When Amedspor took to the pitch for their first away game in their first-ever Turkish Super Lig season, a banner depicting a white Renault Toros was spotted.

This is a car synonymous with the abduction and extrajudicial killings of Kurds in the 1990s and its use by rival Kocaelispor fans was deliberately provocative. The Kurdish club is a frequent target for such hatred.

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Amedspor’s promotion for the 2026/27 season has stoked all sorts of anti-Kurdish sentiment across Turkish football.

An estimated 15-20 million Kurds live in Turkey and Amedspor are a symbol of Kurdish defiance in a country that often denies the existence of the largest ethnic group in the world without their own state.

At a time when the Turkish Super Lig is welcoming more and more star players, the most compelling storyline this season could be one of ethnic and national identity.

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There is a title race brewing at the top of the Swiss Super League!

FC Lugano, owned by American billionaire and Chicago Fire owner Joe Mansueto, entered Saturday’s top-of-the-table clash with Young Boys as the pace-setters, and they’re still the pace-setters after a thrilling 2-2 draw.

It’s been 77 years since FC Lugano last won the Swiss title! Scroll down to read more about their story. Also included - some action from Saturday’s match.

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Elsewhere, Rangers dominated the first Old Firm derby of the season, the worst miss ever (?) was witnessed in the English Championship and the U20 Women’s World Cup progressed into the knockout rounds.

Let’s take a look at everything 👇

Something Swiss 🇨🇭

Long-time readers of The Soccer Dispatch might know a bit about FC Lugano’s story after this newsletter in January 2025.

After years of financial uncertainty off the pitch and mediocrity on it, the Bianconeri are now one of Switzerland’s best teams with Saturday’s 2-2 draw against Young Boys keeping them top of the Swiss Super League.

FC Lugano have moved into a new stadium this season and are aiming to win the title for the first time since 1949.

Something unusual

Set pieces are all the rage at the moment. Managers are always attempting to devise new routines to catch opponents cold and France’s U20 team might have set a new standard.

Check out this routine at the U20 Women’s World Cup. France scored from this in their 4-0 win over Ghana and as a society we must ensure Mikel Arteta doesn’t see this.

Something at the U20 WWC 🌍

The big games are coming thick and fast at the 2026 U20 Women’s World Cup and they don’t come much bigger than Brazil v England!

Gisele scored a winner for Brazil in the FIFTH minute of stoppage time to ensure her team made the knockout rounds with a perfect record of three wins from three games.

Something in Glasgow 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

It was Rangers’ day in Sunday’s Old Firm Derby - the first Old Firm derby of the season!

The Ibrox side were dominant as they scored three unanswered goals against Celtic, one of which was scored by former Portland Timbers striker Kevin Kelsy who got his first taste of the rivalry.

Rangers supporters displayed this pre-match tifo depicting Ian Ferguson and Mike Galloway having a friendly cuddle in an Old Firm clash in the 1990s.

Celtic have had the edge over their fiercest rivals for the best part of a decade-and-a-half and had started this season the stronger of the two sides. Indeed, Martin O’Neill’s side are setting the early pace at the top of the Scottish Premiership.

Slowly, but surely, though, Rangers are starting to find form under new manager Derek McInnes. Their next game? Another Old Firm derby this weekend!

Something wide open

There are bad misses. And then there’s this!

Luis Vázquez must have been imagining his celebration when this ball dropped to him a couple yards out from an open goal. Somehow, though, the Birmingham City player put his shot over the bar…

Worst miss ever?!

Something on fire 🔥

Who is the most in-form forward in Europe right now? Haaland? Kane? Mbappe? Nope - Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at the age of 37!

By scoring in Deportivo La Coruna’s 1-1 draw against Getafe on Sunday, the former Arsenal and Dortmund striker kept up his incredible record of having scored in every league game this season. Five goals in five games.

Something Irish 🇮🇪

Time to check in on the League of Ireland and this stunner by Stephen Walsh for Galway United!

Walsh will surely be a Puskas Award contender with this effort against Bohemians. The fact it went in off the underside of the bar made it even better.

Something at the F1 🏎️

Lando Norris claimed pole position at the first-ever Madrid Grand Prix and was awarded his price by a familiar face.

Diego Simeone was the guest of honour. Or the guest of dishonour? The Atletico Madrid manager is a master of the dart arts, after all.

