Partnership

A partnership is an arrangement where parties, known as partners, agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments or combinations organizations may partner together to increase the likelihood of each achieving their mission and to amplify their reach. A partnership may result in issuing and holding equity or may be only governed by a contract. Partnership agreements can be formed in the following areas:

Football

Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word football is understood to refer to whichever form of football is the most popular in the regional context in which the word appears. Sports commonly called 'football' in certain places include: association football (known as soccer in some countries); gridiron football (specifically American football or Canadian football); Australian rules football; rugby football (either rugby league or rugby union); and Gaelic football. These different variations of football are known as football codes.

Various forms of football can be identified in history, often as popular peasant games. Contemporary codes of football can be traced back to the codification of these games at English public schools during the nineteenth century. The expanse of the British Empire allowed these rules of football to spread to areas of British influence outside of the directly controlled Empire, though by the end of the nineteenth century, distinct regional codes were already developing: Gaelic football, for example, deliberately incorporated the rules of local traditional football games in order to maintain their heritage. In 1888, The Football League was founded in England, becoming the first of many professional football competitions. During the twentieth century, several of the various kinds of football grew to become some of the most popular team sports in the world.

Football team

A football team is the collective name given to a group of players selected together in the various team sports known as football.

Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-star team or even selected as a hypothetical team (such as a Dream Team or Team of the Century) and never play an actual match.

There are several varieties of football, notably Association football, Gridiron football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby league, and rugby union. The number of players selected for each team within these varieties and their associated codes can vary substantially. In some, use of the word "team" is sometimes limited to those who play on the field in a match and does not always include other players who may take part as replacements or emergency players. "Football squad" may be used to be inclusive of these support and reserve players.

The term football club is the most commonly used for a sports club which is an organised or incorporated body with a president, committee and a set of rules responsible for ensuring the continued playing existence of one or more teams which are selected for regular competition play (and which may participate in several different divisions or leagues). The oldest football clubs date back to the early 19th century. The words team and club are sometimes used interchangeably by supporters, although they typically refer to the team within the club playing in the highest division or competition.

Michael Owen

Michael James Owen (born 14 December 1979) is a former English footballer who played as a striker for Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle United, Manchester United and Stoke City as well as the England national team. He is a regular pundit and co-commentator on BT Sport football coverage, and sometimes appears on BBC's Match of the Day as a pundit. Since retiring from football he has become a successful racehorse breeder and owner.

Once had trials at Esker Celtic when on holidays in Ireland where he visited his uncle Joe Joyce. The son of former footballer Terry Owen, Owen was born in Chester and began his senior career at Liverpool in 1996. He progressed through the Liverpool youth team and scored on his debut in May 1997. In his first full season in the Premier League he finished as joint top scorer with 18 goals. He repeated this the following year and was Liverpool's top goal scorer from 1997–2004 and gained his name as a proven goal scorer, despite a recurring hamstring injury. In 2001, Liverpool won a cup treble of the UEFA Cup, FA Cup and Football League Cup, and Owen was the recipient of the Ballon d'Or. He went on to score 118 goals in 216 appearances in the Premier League for Liverpool, and 158 goals in 297 total appearances. Regarded as one of the greatest Liverpool players, Owen came 14th in the "100 Players Who Shook The Kop" – an official Liverpool fan poll. In 2004, Owen was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players.

Football Weekly

Football Weekly is a podcast about football, hosted by The Guardian newspaper in the United Kingdom. Originally provided weekly (as its name suggests), its popularity led to a mid-weekly spinoff, Football Weekly Extra. Football Weekly airs on Mondays during the European football season, after the weekend's fixtures, while Football Weekly Extra airs on Thursdays. During the Euro 2008, World Cup 2010, Euro 2012 and World Cup 2014 tournaments the podcast aired daily.

It is presented by James Richardson, who is joined by various Guardian journalists and correspondents, most regularly Barry Glendenning. Despite being an English production, the show takes a notably Eurocentric view of world football matters. Particular emphasis is placed on the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and the Bundesliga.

Origin and listening figures

The podcast began on 11 May 2006 as The World Cup Show, produced daily throughout the 2006 World Cup, and returned during the season under its new name on 29 August 2006, due to popular demand.