One of the few unifying experiences in multi-lingual Switzerland is Rainer Maria Salzgeber’s TV coverage of the national football team’s matches. The presenter says the sport can help the nation become more tolerant of…
Kenenisa Bekele is a superstar in his home nation of Ethiopia – an Olympic gold-winning distance runner who has risen from poverty to the top of his sport. Yet he remains a humble man who eschews the limelight.
Serbia's recovery from the disasters of nationalism has been slow but sporting success offers a new vision of what it means to be a Serb. Monocle films travels to Belgrade to meet the future stars of tennis and football.
In the first of a series on World Cup players, nations and managers, Monocle looks at South African Matthew Booth. He’s an unlikely poster boy for the tournament but his tough tackling and marriage to a top black fashion…
The Iraqi national rowing outfit – bidding for a spot at London 2012 – defy the odds. Shambolic security and ethnic violence make even getting to training an arduous task. On the water, though, none of it matters.
As national coaches from Brazil to South Korea plot World Cup tactics, so too do the world’s journalists. Monocle visits Durban and Johannesburg to see how 18,000-plus writers, pundits and photographers will be accommodated…
Ice hockey is Canada's national obsession and junior hockey is where the dream of going pro is closest to being realised. Monocle Films heads to London, Ontario, to meet the fans supporting the puck stars of the future.
Jealous of the British-inspired Commonwealth Games and the Jeux de la Francophonie for nations of the former French empire, Portugal has created the Jogos da Lusofonia. In a world of soft power, pole vaulters and sprinters…
There’s a swell time to be had in the Swiss Alps. Visitors are ditching crampons and taking to the waves at a pool hundreds of metres above sea level. Surf’s up!
The sports writer has a tough job. Crafting a story that’s more than mere results reporting takes toil – especially when sports players are often famously ineloquent. And then there are the deadlines.
High in the Brünig Pass, menfolk from all walks of life come to grapple, heave and hurl in an arcadian celebration of traditional Swiss wrestling. Monocle joins the crowd to watch the sawdust fly.
Sochi, a Black Sea beach resort popular with Putin and Siberian retirees, was the surprise choice to host the 2014 Winter Olympics – it lacks proper sewers for a start. So before it can cater for an expected one million…
The World Cup is a million different stories in one. As the tournament gets under way this month, Monocle looks at how players, coaches, companies and fans from all over the globe have been getting ready.
Start the day with a proper hike. Fill
your lungs with clean air, leave the city behind you and find a different outlook. This is the regular reset we all need
– no crampons required.
Côte d’Ivoire are seen as Africa’s best chance for World Cup glory. The secret to their prowess is the ASEC Mimosas academy, which not only trains, but also educates young Ivorians – the best of whom have gone on to become…