(Guest Post) The Politics of Sport: Divided Ireland - A Footballing Rivalry

By Sathesh Alagappan

For the first time this summer, both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland will be playing at the European Championships, making it a fitting time to explore the long-running rivalry between these not-so-friendly neighbours.

The Premier League Team of The Season 2015/16

By Shane Thomas

A slight change to how we do things this season. Rather than a singular choice, I'm selecting the best performers in each respective position, and sequentially ordering them in terms of how much they impressed me since August.

The Politics of Sport - When The Medals Don't Matter

By Shane Thomas

British cycling has arguably been the country's biggest sporting success story in this generation. A glut of medals, a seemingly uninterrupted conveyor belt of elite level riders, and even having a considerable influence on wider British society - in fact, one could argue that it's one of the nation's biggest success stories - sporting, or otherwise (I said as much back in 2013).

The Politics of Sport - Looking Beyond the Scoreboard

By Shane Thomas

If you haven't heard the news, English rugby union is back. After being ignominiously dumped out of a World Cup that they were hosting last autumn, they have since recovered to win their first Grand Slam for 13 years in the Six Nations, beating France a little over a week ago to establish themselves as Europe's premier rugby union nation again.

The Politics of Sport - The Superbowl. America's Crucible

By Shane Thomas

So, it turns out that I couldn't indulge in my yearly tradition of having no chill towards Peyton Manning for the final time. This won't be a breakdown of the Denver Broncos winning Super Bowl 50 - best to leave that to the likes of Bruce Arthur and Bill Barnwell - only to say, that we should be wary about reverting to the cliche of defense winning championships, as it's a lot easier for that good defense when the opposing offense is non-existent.

The Politics of Sport - Why I Affirm South Africa's Affirmative Action

By Shane Thomas

"Always going to be a question mark against any black player who plays for South Africa... Has he been picked for his race and colour, or is he any good... nobody's going to say, but everyone's thinking it."

This statement came from former England cricketer - turned pundit - Geoffrey Boycott in the aftermath of Temba Bavuma becoming the first black African to score a Test match century for South Africa.

The Top 10 PoC Moments of 2015

By Shane Thomas

The world of sport is a space where many great PoC stories can be found. Here's 10 of the best we saw in 2015: