Sportshour

It's a month since four women raised allegations of physical and sexual abuse within the Afghanistan women's football team. They claim the abuse took place at the federation’s headquarters and at a training camp in Jordan.The head of Afghanistan football Keramuddin Keram, against whom specific allegations were made, has been suspended. He “vigorously rejects" what he calls "false accusations". Khalida Popal has been involved with the team as player, coach and administrator since she founded it 12 years ago - and started investigating allegations raised with her. Khalida tells Sportshour about the reaction to her speaking out and how that has encouraged more people to come forward.Elsewhere, this week Egypt was named as the new host of this year's Africa Cup of Nations, after the original host Cameroon was stripped of the title. The Confederation of African Football, cited delays in the progress of Cameroon's preparation for the tournament as the reason for the re-allocation, but AFCON will go ahead in June. E

College sport is a a billion dollar industry in America. Basketball and football attract huge television audiences and crowds in excess of 100,000 at games. It attracts the biggest names and very highest paid coaches in American sport.The players however do not earn a penny. They are 'student athletes' and although some of them will get their education paid for, is it time those players get a share of the massive revenue they generate? (Photo: Aerial view of the half-time show at the Rose Bowl Game 1984. Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

An interview with the mother of Philando Castile whose death at the hands of police prompted Colin Kaepernick to start his kneeling protest in the NFL. A celebration of Tour De France winner Gino Bartali and his humanitarian work during the Second World War. Plus we meet photography pioneer Hy Money who overcame prejudice to chart the history of Crystal Palace football club. (Photo: Picture of Time magazine showing Colin Kaepernick. Credit: Joel Hammer BBC)

The business of football: How Manchester United fell behind their rivals on and off the pitch The decision to sack Mourinho didn’t just affect performance on the pitch but off it as well. So how do you balance the two? Dr Rob Wilson from Sheffield Hallam University explains why the club needs to change its structure, which could mean the end of Ed Woodward. Whilst, sport psychologist Michael Gervais, who worked with the Seattle Seahawks gives Ole Gunnar Solskjaer some tips on how to motivate his players before his first game. The 14 year old golfer aiming to take on the world Kuang Yang started his obsession with golf thanks to a ‘teach yourself’ DVD bought from a supermarket. Aged just 14, the Chinese schoolboy has qualified for his first professional tournament, the Volvo China Open in May. Yang says he can’t wait to play the tournament in his home town but is more concerned with his schoolwork than his golf. Female Drivers, Formula E and changing Saudi Arabia Teenager Amna Al Qubaisi took part in the fi

Boxer Patricio Manuel reflects on his first professional win since transitioning.

After 62 years of recognising the best male footballer with the Ballon d’Or award, France Football honoured a female footballer for the first time this week. But the moment was over shadowed when the host Martin Solveig asked the inaugural winner Ada Hegerberg to twerk and overlooked her footballing achievements. We hear from Hegerberg and speak to Rebecca Smith, FIFA's former manager of Strategic Planning for Women's Football.HB Køge, a football team in Denmark’s second division, have become the first team in the country to appoint a female coach as part of a professional men’s team. We’ll hear from their sporting director Per Rud who’s appointed former Danish International Heidi Johansen as the club’s goalkeeping coach for next season.Former Wales Rugby Union International Richard Parks explains why he’s skiing across Antarctica alone. We’re in Gravesend where Parm Gill helped Guru Nanak FC, a team named after the town’s largest Sikh temple, set up a women’s football team that now has 75 people playing acro

Both Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury go into the fight unbeaten in their combined 67 professional bouts in a fight expected to be watched by millions across the US and the world. After a heated press conference, all the talk will be decided when the two men enter the ring in the early hours of Sunday morning. Could this fight really be the start of something special? How will Wilder fare in his biggest test to date while Fury’s comeback trail has been widely applauded by many, including Frank Bruno. We get an insight from the former world heavyweight boxing champion on Sunday’s showdown and how Bruno himself has struggled with mental health problems.At the age of 19, Vivian Stancil was told she had a rare condition called retinitis pigmentosa which leads to vision loss. By the age of 50, Vivian was told by doctors that she was going to die as her health worsened with her weight shooting up to 319 pounds. That is when she decided to take up swimming - which effectively saved her life. The 71 year old explained t

Davis Cup – Will the new changes signal the death of the event?Two-time winner Tomas Berdych believes so – It’s the world’s largest annual international team competition in sport. This weekend, The Davis Cup final is taking place in Lille between France and Croatia - it will be played for the final time in its current format in its 118 year history.So why is it changing? ITF president David Haggerty explains to Caroline Barker exactly why and how they aim to keep the Davis Cup the crown jewel of the ITF.Alena Grabowski is an Assistant Professor in INTEGRATIVE PHYSIOLOGY at the University of Colorado-Boulder. In 2008, her research helped counteract a study accepted by the International Association of Athletics’ Federations, the IAAF, which would’ve prevented Oscar Pistorius from stepping on the start line at the London Games in 2012. Ten years on, she continues to work to challenge the sport’s governing body and to establish a level playing field, as we’ve been finding out.The Formula 3 driver Sophia Florsch n

