Iraqi soccer team to play first home match in 7 years, hosting Palestine

October 6th, 2009 French gay soccer team snubbed by Muslim teamPARIS — A French gay soccer team says its members were victims of homophobia when a team of Muslim players refused to play a match against them. The Paris Foot Gay team says Tuesday it received an e-mail from the Creteil Bebel club canceling a match scheduled for last Sunday.

September 30th, 2009 Iraqi soccer team to host Kuwaiti clubIRBIL, Iraq — A Kuwaiti soccer team will play in Iraq on Wednesday in the first sports competition between the countries since Saddam Hussein invaded his southern neighbor in 1990. The match between Irbil and Kuwait Sports Club in the second leg of the AFC Cup's quarterfinals will have extra security at the nearly 21,000-seat sold-out stadium in the Kurdish city of Irbil.

September 30th, 2009 Thousands mourn death of young French soccer fanBELGRADE, Serbia — Thousands of people are lining up in downtown Belgrade to mourn the death of a 28-year-old French soccer fan who was fatally beaten by Serbian hooligans. Serbia's capital is observing a day of mourning on Wednesday and Belgraders are waiting at a central city square to light candles and lay flowers for Brice Taton, who died in a Belgrade hospital on Tuesday.

September 28th, 2009 SAN SALVADOR - One soccer player died and another was injured when they were hit by lightning while playing a match in a town in eastern El Salvador, authorities said. David Zaldivar Tobar, 21, died when he was hit by the lightning bolt Sunday and another player, identified as David Saravia, was taken to the San Juan de Dios hospital in the city of San Miguel.

September 24th, 2009 Philadelphia plays first MLS game March 25NEW YORK — The Philadelphia Union will start their first Major League Soccer season at the Seattle Sounders on March 25 in the MLS opener. The New York Red Bulls will play their first league match at their new stadium two days later against the Chicago Fire.

August 26th, 2009 Brazilian soccer player threatened after gameSAO PAULO — The coach of a second-division soccer club in Brazil says armed men threatened players in the locker room after a loss. Four men carrying guns confronted the players following a 2-1 home loss to Vila Nova on Tuesday, Portuguesa coach Rene Simoes said.

August 24th, 2009 24NORTH PARGANAS - Clash after a soccer match killed one and injured 15 others at Rajarhat, 40 kilometres away from Kolkata. Reportedly the defeated team attacked the winners with guns.

July 25th, 2009 LONDON - American soccer bosses have fined David Beckham for his outburst at abusive fans during a friendly match between LA Galaxy and AC Milan. The Sun quoted MLS commissioner Don Garber, as saying: "Our players should never engage in conduct that can be interpreted as encouraging fans to come on to the field." But the 600-pounds punishment from Major League Soccer is equivalent to just 13 minutes' work for 25 million pounds-a-year, which Beckham earns.

July 21st, 2009 Man stabbed for coming home late from soccer matchKUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Police have detained a Malaysian woman who allegedly stabbed her husband in the chest for coming home late after watching a soccer match between Manchester United and Malaysia. The man had promised to come back immediately after the match in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday evening, but his wife was "very angry" when he returned after midnight, district police chief Abdul Jalil Hassan said Tuesday.

July 11th, 2009 Iraqi soccer team wins 1st home game in 7 yearsIRBIL, Iraq — Iraq played its first home soccer game since 2002, defeating Palestine 3-0 in a match that was as much about the nation's struggle for stability as it was about sports. A sellout crowd of about 25,000 attended the exhibition game at Fransou Hariri Stadium, many waving Iraq and Palestine flags and chanting "Iraq, Iraq." Some fans sat on the roofs of nearby buildings to catch a glimpse of the game in the capital of a Kurd-ruled region that was safer than many other parts of the country.

July 10th, 2009 Iraqi soccer team wins 1st home match in 7 yearsIRBIL, Iraq — Iraq has won its first home soccer game since 2002, defeating the Palestinian national team 3-0 in an exhibition. Hawar Mulla Mohammed scored in the 20th minute from a corner kick on Friday, and Ahmed Younis made it 2-0 with a header before Louai Salah completed the scoring with a hard shot in the second half.

July 8th, 2009 MALAPURAM - Onset of monsoons marks the commencement of exclusive football tournaments in Malbar region of Kerala. For the soccer crazy Keralites, these tournaments in which seven-a-side matches are played happen to be gala time.

June 25th, 2009 USA has beaten Spain by 2-0 goals in this Wednesday's semifinal of the Confederations Cup. Spain was a top ranked team, this win by the USA team has come as a pleasant surprise for soccer fans from US.

May 31st, 2009 RIO DE JANEIRO - Another unhappy Brazilian footballer, full-back Alex Silva, wants to return home from Germany. Silva is in Brazil recovering from an injury he received playing for German team Hamburg.

May 29th, 2009 English-only 'Britain' soccer team for OlympicsLONDON — A soccer team of only English players is set to represent Britain at the 2012 London Olympics. The four "home nations" — England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — sent a joint letter to world governing body FIFA on Friday saying they had agreed that an English team could represent Britain in both the men's and women's tournaments.