Bruce David Grobbelaar is a Zimbabwean former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, most prominently for English team Liverpool between 1981 and 1994, and for the Zimbabwean national team. He is remembered for his gymnastic-like athletic ability, unflappable confidence and eccentric and flamboyant style of play, as well as his rushing ability, which has led pundits to compare him retrospectively to the sweeper-keepers of the modern era.
Latvian Higher League or Virslīga, known for sponsorship reasons as TonyBet Virslīga since 2024, is a professional football league and the top tier of association football in Latvia. Organised by the Latvian Football Federation, the Higher League is contested by 10 clubs.
London City Soccer Club is a Canadian soccer team founded in 1973. The team is currently a member of the Canadian Academy of Soccer League. The team plays their home games at the Milton Community Sports Park in the town of Milton, Ontario. The team's colours are red, black and white. Formed on Valentine's Day of 1973 by Markus Gauss in order to field a London entry for the National Soccer League after the departure of German Canadian FC. The Gauss family ran and provided the city of London a professional team for 38 years. Under their tutelage the club was most notable for providing an opportunity for young players to develop in a professional environment.
The National Anthem of Zimbabwe, also known by its incipit in Shona, "Simudzai Mureza wedu WeZimbabwe", and the final line of each verse in Ndebele, "Kalibusiswe Ilizwe leZimbabwe", was introduced in March 1994 after a nationwide competition to replace the South African-derived "Ishe Komborera Africa" with a distinctly Zimbabwean song. The winning entry was a Shona song written by Professor Solomon Mutswairo and composed by Fred Changundega. It was translated into English and Ndebele, the two other main languages of Zimbabwe. The Ndebele version is mainly sung in the Matebeleland regions of Zimbabwe, while the English version is not commonly sung. Some schools in Matabeleland South have introduced the Sotho/Tswana version.
Anna Orlova is a retired Latvian luger who competed at six Winter Olympics between 1992 and 2010. She won the silver medal in the mixed team event at the 2003 FIL World Luge Championships in Sigulda, Latvia and finished fourth in the women's singles event at those same championships.
The 2004 Canadian Professional Soccer League season was the seventh season for the Canadian Professional Soccer League. The season began on May 24, 2004 and concluded on October 11, 2004 with Toronto Croatia defeating Vaughan Shooters 4–0 to capture their second CPSL Championship. The championship was hosted for the first time at Victoria Park Stadium in Brampton, Ontario, which granted the Brampton Hitmen a wildcard berth. In the regular season the Toronto Supra clinched their first Eastern Conference title, while Hamilton Thunder secured their second Western Conference title. Though the league decreased in membership they managed to expand to the Windsor - Detroit territory with the addition of the Windsor Border Stars.
The 2008 Canadian Soccer League season was the 11th since its establishment where a total of 16 teams from Ontario and Quebec took part in the league. The season began on May 16, 2008, and ended on October 26 with the Serbian White Eagles claiming their first championship by defeating Trois-Rivières Attak 2-1 in a penalty shootout. This was the third consecutive year the White Eagles had reached the CSL finals losing respectively to Italia Shooters in 2006, and to rivals Toronto Croatia in 2007. While during the regular season Italia won their second division title with Trois-Rivières becoming the first Quebec team to claim the National Division title.
The 2001 Canadian Professional Soccer League season was the fourth season for the Canadian Professional Soccer League. The season began on May 25, 2001 and concluded on October 14, 2001 with St. Catharines Wolves defeating Toronto Supra by a score of 1-0 to win their second CPSL Championship. The final was hosted in St. Catharines with Club Roma Stadium as the venue, while the match received coverage from Rogers TV. The season saw the league expand to a total of 12 teams, and went beyond the GTA and Ontario border to include a Montreal and Ottawa franchise. Throughout the regular season the Ottawa Wizards became the first club to end the Toronto Olympians league title dynasty. The CPSL also launched the CPSL Soccer Show with Rogers TV providing the broadcasting, and granting Rogers naming rights to the CPSL Championship. Other major sponsors included the Government of Canada, which served as the sole sponsor for the CPSL Rookie of the Year Award. The league also announced a working partnership with the Canadian United Soccer League a task force originally started by the Canadian Soccer Association in order forge a unified professional structure with the cooperation of the Canadian franchises in the USL A-League to launch a Canadian first and second division domestic league.
The 1999 Canadian Professional Soccer League season was the second season under the Canadian Professional Soccer League name. The season began on May 28, 1999, and concluded on October 2, 1999, with Toronto Olympians defeating Toronto Croatia 2-0 to claim their first CPSL Championship. The Olympians made history by becoming the first club in the league's history to achieve a treble. For the second straight season, they went undefeated for the entire season. The league also introduced their first All-Star match where the CPSL All-Stars faced the CSA Development team.
Harry Jay Ratican was an American soccer forward, coach and team owner. He began and ended his career in the St. Louis Soccer League with several years in both the National Association Football League and American Soccer League. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
Riga United FC is a Latvian football club founded in 2007. The club plays at the School 49 ground in Riga. Riga United men's first team play in the Latvian League 2 Riga Division. The men's reserve team play in the Latvian League 3 and the woman's team plays in the Latvian Women's League. Riga United is recognised as the first truly multinational football club in the Baltic states: To this date, more than 50 different nationalities have played for the club.
Steven Longa is a Cameroonian-American former professional football linebacker who played for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played high school football at Saddle Brook High School in Saddle Brook, New Jersey, where he earned All-State honors his senior year. He played college football at Rutgers, where he was a three-year letterman. In 2013, Longa was named a Freshman All-American after leading NCAA Division I in tackles by a freshman with 123. He was named third-team All-Big Ten Conference in 2015. He started 37 games during his college career and recorded 342 tackles, which was the third most in school history. Longa forwent his final year of college eligibility to enter the 2016 NFL draft. After going undrafted, he signed with the Seattle Seahawks. He was released by the Seahawks before the start of the 2016 season and was then signed by the Lions, with whom he played for until 2019. Longa was primarily a special teams player during his NFL career; 493 of his 561 careers snaps were on special teams.
The Matabeleland football team is the team representing Matabeleland, the western part of Zimbabwe. They are not affiliated with FIFA or CAF, and therefore cannot compete for the FIFA World Cup or the Africa Cup of Nations. The team is affiliated to the Confederation of Independent Football Associations (ConIFA).
Miroslav Buljan is a Croatian retired professional football manager and former player. He particularly managed various Croatian clubs in the 1.HNL, 2.HNL, and 3.HNL, as well as Široki Brijeg in the Bosnian Premier League.
Below are the squads for the 2018 CONIFA World Football Cup.
Alina Sergeevna Myagkova is a Russian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Lokomotiv Moscow.
The 2023 World Athletics Road Running Championships took place in Riga, Latvia, on 1 October 2023. As the inaugural World Athletics Road Running Championships, they included the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships, which were last held in 2020. A flat, single-lap marathon course in the Baltics' largest city. All courses were traffic-free.
Franck Delerue is a French footballer who plays as a striker for Villefranche Saint-Jean Beaulieu.
Gergely Gyürki is a Hungarian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Tatabánya.
Fabrice Guzel is a footballer who plays as a defender for FC Plan-les-Ouates.
