The UEFA Champions League, the pinnacle of club football, the best if the best battle it out every year to be crowned champions. In the past we have seen the likes of Messi and Ronaldo grace the competition; now we have Haaland and Mbappe. Top players, at the top of their games. If the European competition doesn’t take your fancy there’s always Asian, Africa, South American, and North American competitions to choose from. Little is said about the Oceanic variety of this competition. 

Young goalkeeper Elyh Harrison traded Old Trafford for League Two prior to the commencement of the season. After a 20-game spell at Chester FC, Shrewsbury enquired about the possibility of taking Harrison for the season upon their relegation from League One. This was accepted by United, and Harrison started the first nine games of the new season before being recalled in early January.

Harrison had a few tough performances early on, notably in defeats against Salford and Notts County, which led to manager Michael Appleton deciding it would be best if Harrison was “taken out of the firing line”. He was replaced by Will Brook, who, unfortunately for United’s young-stopper, impressed enough to regain the goalkeeper jersey right up until a televised FA Cup game against struggling Premier League side Wolves.

India, the world’s most populous country, has roughly over 1.4 billion people who call this Asian nation their home. With such a large population, it does come as a surprise that they are ranked as low as 141st in the FIFA world rankings. To put that into perspective, Curaçao, the smallest nation to ever qualify for the FIFA World Cup, has a population of just over 150,000, and they find themselves ranked 81st in the rankings (as of 01/02/2026).

Why does India find itself in this situation? Well, common knowledge is that cricket takes centre stage in popularity for the majority, but according to surveys, around 21% of people in India are football fans. This equates to roughly 305 million people. Why then does India perform so poorly when it comes to football? What are the factors behind the unfulfilled potential of this great nation?

The unlikely emergence coming out of Azerbaijan. Qarabag FK will be looking to further create history the deeper they progress through this years UEFA Champions League. Newcastle United await UEFA Champions League history-makers Qarabag FK from Azerbaijan. Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United are up next for Qarabag in the UEFA Champions League as both sides progressed to the knockout phase playoffs. A face-off with Chelsea or Barcelona in the round of 16 is up for grabs for both sides. A potential chance for Qarabag to stun Chelsea again in this competition having surprised the world with a 2-2 draw against the Blues on matchday four.

Famously, the lowest-ranked nation in the world, according to the FIFA world rankings. San Marino has long been adrift in last place, almost to the amusement of people around the world. But why are they cemented to the bottom? Are they showing signs of improvement? What of the domestic football league?

When thinking of Ghanaian football, more than likely, the thought of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa springs to mind, the excitement they bought, the joyous fans and unfortunately the agonising penalty miss by Asamoah Gyan in the quarter-final against Luis Suárez’ Uruguay. Since that fateful day the trend on the national team has been on a downward trajectory, they have managed to qualify for the next World Cup but not convincingly.

Somewhat surprisingly, Ghana deserves a lot of praise for bringing so much talent into the football sphere. Specifically, the Right To Dream Academy (RTD) in the Eastern Region of the nation. Why is this academy so important? Why are we talking about it? Unknown to many, the RTD is growing, and the players produced from their system is only growing larger, across Africa, Europe and Worldwide.

No, you're not misreading it, this is the story of Scottland in Zimbabwe, and how they are beginning to dominate African football.

Scottish football is used to some pretty wild stories. In recent years, we have seen St Johnstone win a cup double. Falkirk gaining back-to-back promotions to the Premiership, and the league is becoming increasingly competitive with every passing season. This all doesn’t quite compare to the completely bewildering events unfolding in Zimbabwe for the new champions, Scottland FC.

Residing quietly as part of the Caribbean Islands sits a small autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Historically being colonized by the Dutch in 1634 Curaçao became a major cog in the Dutch West India Trading Company and played a huge part in the transatlantic slave trade. Curaçao, thankfully, has managed to move with the times. Slavery was abolished in 1863 and eventually in 2010 Curaçao became the autonomous region within the Kingdom of the Netherlands where it remains today.

With the 2026 World Cup edging ever so closer every day, the full list of competitors is almost confirmed. The European play-offs are yet to be concluded, not only that but also the inter-confederation play-offs (ICPO) need to be resolved.

The ICPO are a unique path to qualifying for the World Cup with six teams from five continents competing for the two available places that will gain access to the golden ticket of World Cup qualification. As Europe have their own play-offs to decide their final competitors they are not involved in this mini knockout phase. Instead, nations from Asia, Africa, Oceania, South America and CONCACAF compete for their last shot of glory.

Famously we have the likes of Swansea, Cardiff, Wrexham and Newport County plying their trade in the English football league system even though they reside in Wales. These clubs applied and exceptions were made to allow them to compete in a different football league to their own. This has come with positive results with all four of these clubs being at the professional level in England.  

There are always those players who, when mentioned, strike fear into opponents. The likes of Roy Keane, a bruiser of a central midfield player who would leave it all on the pitch, and sometimes off it, to give his team the best chance of coming away with three points.

In a different vein, there are the likes of George Elokobi and Adebayo Akinfenwa. Both are extremely strong and use size as an advantage. Aggression, size, mentality and strong desires to win, all combined, can produce a somewhat ‘scary’ footballer. However, these are all traits and abilities used on the pitch. Who then is the most dangerous footballer off the pitch?

As football fans, we all choose a team and the majority keep this team close to their heart through thick and thin, and for many, through a lifetime. It’s the beauty of the sport. Internationally, there is the opportunity to support the nation of your birth, your ancestral nation or even the nation you reside in.

What if, though, your nation stepped away from the sport? To top this off, what if the people behind the scenes did not give an official reasoning for why the beloved game was pulled? Amidst all the controversy, a story emerges.

Brunei Darussalam, ask your friends, colleagues and acquaintances and see how many of them know anything about this tiny nation. Many probably couldn’t even point it out to you on a map or would even recognise the flag of the nation, so how is this oil-rich country with strong religious ties so unknown to many?