Something in college

This European newsletter writer will admit to being baffled by the American college sports eco-system. For my context - my college football team played in front of two people and a dog.

These scenes, however, are amazing! Look at the celebrations after Wisconsin scored a late equaliser against Ohio State. Sceeeeeeenes!

Something 4,500 km away

The Coupe de France is one of the most unique cup competitions in world football - read more about it here!

AS Miquelonnaise from the island of Miquelon off the coast of Canada travelled 4,500 km to face seventh-tier US Lesquin in the third round. Les Oranges, as they’re nicknamed, won.

They’ll need to travel back to France for the next round.

Something in Ecuador 🇪🇨

Ecuador have appointed a new manager and he’s a familiar face to fans of South American football.

Marcelo Gallardo will take charge of La Tri after leaving River Plate earlier this year. The former Argentinean international is known for his attacking style of play which will be quite the gear shift for Ecuador!

We’ll be keeping an eye on this. Should be interesting… 👀

Something misjudged

Club Brugge thought they were signing a safe pair of hands when they landed Yann Sommer in the summer transfer window.

The experienced Swiss goalkeeper, however, has made a series of early-season blunders for his new team - including this one against Royal Antwerp.

Something distracting 🤪

Besiktas striker Oh Hyeon-gyu had an interesting method of distracting the opposition goalkeeper before a freekick.

The South Korean made all sorts of faces and arm gestures in Besiktas’ comfortable 3-0 win over Erzurumspor on Friday. They are the ones setting the pace at the top of the Turkish Super Lig!

Something Argentine 🇦🇷

In just two years, Thiago Almada has played for Atlanta United, Botafogo, Lyon, Atletico Madrid and now River Plate.

The Argentinean international is already endearing himself to his latest set of fans, scoring a stoppage time winner for River Plate in Saturday’s match against Atletico Tucuman.

Something unveiled

Could you have guessed where former Chelsea and Ajax winger Hakim Ziyech is currently playing his football before reading this newsletter?

Botafogo is the answer and the Moroccan was unveiled by the Brazilian club over the weekend, and in some style!

Something asleep 😴

Only two weeks ago, a stunning Dumbarton goal from the halfway line made the pages of this newsletter.

This week, it’s a goal conceded by Dumbarton that deserves your attention. What was the goalkeeper doing?!

Some TSD content you might have missed… 🗞️

South Korean fans were angry about their team’s performance at the 2026 World Cup. Really angry.

So angry, in fact, that thousands of them waited to confront Hong Myung-bo when he touched down at Seoul’s airport. The shamed national team manager had to be escorted out of a back exit to escape.

The national federation issued an apology for South Korea’s underwhelming display this summer before the government launched an investigation.

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Myung-bo didn’t last much longer after his resignation was demanded by South Korean president Lee Jae Myung. South Korea’s problems as a football nation, however, are far from over.

South Korean football is suffering from a lack of vision. Most agree the national game reforming, but few can agree on what shape the future should take.

It’s against this backdrop that South Korea are kicking off the 2026 Asian Games aiming to win the men’s competition for a record fourth time in a row.

Confusingly, The Taegeuk Warriors are on the brink of glory at a time of crisis.

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Italy claimed their first-ever U20 Women’s World Cup victory - and they did it in style!

Giada Pellegrino Cimo’s game-winning goal against women’s football powerhouse the United States was an historic one that leaves the Americans in a difficult spot to make it out of the group.

Scroll down to read more about Italy’s shock victory and other results on opening weekend of the 2026 U20 WWC.

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Elsewhere, Ronald Koeman’s son - who is a goalkeeper - scored TWICE in the Eredivisie, Leicester City slipped to new depths in League One and Dusan Vlahovic settled the derby for Besiktas.

Let’s take a look at everything 👇

Something at the U20 WWC 🌍

As a women’s football superpower, the USA was widely fancied as one of the favourites to win the 2026 U20 Women’s World Cup. They were expected to beat Italy in their opening game. Comfortably.

Giada Pellegrino Cimo, however, had other ideas. The Italian midfielder reacted quickest to a goalkeeping error by Caroline Birkel and celebrated like she meant it!

There was also a landmark victory for Ecuador who beat Ghana 3-0 on their U20 Women’s World Cup debut.