Sportshour comes from Ghana, where the Women's Africa Cup of Nations begins on Saturday, to celebrate women's sport on the world's second largest continent.Sarah Mulkerrins is joined by Freda Prempeh (Chairperson of the Local Organizing Committee of the Women's Africa Cup of Nations), former Ghana player Adjoa Bayor, Vice President of the Normalisation Committee to run Ghana football, Lucy Quist and Ghanaian sports journalist, Veronica Commey. We also speak to players at the Right to Dream African football academy - which provides Africa’s first and only girls’ residential football and education programme.And in this week's Sporting Witness, we hear how Kenyan Tegla Loroupe became a hero to women across Africa, when she became the first black African woman to win a major international marathon – with a surprise win in New York.Photo: L-R Adjoa Bayor, Veronica Commey, Sarah Mulkerrins, Lucy Quist & Freda Pempah (BBC World Service)

After the United States imposed arguably the ‘toughest ever’ sanctions on Iran, American-Iranian football coach Katayoun Khosrowyar says the US and Iran’s increasingly unstable relationship could harm the future of women’s football in the country. Katayoun describes the two as having a ‘love-hate relationship’, and admits it’s painful to see two countries so close to her heart in conflict.We hear from the 23-year-old Australian who is completing the Four Deserts Grand Slam. The series consists of the Sahara, the Gobi March, the Atacama Crossing and the Last Desert in Antarctica. Each desert race is 250 kilometres long and has to be completed within seven days. Jacqui Bell is three quarters of the way through and reveals how she’s been pushing herself to the limit.England footballer Molly Bartrip describes how a voice inside her head took control of her life and ‘played her like a puppet’ during her battle with anorexia as a teenager. Molly tells Katie Falkingham how she overcame the illness and reveals that b

A week ago, Leicester City owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha was one of five people killed when his helicopter crashed shortly after taking off from the King Power stadium. Nusara Suknamai, Kaveporn Punpare, pilot Eric Swaffer and his partner, Izabela Roza Lechowicz, also died in the crash.Vichai's funeral will take place in the Thailand capital, Bangkok, on Saturday, whilst Leicester will play Cardiff City in the Premier League. Both teams will wear black armbands and a minute's silence will be held before the match as a mark of respect. We hear about the impact Vichai's success with Leicester City had on football in Thailand and how the Leicester players will want to win to honour his memory.Gender equality in sport is a debate that won't go away. Just over a week ago, the route for next summer's Tour de France was revealed. It's considered the pinnacle of men's road cycling - but there is no equivalent race for female riders. This summer, Dutch cyclist Annemiek Van Vleuten won La Course, a mountainous ride wh

Softball is the third most popular collegiate sport in the United States, attracting thousands of fans to the ground as well as watching home on TV. But the professional league, the National Pro Fastpitch League is under financial pressure. Cheri Kempf is the league's commissioner and she says that more businesses should invest in the sport. Plus, Japanese broadcaster NHK has commissioned several Paralympic based anime TV shows featuring the country's most successful Para athletes. Double Paralympic Champion Wheelchair tennis player Shingo Kunieda has a cartoon based on him. The multiple Grand Slam winner says the cartoons are helping remove stigmas surrounding Para Athletes. The Invictus Games has been taking Australia by storm. We speak to Ann-Maree Jacobs, who along with her friend Pauline, have sewed and stitched quilts for the athletes and the Royal Family.

Floyd Landis on his cannabis company and cycling team, football history is made in Jamaica and Madagascar and the rise of teqball.

Fifty years after making what became known as the “black power salute” at the Mexico Olympics, Tommie Smith tells us about the power of the protest and the impact it had on his later life. He also reflects on the struggle Colin Kaepernick has had since taking a knee at NFL matches – and President Donald Trump’s criticism of the quarterback.A former Washington Redskins cheerleader discusses the sexual harassment she claims she experienced during her time working with the organisation.Ana Carrasco reflects on becoming the first woman to win a motorbike world title and we speak to the creators of Game of Zones – a Game of Thrones inspired animation on the National Basketball Association.Photo: Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Olympics (Getty Images)

