Football stories

Soccer player Lisa Wrightsman got sober and found her way back to the beautiful game

American Samoa, last in the Fifa rankings, had never won a game, but that all changed

Tiago Rech alone in the away stands became a viral image - how far would his loyalty go?

How Copa 71, the first women’s World Cup, took on football’s 'old men'

How Steph Shilton saved husband Peter from a 45-year addiction

How Rumaitha Al Busaidi became the first female football commentator in the Arab world

Claudio Tamburrini used bed sheets and a metal bolt to escape imprisonment and torture

Aged 22, Jay DeMerit moved to the UK to try to make it as a professional footballer

Briana Scurry knew she was destined to win Olympic gold then one game changed everything

How a Finnish composer’s muse would steal the show on the biggest night of his career

Paul Canoville was racially abused by fans but he paved the way for future black players

Moses Akatugba managed a football club in a Nigerian prison

Marta Vieira da Silva has been named Fifa Female World Player of the Year five times

Afghan footballer Nadia Nadim escaped violence at home. She now plays for Denmark

Wendell Lira says his life was saved after FIFA nominated him for the most beautiful goal

The Brazilian man who invented football's new magic white spray.

Kenyan Fatuma Abdulkadir Adan turned to football to bring peace to her community

Damian Rubino, the referee who gave out 36 red cards

The London footballer's career slumped, but on a virtual football game he became a legend

After a spell as a football hooligan, Gary Bell defied expectations