Ecuador continues to develop as a real football nation in both the men’s and women’s game. They now stand a real chance of making it out of a challenging group that also includes France and South Korea.

Opening weekend also saw wins for Brazil, Poland and Japan. I’ll be watching the U20 Women’s World Cup closely over the coming weeks. Stay tuned!

Something from the spot

Ok, firstly you need to know that Ronald Koeman’s son is a professional player in the Eredivisie for Telstar.

Secondly, you should know that he’s a goalkeeper. Thirdly, you should know that he’s also called Ronald Koeman.

Fourthly, Koeman Jnr scored from the spot for Telstar against Cambuur on Sunday.

Fifthly, he actually scored TWICE from the spot, becoming the first goalkeeper in Eredivisie history to bag a brace!

Something in League One 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Leicester City’s slide shows no sign of slowing with Saturday’s 4-0 defeat to Oxford United almost certainly the worst result in the club’s modern history.

The Foxes were expected to bounce straight back up being relegated to League One. Instead, they have won just one of their opening five matches.

Russell Martin is under pressure - not for the first time in his managerial career!

Something in CAF 🌍

Al Hilal Omdurman took a big step towards qualifying for this season’s CAF Champions League by beating Aigle Noir of Burundi 2-0 in Saturday’s first leg.

The Blue Wave are currently playing in the Rwandan league system due to the Sudanese civil war. They actually WON the Rwandan title last season. Such an incredible story.

Last season saw Al Hilal reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals.

Something In Istanbul 🇹🇷

Dusan Vlahovic and the Turkish Super Lig feels like a match made in heaven.

You could tell me that he has been playing for Besiktas for three seasons and I would believe you. As it is, Vlahovic joined in the summer and is already making an impact, scoring the winner in Saturday’s derby against Fenerbahce.

Something unexpected

Former AC Milan and Brazil striker Alexandre Pato is an investor in Northampton Town in the English fourth tier. I’m sure you knew that already just as this newsletter writer did…

Pato attended his first game as a co-owner on Saturday, watching The Cobblers claim a 1-0 win over Newport County. The glamour!

Something Ivorian in Japan 🇨🇮 🇯🇵

You might have missed that Sebastien Haller signed for Sanfrecce Hiroshima in the J-League over the summer. Love that for him.

The former Ajax and Borussia Dortmund striker scored his third J-League goal of the season, but couldn’t prevent Sanfrecce from losing to Fagiano Okayama.

Elsewhere in the Japanese top division, Machida Zelvia have won five of their opening six fixtures to open up a three-point advantage at the top of the table.

Two years ago, Zelvia threatened to pull off a Leicester City-esque fairytale by winning the J-League as a promoted team. I wrote about it for The Soccer Dispatch at the time.

Zelvia have made their place in the top flight stick and are now having another tilt at the championship.

Something from halfway

If there’s a goal scored from the halfway line, you better believe it will be included in this newsletter!

Vilmer Tyrén scored this stunner for Ljungskile in the second division of Swedish football. Has David Beckham ever scored from his ow half in the Swedish second division? I think not!

Something else from halfway

This Stirling Albion-supporting newsletter writer is delighted to bring you an update from Scottish League Two!

Somalian international Ali Omar scored this OUTRAGEOUS freekick from inside his own half for Dumbarton against Elgin City. He made it look so easy. Why doesn’t he do that every week?

Something in honour

Cavan Sullivan is the 16-year-old American phenom lighting up Major League Soccer for the Philadelphia Union at the moment.

The teenager celebrated like LeBron James after scoring in his third game straight. For the non-basketballheads - James has recently joined the Philadelphia 76ers. Just so you know.

Something at the wrong end 🤦‍♂️

This own goal in the French third division was so bad it naturally raised doubt over whether it was deliberate!

Bastia defender Noah Zilliox put the ball in the back of his own net with the composure of a centre forward. The best-taken own goal in history? Is there a Puskas award for own goals?

Something Scouse in Uruguay 🇺🇾

Liverpool are top of the table! Not that Liverpool and not that table.

Uruguay’s version of the famous Anfield club have enjoyed a strong start to the 2026/27 season, beating Boston River 1-0 on Sunday to keep their place at the top of the Clausura table.

Something chilly 🥶

Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas made her WSL debut for London City Lionesses and is still seemingly getting used to the weather in England.

