Boys play football on a dusty patch of land on the streets in Bentiu, south-central Sudan, on Nov. 8. Bentiu was a flash point during the two-decade civil war between North and South Sudan. Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Newscom
Young boys demonstrate their football-playing skills during a recruitment held by HAGL-Arsenal JMG Academy at a local stadium in the northern city of Hai Duong, Vietnam, on June 13. Hoang Dinh Nam/AFP/Newscom
Boys play football in the village of Makoko in Yaba, near Lagos, Nigeria, on Oct. 10. Most fishermen in Lagos live in this village and use wood, iron sheets, and grass to build their houses a few feet above the sea. South Africa's hosting of football's World Cup has brought a lot of excitement to the small village. Stephen Mudiari/Twenty Ten/Africa Media Online/AFP/Newscom
Boys pack their equipment after a training session at Mateco football ground on Dec. 27 in Yaounde, Cameroon. A group of former players and coaches have implemented an educational project for youth who want to become international football players in the Ngoa-Ekele district. Pierre Nsonga/Afrimages/Newscom
Students from Pakistan's Sindh University and Islamia University, Bahawalpur, compete for the "Pakistan Inter-Varsity Girls Football Championship 2009" held at SU in Jamshoron, Pakistan, on Nov. 3. Aftab Ahmed/PPI/Newscom
Boys play football by the Darul-Aman Palace in western Kabul, Afghanistan, on Oct. 31. Now in ruins, the Darul-Aman Palace was built by King Amanullah and was once the masterpiece of Kabul. UPI/Newscom
Boys play football near the walls of the ancient Yemeni city of Shibam. Zuma/Newscom
Boys watch football by a beach in Salvador, Brazil, on November 21. Zuma/Newscom
Schoolchildren play football in the city of Bloemfontein, South Africa, on Nov. 26, 2008. Gero Breloer/DPA/Newscom
Children play football during Holy Week in Albacete, Spain, on July 22. Miguel Raurich/Newscom
Souvenir sellers play football near the pyramids at Giza, Egypt, on Nov. 6. AFP/Newscom
Boys play football in Jerusalem on Dec. 8. Rafael Ben-Ari/Chameleons Eye/Newscom
A boy kicks a football by a gate in Kasbah des Oudaias, Rabat, Morocco, on Nov. 20. Zuma/Newscom
Shaolin Soccer Soccer fans in China have merged their love of the sport with the nation's love of martial arts. Shaolin Kung Fu soccer is the brainchild of superfan Kong Debao, 38, who wanted to form a new version of the game to save the image of Chinese soccer. WENN/Newscom
French international football club Nancy's player Julien Feret fights for the ball with French team Lille's player Florent Balmont during their French Ligue 1 soccer match at Marcel Picot's Stadium in Nancy, France on Dec. 27. Sipa/Newscom
The political loggerheads between Germany and Greece have defined the European financial crisis. Now, the struggle hits the soccer field in Friday's Euro 2012 quarterfinal.
Sport is war minus the shooting, George Orwell once said. The European Football Championships 2012, currently being held in Poland and Ukraine, have so far been a fairly peaceful affair. Only Poland against Russia was a politically loaded match, illustrating deep-seated animosities harking back to decades of difficult relations between the two countries. Almost inevitably there were scuffles in the streets around the stadium.
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