’s no doubting that the popularity of women’s football is growing fast and this summer’s World Cup should confirm that. Yet that doesn’t mean that all is good with the women’s game. A report issued by FIFPRO brings to light some truly damning facts; not only 29% of players weren’t paid to take part in qualification games, 66% had to take vacation leave (often unpaid) to do so!

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Fans too divided to stop PIF, Qatar, private equity from conquering football’s soul…

By Ian Watson for Football 365

There's no hiding it: we all enjoy winning. There is a growing group of football followers for whom winning is the only thing, regardless of how it is achieved. This does not mean backing a manager who adopts defensive tactics but desperately wishing to see their clubs taken over by anyone willing to pour as much money as it take in them. Regardless of who that is and whether they are spending that money to make people look away from questionable actions elsewhere.

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West Brom's faceless Chinese owners are ripping the heart and soul out of a proud club

By Ian Herbert for the Daily Mail

In the meantime, there are fans whose club were at the forefront of the last wave of state sponsored take-overs - those allowed and encouraged by the Chinese regime - who are now suffering from the drastic reversal of that policy. Clubs like West Bromwich Albion, whose owners are now using the club to borrow money rather than put it in, putting their continued existence at risk.

How Japan's top soccer league is striving to become a climate leader

By Dan Orlowitz for Japan Times

With extreme weather having an increasingly negative impact on Japanese football, the J League is stepping up to bring about climate change.

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Gianpaolo Imbriani is Keeping His Late Brother’s Legacy Alive Through Travel and Storytelling

By Wayne Girard for Urban Pitch

In February of 2013, Carmelo Imbriani - a journeyman midfielder who had played for Napoli and Genoa among others - passed away through luekemia. The death of a young, seemingly healthy individual always shocks even from far away but the impact can be devastating for those close to them. That is what happened to Carmelo’s brother Gianpaolo who decided that he had to travel the world to share the message with which Carmelo lived his life. A touching, inspiring interview.

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Something Else We Loved This Week

Growing up, whilst most kids idolised strikers I always looked at the other end of the pitch; I loved goalkeepers like Mechelen’s Michel Preud'homme, Ajax’s Stanely Menzo or the Soviet great Rinat Dasayev. So when Mundial announced that their latest issue was going to be goalkeeper focused, it was as if they were pitching it right at me! Featuring the 75 coolest of all-time including Lev Yashin, Fabien Barthez, Big Nev, Alisson Becker, Meadow Soprano, a cartoon rat, and more, this is 100 page of greatness.

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That Looks Cultured!

Aston Villa just launched their latest home kit and, although it looks nice (apart from the sponsor’s logo), it does not really come close to the classic kit with which they kicked off the 1990s. When I see this, I can’t help but think of Tony Daley running (very fast!) at defenders with the ball seemingly stuck at his feet!

That Looks Cultured! is a bi-weekly feature picking a great kit from football’s past. It is presented together with Football Finery, a fabulous new resource for football fans, especially those who love 80s, 90s and 00s football shirt culture. The newly launched company have big ambitions to establish themselves as a trusted source for 100% authentic football jerseys, along with football-inspired fashion, apparel & artwork. You can have a look at their store here.

Last Week’s Most Read: How Messi Could Transform MLS

By Athletic Interest // James Nalton for The Analyst

Don’t know if you heard but there was a little story recently about Leo Messi agreeing to move to the MLS. If you aren’t already completely bored by that piece of news, I’d suggest you read this quick read on the financial / business implications on MLS of the move and this deep dive on the impact he might have on his struggling new club, Inter Miami.