Putellas gave an interview while chittering in a winter jacket… despite it being the warmest summer in recent British history. Just wait until it gets to February, Alexia!

Something in Saudi 🇸🇦

Notable big game chance-misser Gabriel Martinellu made his debut for Al-Hilal only 24 hours after completing a €70m transfer from Arsenal.

Martinelli was the most expensive signing made by a Saudi Pro League club this summer. Francisco Trincao, Crysencio Summerville, Ollie Watkins and Tijani Reijnders also made the move there.

Something Serbian 🇷🇸

Sunday was the Eternal Derby and Crvena Zvezda fans displayed a giant tifo of General Ratko Mladic before kick off. A minute’s silence was also held.

Mladic, who was known as The Butcher of Bosnia and died recently, oversaw a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing as Yugoslavia broke apart in the 1990s. Crvena Zvezda’s support of him is… controversial to say the least!

Something with a perm

Hamburg supporters paid tribute to Kevin Keegan who passed away in July.

The Englishman won the Ballon d’Or while playing for the Bundesliga side. That’s impressive enough without the perm. Just look at that hair! What an icon. He’ll be missed.

Some TSD content you might have missed… 🗞️

Last week was a week to forget for Scottish teams in Europe. Another one.

While Celtic, Hearts, Hibernian and Motherwell started last week with hopes of continental qualification, Hearts were the only side to get through their tie. The other three suffered defeat, calamitously so in the case of Celtic and Rangers.

It’s against this backdrop of abject failure that Scottish football will hold a crisis summit this week. The national game is in a terrible condition and something must be done about it.

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Underperforming teams in Europe, an exodus of young talent to England, low refereeing standards, a growing financial gulf to other leagues… Scottish football is being dragged down by a number of issues.

These issues, however, are nothing new. If they haven’t been addressed before now, what are the chances that any meaningful solutions will be found this time?

Will the crisis summit do anything to stop Scottish football’s slide?

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The Stockholm Derby is slept on as one of the fiercest rivalries anywhere in European football and Sunday’s match certainly lived up to that billing.

AIK and Hammarby shared seven goals in a game that was decided by a 19-year-old academy graduate who used to stand with the AIK ultras when he was younger. That’s the stuff dreams are made of!

Scroll down to…

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From this weekend, Irish football will have a new third division.

History will be made on Saturday when Mervue United and Cockhill Celtic face each other in the first-ever FAI National League match, achieving a goal that has been several years in the making for the Irish game.

Ireland’s football pyramid will be another tier deeper from this weekend.

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The new third tier is launching with 15 teams in the hope that more clubs will be invited into the fold over the coming seasons.

If all goes to plan, this weekend could be viewed as a landmark moment in the reshaping of Irish domestic football at a time when the national game needs a new direction.

What are the chances that the new National League will be a success? Or will it only further highlight some of the issues in Irish football?

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109 games - that’s how many league games a team in Malasyia has gone unbeaten, setting a new world record!

Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT)’s 3-0 win over Kuching City on Friday saw the Malaysian Super League side break a record that had previously been set by Ivorian outfit ASEC Mimosas all the way back in 1994.

Read more about JDT’s incredible dominance by scro…

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Sweden’s Allsvenskan has produced a shock champion before.

In fact, it was only last year that a rank outsider upset the country’s football establishment to win the top flight title as Mjällby won the Allsvenskan for the first time in their history.

The Soccer Dispatch covered it at the time. Not even a full year on, another underdog is targeting Swedish football glory. This time, it’s IK Sirius that are sitting at the top of the table.

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Like Mjällby, Sirius have spent the majority of their existence in the lower leagues. They have never won a major piece of silverware, let alone the Swedish title.

Nine points clear in top spot, Sirius are currently Allsvenskan frontrunners. They have, however, just lost their top scorer and dropped valuable points in their last two outings.

Can the team from Uppsala, a city 70km to the north of Stockholm, keep going?

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Malawi, it seemed, had written the defining story of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.

The Scorchers were just one victory away from lifting WAFCON at their first attempt. Cameroon, however, had other ideas and made their own history by convincingly winning Sunday’s final 3-0.

Scroll down for more on Cameroon’s first-ever WAFCON triumph!

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Only two weeks ago, I wrote about Malawi’s shock win over Nigeria in their first-ever Women’s Africa Cup of Nations match.

