
THE HISTORY of rugby league in France is one of oppression and obfuscation. An entertaining, working-class sport pushed into the shadows by authority and, for a number of years, even banned altogether.
The effects of this ban and the intentional bundling of the sport into obscurity are still felt today.
As the Rugby [union] World Cup ploughs on in France, the host country’s premier rugby league team, Catalans Dragons, were last night involved in a final-day fight for Super League’s 2023 League Leaders’ Shield. The most prestigious league title in European rugby league.

As football grapples with overloaded calendars and commercial pressure, the Mariners’ triumph reminds us why the game’s soul lives far from the spotlight, writes JAMES NALTON

As the concept of league games being played overseas has come about once again, JAMES NALTON writes how a club is not a club without its links to location, community and fans

Vermont Green FC’s viral Bernie Sanders tifo was more than a joke. It was a sharp critique of US soccer’s top-heavy capitalism and a celebration of grassroots power, writes JAMES NALTON