Corine Remande is now blind in her right eye after being hit by a wayward golf ball struck by America’s Brooks Koepka during last weekend’s Ryder Cup. Remande says she could have died on the golf course and says she is taking legal action to improve safety for spectators. But how does Brooks Koepka feel? One golfer who knows is James Gordon – a Scotsman who, over 10 years ago, hit a wayward ball that caused another man to lose his eye. James tells Sportshour how the accident stopped him from playing golf for over half a year and how he couldn’t bring himself to speak to the man he had injured because he didn’t know what to say. James also believes golfers should take out insurance to protect them on the golf course. Nearly 10 years ago, American runner Denise Sauriol was hit by a car on her way to start a half marathon. Her body smashed into the windscreen, causing her to break five vertebrae in her back. Denise says the accident changed her life, leading to the birth of ‘Denise 2.0, and she’s set to run her

As the 42nd Ryder Cup takes place in Paris, Caroline Barker, alongside former PGA President Roger Warren and LPGA tour professional Olafia Kristinsdottir, explores whether the competition should follow its junior edition and have teams made up of men and women.When their team folded and their last chance to put themselves in the shop window for next season was taken away, professional cyclists Larry Warbasse and Conor Dunne packed up their bikes and headed out on an eight day tour of their own from their base in Nice. Former US Champion Larry and Irish Champion Conor take us through the emotions of their "No Go Tour".30 years ago the brand new Olympic 100 metres champion Ben Johnson was stripped of his gold medal at the Seoul Olympics for doping. We look at what's changed since the "the dirtiest race in history" and hear from Calvin Smith, one of only two men in the 1988 final that was never implicated in a drugs scandal or failed a test. We also hear from the founding president of the World Anti-Doping Agen

The controversy that's dominated the sporting world this week - the decision by the World Anti-Doping Agency to reinstate Russia's anti-doping agency which could see their country's athletes once again competing in international sport. The agency - known as Rusada - has been suspended since 2015 over alleged state backed doping after it was accused of covering up drug abuse, most notably during the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. The President of USA Cycling has said the world should get to know Ashton Lambie - Two years ago, he was a shop mechanic in Kansas and cycling on gravel - fast forward to September 2018 - the 27 year old has just set a new world record in the individual pursuit at the Pan American Championships by 3.25 seconds - a record that had stood since 2011. He'd already won a gold medal in the team pursuit a few days earlier. He's been telling Shari how his journey began on a bike.This time last year, Hurricane Maria was the strongest storm to hit Puerto Rico in 85 years, it left a trail of death

A new season and the most prominent player out of work is still making the headlines...Colin Kaepernick remains the most-talked about NFL player on the planet, despite having not thrown a football since New Year's Day 2017...The American football quarter-back controversially protested against racial injustice and police brutality, by first sitting and then kneeling during the US national anthem.But now he is back in the headlines, after Nike announced Kaepernick as one of the new faces of their campaign... which has resulted in critics burning Nike trainers and clothing in protest.This support will take Kaepernick and his cause to an even higher level in the public realm, and yet also makes it more unlikely for any team to sign him.Nike, who described him as one of the most inspirational athletes of his generation, wasted no time in implementing their campaign - airing it during the NFL opener on Thursday Night. We ask, what is Nike’s real agenda? Will Colin Kaepernick play again? And what’s next?Badou Jack’s

CRACKING DOWN ON FOOTBALL The civil unrest and government crackdowns in Nicaragua, which led to the cancellation of the CONCACAF Women's Under-17 Championship in the country is continuing to affect the sport in Nicaragua. In a country where almost 30 per cent of girls are pregnant before the age of 18, and around half never go to secondary school, Soccer Without borders helped to break certain norms in a male-dominated society. But that work has been severely curtailed.RED STAR RISING Red Star Belgrade were the last club to win football's European Cup when it was a knockout competition. But until this season, they'd not qualified for the Champions League. We explore the fall and rise again of Serbia's most famous football club, ahead of their first group stage match at home to Napoli on Tuesday. SKATEBOARDING TO SAFETY Skateboarding will make its Olympic debut in Tokyo in two years time. And with the support of one of South Africa's top competitors, Jean-Marc Johannes, the sport is helping keep Cape Town

A new season and the most prominent player out of work is still making the headlines...Colin Kaepernick remains the most-talked about NFL player on the planet, despite having not thrown a football since New Year's Day 2017... The American football quarter-back controversially protested against racial injustice and police brutality, by first sitting and then kneeling during the US national anthem. But now he is back in the headlines, after Nike announced Kaepernick as one of the new faces of their campaign... which has resulted in critics burning Nike trainers and clothing in protest. This support will take Kaepernick and his cause to an even higher level in the public realm, and yet also makes it more unlikely for any team to sign him.Nike, who described him as one of the most inspirational athletes of his generation, wasted no time in implementing their campaign - airing it during the NFL opener on Thursday Night. We ask, what is Nike’s real agenda? Will Colin Kaepernick play again? And what’s next? Badou Ja