Sportsmanship includes friendship + respect+ integrity + humility & even kindness (the new super power) and more. Despite the destabilised world we live in, and despite FIFA’s over-commercialisation and, IMO, abuse of the rules – there were many magical sportsmanship moments in this World Cup. Here’s our Top 10 in reverse order…. we’ll start with the future… which is kids…
sportsmanship.ie
You can read the stories and watch the videos, or just listen to the Top 10 stories recorded with BBC Radio London. Thanks to Phil Parry and Zabbi, BBC Radio London Sports Show.
10th Place – Kindness To A Canadian Kid Fan
9 year old Ethan – street seller kid selling cans of cola from a cooler etc. – trying to make a few bob. His father kept an eye on him and explained later they need the money to pay the rent. A football fan asked ‘How much for a drink?’
$3 said the kid.
‘How much for the whole lot?’
His mother steps in to help & says ‘$56’
The fan gives him $1000 on two conditions (1) they all stop working today and (2) the father and son accept 2 tickets to Canada v South Africa game. The kid loves football and is over-the-moon. How nice it is to be in a position to share such kindness.
And guess what? Canada beat South Africa 1-0!
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1CrwLe5VVE/?mibextid=wwXIfr
9th Place: 8 Year Old England Fan Glued to Mother’s Match Report
An 8 year old England fan wasn’t allowed to stay up to watch the game England v Mexico game as it was on at 2am, so in the morning his mum talked him through the key moments of the game and eventually the final score.
Just look at the range of emotions he goes through bless him. Happiness, shock, stress, anxiety and then extreme happiness.
Just watch the kid’s facial reactions.
https://www.facebook.com/share/r/19JW5rtA7w/?mibextid=wwXIfr
8th Place: English & French Players Post-Match Prayer
England beat France 6-4 in a crazy 3rd place play off game.
After the match, several English players (Saka, Eze, Guehi and Chalobah) joined French players, on thei rknees, on the pitch, in prayer after the final whistle.
French & English players and chatted after the game, mingled, embraced and chatted together in the dressing rooms and surrounding corridors.
https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1J6ZE4c9TS/?mibextid=wwXIfr
7th Place: Norways Absolute Gentleman
Erling Haaland is a beast on the pitch and a highly respected gentle giant off it. He is highly skillful, prolific scorer and great team player. Here he is before the biggest match of his country’s history. Perhaps the biggest game of his young life, Haaland’s FIRST EVER WORLD CUP FINALS GAME.
All the mascot kids wanted to hug him in the tunnel beofre the game. He made time to smile and laugh as with kids moments before the biggest game of his life… Norway’s first game in their group: Norway 4 v Iraq 1.
https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1KKA7yc5qm/?mibextid=wwXIfr
6th Place: England’s Genius Brummie
Man of the match, Jude Bellingham showed his class after the exhausting game against Mexico in Mexico’s high altitude (low oxygen) Azteca Stadium (2,240m above sea level), by swapping shirts with THE Mexican ‘KID’ – the 17 year old Gilberto Mora.
Incidentally, England’s best player recently put some money into Edgebaston cricket ground – to give something back to his community (he loves his cricket).
England 3 Mexico 2
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/17zP1NryPn/?mibextid=wwXIfr
5th Place: Colombian Fans Embrace Congo Fan
During Congo’s national anthem, one Congolese fan (surrounded by Colombians) proudly sang his national anthem. When it finished, the Colombians embraced him and jumped with him. A truly beautiful moment. The brotherhood of football prevailed.
Columbia won 1.0
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1744ujy8Dc/?mibextid=wwXIfr
4th Place: The Magnificent Tartan Army
The Tartan Army are magnificent. The Scottish fans managed to get a local Boston police officer to engage in the banter and do some kick ups.
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1KLkjMjhi1/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Later, Massachusetts state senator, Paul Feeny, sent a personal message out to the Scottish fans inviting them to come back any time!
https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1NbxbkTHfo/?mibextid=wwXIfr
3rd Place: Magnificent Mexican Fans – ‘the most beautiful people’
When England beat Mexico 3.2 in the Azteca stadium in an incredible match, Mexican fans immediately celebrated with the English fans – together. https://www.facebook.com/share/r/19Cbop9LhJ/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Looking at the celebrations, it was hard to know who had won. “They are the most beautiful people” says one English fan on camera. The fans seem to have created a lifelong bond.
https://www.facebook.com/share/r/193X3CGXbi/?mibextid=wwXIfr
This all reminds me of USA 1994 – after two weeks of football and beer & cheering on Ireland – my brother and myself agreed the best fans were the Mexicans followed by the Dutch.
2nd Place: The King of Egypt’s Dignity
When Egypt beat Australia on penalties to reach the last 16, Egyptian star (ex Liverpool hero), Mo Salah’s reaction was dignified & respectful.
Instead of immediately celebrating with his teammates, as almost all other players selfishly do today, he immediately walked over to the destraught Australian team and proceeded to console and shake hands with every Australian player.
Great sportsmanship from the Egyptian King.
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1ERi1mEcq2/?mibextid=wwXIfr
1st Place: A Humble Spanish Megastar
When Spain’s young superstar, Lamine Yamal, was asked by a reporter how he handles the pressure of carrying Spain at 18. His answer was stunning: ‘my mother had me when she was 16, that’s real pressure.’
He continued: ‘My father picked things off the street to bring food home, that’s pressure.’
And he concluded: ‘All I have to do is play football.’
His story is wonderful….. before he was born, his teenage parents fell behind on rent. Two neighbors named Lamine and Yamal helped them by paying the rent. His father vowed his son would carry both names forever. So his legal name Lamine Yamal and it is a permanent record of a debt his family couldn’t repay in money. But they could repay with love. In Arabic, the names mean “the trustworthy” and “beauty.”
Then, sadly, his parents split when he was around 5. His mother raised him while working long hours in fast food.
As a kid, Lamine told his parents: if you’re counting on me getting a normal job, we’re in trouble. But if I become a footballer, you’ll never have to worry again. He signed with Barcelona at 7.
After every goal he scores, he flashes 304 with his fingers. The end of 08304, the postal code of Rocafonda, the neighborhood where strangers paid his family’s rent before he even existed.
This fine young man, Lamine Yamal, humbly acknowledges, after every goal he scores, his parents’ … neighbours’…. kindness – the new super power!
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1EX3RDSdKQ/?mibextid=wwXIfr [Thanks to Alvin Foo for alerting me to this story.]
Leave a comment and/or tell me your sportsmanship story from World Cup 2026.
If you like these short stories, you might also like these one-minute stories (in text, in video and on audio*/BBC Radio London recordings):
[] Top 10 Sportsmanship Moments 2025*
[] Top 10 Sportsmanship Moments 2024*
[] 12 Sportsmanship Moments Paris 2024 Olympics
Thanks to Cian Smith.
Great stories paul, keep up the good work
Thank you Pablo. I have now added the stories as audio stories – if you refresh the page – you’ll see that you can now listen, or read or watch the stories. The choice is yours!