That was stunning enough. Nigeria, for context, are 10-times African champions. The winners of four of the last five WAFCON tournaments. The Super Falcons are a superpower.

Malawi, on the other hand, are continental minnows.

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Now they are WAFCON finalists after a sensational run that has defied all pre-tournament predictions. Incredibly, Malawi will be WAFCON champions with a victory over Cameroon in Sunday’s final.

The way they’ve been playing, and the teams they have already beaten, one last win might not be beyond The Scorchers.

This is an underdog story that deserves to be revisited.

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I’m running a $5 season ticket offer because I need your help to keep The Soccer Dispatch going!

The reality is that I still need to grow TSD further to make it viable. Every newsletter takes time to write and put together. Illustrations require commissioning an artist and Substack takes a cut of everything.

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Sunday was a day to remember at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations!

Tournament debutants Malawi beat Ghana to make the semi-finals and qualify for the Women’s World Cup for the first time in their history. What a fortnight it’s been for The Scorchers!

On top of this, 10-times WAFCON winners Nigeria crashed out to Cameroon. The tournament is wide open!

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The peril of FC København’s situation was made clear during a run of results that started in late January and stretched to the start of March this year.

It was a run that started with a heavy defeat to Barcelona in the Champions League. That The Lions were even on the same pitch as the illustrious Catalans highlighted the status they have enjoyed in recent years as one of Denmark’s premier clubs.

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At the same time, though, FC København were sliding further and further down the Danish Superligaen table. A run of five defeats in six games after the winter break made it feasible that they could be relegated.

FC København scraped the points to stay up and have now started the 26/27 season with back-to-back victories. So are they finally over their crisis or will dark clouds start to gather again?

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Gianni Infantino went too far and it might now cost him his job as FIFA president. Oh no, what a shame… 😈

You already know how Infantino’s plans to privatise the World Cup blew up his face. However, have you seen the group of Swiss fans telling their compatriot to “f*** off”? Because if you haven’t, you need to!

More on the backlash to Infantino and his …

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On their Women’s Africa Cup of Nations debut, Malawi produced the biggest upset in the competition’s entire history.

Most considered it a given that the 10-times WAFCON champions Nigeria would comfortably sweep aside the Scorchers in Tuesday’s group game. Instead, Malawi scored three times in the final 17 minutes to secure a famous 3-2 win.

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In a tournament overshadowed by CAF’s woeful governance, Malawi served an important reminder of why WAFCON matters and why it deserves so much better.

So what’s next for the Scorchers and could the 2026 WAFCON be defined by more surprise results from an underdog class catching up to the continent’s best?

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You thought the international football was over for the summer with the end of the World Cup? You thought wrong!

The 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations kicked off this weekend as Algeria made a big statement in their opener against Senegal.

More on WAFCON below as well as the 2026 ASEAN Championship which similarly got under way over the weekend.

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More Asian nations participated in the 2026 World Cup than any other World Cup in history

All nine nations exited in the group stage or round of 32, but Asian football was represented in a way it had never been before. Nobody could ever doubt the region’s fervour for the sport.

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Vietnam watched from home. They’ve watched every World Cup from home having never qualified in 51 years of trying as a unified nation. It would be easy to write off the country as a footballing backwater.

That, however, would be in ignorance of the thriving football scene in Vietnam.

The country of over 100 million people is one of the sport’s largest sleeping giants and there are signs that it is finally waking up. The 2030 World Cup could be in their sights.

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Argentina might not have won the 2026 World Cup final, but they took over New York for Sunday’s game.

Thousands of Albiceleste supporters filled the streets of The Big Apple for the final, setting up camp in Times Square to barbecue, chant songs about Las Malvinas and wear Messi jerseys. That’s what they do!

More on the scenes below!

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This was THE World Cup. The biggest World Cup by almost every measure.

The most teams, host nations, viewers, sponsors. The highest attendances, revenue, ticket prices.

It was the World Cup of extremes. The good stuff was very good - Cape Verde’s run, Mexico v England at the Azteca, the thrill of Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland all showing up in a big way.

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The bad stuff, however, was very bad in a way that might have serious repercussions for the future of the sport. The 2026 World Cup might have been a watershed. Football may never be the same again.

So was it worth it? FIFA would say so. The rest of us? Hmmmm.

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