Hello!
Things have been a bit quieter here lately because I am working on getting the first edition of The Good Football Trend Report out in the world and keeping this corner updated simultaneously turned out to be harder than I expected.
To maintain at least a bit of the pace around here, I put together this pocket-sized content for you. I have been wanting to experiment with a journal format, more laid back and personal, and thought this would be a good opportunity to try it out. I wanted this to be available for subscribers only, so it felt more like a close-circle conversation, but Substack doesn't offer this option for now. Maybe this could be a paid subscriber content idea in the future? 👀
As always, feedback is more than welcome, but especially for this one. Join the conversation in the comments below or reply to this email!
🇨🇮 The AFCON ended last week with Ivory Coast as the winner after quite a crazy campaign. Did you watch this video of Sébastien Haller being welcomed back by his teammates after the win? In 2022, he was diagnosed with cancer and took a break to go through treatment, and now this. Life can be so good.
🗣️ These past few days, there have been talks about how to confront racism in football. FIFA's Infantino defended automatic forfeits for teams whose fans engage in racist abuse. Lots of talking but no decisive action. The leagues still have autonomy on how to handle this issue, but no one has been able to get to an ideal solution yet. Have you seen any good cases lately, or ever?
🤦🏻♀️ And speaking of staying aloof from the racism issue, I recently came across something that kind of broke my heart. When Panenka, a Spanish football magazine I adore, unveiled the nominees for their annual awards, and I was flabbergasted to see Atletico de Madrid fans on the list of candidates for the 2023 Fans of The Year category. Excuse me, WHAT? In the year when we saw different racist abuse episodes by a chunk of their fans, they get a nomination for demanding the club to change their logo back to the original one? I don't buy it. But wait, ‘cause it gets better. They won.
The winners were chosen by popular vote, but it is still quite frustrating to me that they were even nominated. To me, Panenka missed a big opportunity to use its platform in a better way that is more consistent with its brand narrative.
⭐ On a brighter note, Vini Jr was appointed UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for his work promoting access to education in Brazil. Now that's a nomination we want to see (that and the Society of the Snow for Best International Film 🤓).
🏟️ The other day, I went to Girona to watch a game. Great team, nice stadium, but I do miss the stadium food from back home.
🎞️ Lastly, the Analog Football IG account is one of my favourites to follow, and I just learned that they have a social project! They are about to inaugurate their gallery in Paris and have been training young people to photograph the games this summer. Analog AND Good football? Sign me up.
That's it for today, I hope you enjoyed this edition and next time we talk you'll be getting access to first The Good Football Trend Report!
THE GOOD LINKS
🐺 These photos from the “Anatomy of a Fall” dog, whose name is Messi. This one I'll agree is the 🐐.
👌 This Sudamericana video which always comes up on big final days to show the world what the best halftime show looks like.
♻️ The new Premier League Environmental Sustainability Commitment.