More than the Score

When Ellie Bouttell was 15, she moved from England to live with her dad in Beijing. The decision shaped her life in ways she could never have imagined.

Back in January, Ellie spoke to More than the Score's Ade Adedoyin about how she went from a "difficult" adolescence in the English Midlands to graduating from the University of Cambridge, before taking her most unexpected step: becoming a professional boxer in China. Along the way, we hear how the Chinese language opened her mind in ways she'd never expected, and the moment that made her realise her future lay...

Haiti's second game at World Cup 2026 sees them face the tournament's most famous team: Brazil. After losing their opening match to Scotland, Haiti need a result - but, as More than the Score's Mani Djazmi hears, plenty of Haitians might be rooting for Brazil instead. Journalist Pierre Richard Midy explains how the history of football in Haiti is intertwined with the Brazilian team – to the extent that many Haitians support them more than their own national side - and why Pele became a revered figure in the country. He also reveals the lengths to which people in Haiti are ha...

Fifa has introduced mandatory hydration breaks for this World Cup, essentially splitting the games into four quarters. The mandatory three-minute drinks stoppage at all 104 games has been introduced to help players cope with the stifling heat and humidity levels in Mexico, Canada and the United States. It has been criticised for allowing coaches to make tactical changes while broadcasters can - and many have - opted to cut to lucrative commercial breaks while play is halted.

It has attracted criticism from the likes of the Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk and USA head coach Mauricio Pochettino. Fifa...

South Korea's Son Heung-min is an icon and the captain of his national team, with the former Tottenham Hotspur forward holding the record for the most goals by an Asian player in both Premier League and UEFA Champions League history.

Son tells Lee James it’s “crazy” and a “dream come true” to be playing in a fourth World Cup and is hoping the team can inspire the next generation.

He also reflects on watching South Korea’s epic run at their home World Cup in 2002, as a child, and how crazy a time it was in the c...

Senegal and Morocco are widely viewed as Africa’s strongest sides at this World Cup. The BBC’s Isaac Fanin is in Los Angeles, while Lee James and John Bennett are in New York; they reflect on being at Morocco’s opening game against Brazil, and on the recent Afcon final between the two sides.

Isaac has also spoken at length to Senegal and Everton midfielder Iliman Ndiaye, who tells him the team “never fear anyone” and that their goal is to win the World Cup. Senegal open their campaign against France in a repeat of their epic encou...

After months of uncertainty, and doubts over whether they would participate in the World Cup, Iran get under way against New Zealand in Los Angeles. The team has faced visa problems and had to relocate their base camp to Mexico.

The BBC’s Mani Djazmi discusses the issues around the team and their participation with Shahin Rahmani, a former football journalist and editor in Iran, who for the last 20 years has attended several World Cups as a FIFA security officer and is regularly consulted by the Iranian football federation.

Actor and comedian Maz Jobrani also te...

More Than The Score joins football fans across the United States as the hosts record a comfortable win in their World Cup opener against Paraguay.

The United States joined co-hosts Mexico and Canada in hosting their first match of the tournament, recording a comfortable 4-1 victory at the Los Angeles Stadium.

Lee James joins a watch along in a New York bar, while Isaac Fanin gauged the reaction of fans in the host city.

More than the Score brings you more than the men’s football World Cup - the new teams, standout st...

Last year, the Caribbean island nation of Curacao qualified for the Fifa men's World Cup for the first time in their history - led by 78-year-old manager Dick Advocaat. He's now set to become the oldest man to ever coach at the finals, when he leads Curacao out against four-time world champions Germany.

That got us thinking about how much experience matters for coaches. Does having decades of knowledge under your belt make you a better guide for young athletes - or less flexible and more set in your ways?

Last November, More than the...

The BBC’s Lee James and John Bennett are in New York City, where they discover excitement for the World Cup 2026 is starting to build, albeit slowly, against the backdrop of the New York Knicks run in the NBA Finals.

They reflect on Mexico winning their opening match before turning their attention to another of the co-hosts, Canada.

We hear Lee’s extended interview with Jonathan Osorio. The midfielder is a key part of a Canada squad celebrated for its diversity. Osorio was born in Toronto to Colombian parents. Ahead of the co-hosts opening match agai...

The 2026 FIFA World Cup gets underway with hosts Mexico taking on South Africa in the opening match at the iconic Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.

Expected to play a crucial role is South Africa's captain and goalkeeper Ronwen Williams, whose performances over the past two years have established him as one of Africa's leading players. He spoke to Isaac Fanin about the rise of African goalkeepers and why leading Bafana Bafana in the first game means so much to him and his family.

Mani Djazmi’s been speaking to former Mexico international Joaquin Beltran about wh...

USA, Canada and Mexico are co-hosting the biggest ever World Cup, but which nation will go furthest in the tournament?

The BBC’s Mani Djazmi is joined by CONCACAF football expert Jon Arnold to assess the co-hosts chances. We also hear from Canada manager Jesse Marsch, Former USA captain Marcelo Balboa and Mexican journalist Ricardo Otero.

Marsch tells us he believes his side can make history in a home World Cup and it’s an opportunity to create future stars.

More than the Score brings you more than the men’s football World Cup...

Uzbekistan are set to finally make their World Cup debut as an independent nation - after years of near misses. More than the Score's Mani Djazmi speaks to Jaloliddin Masharipov, a winger who's been part of the Uzbekistan team for more than a decade, about how the team is getting ready for its big moment, and their star player - Manchester City's Abdukodir Khusanov. Jaloliddin's also looking forward to being reunited with his former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo when Uzbekistan face Portugal. Mani also hears from BBC Uzbek's Firuz Rahimi, who explains how much Uzbekistan has invested into building a...

Half a century on from Pele's infamous prophecy that an African nation would win the World Cup before the year 2000, could the continent finally deliver its first World Cup in 2026?

The BBC’s Lee James is joined by the former Democratic Republic of Congo captain Gabriel Zakuani and the former Sierra Leone captain Steven Caulker to discuss the hopes of the ten African sides competing in the tournament. They discuss the impact Morocco reaching the semi-finals in 2022 has had, the strength of Senegal and give their thoughts on when an African nation could win a World Cup.

The United States, Canada and Mexico will host the most prestigious football tournament in the world. The holders Argentina will start as one of the favourites along with the likes of Spain, France, and Brazil. There are also some new names with Cape Verde, Curaçao, Jordan and Uzbekistan competing in the finals for the first time ever.

Lee James is joined by John Bennett, Isaac Fanin and Mani Djazmi to discuss the issues, both on and off the field, affecting the tournament. We also hear from some of those who will be playing including South Korea c...

Sierra Leone striker Kei Kamara has announced his retirement from football aged 41, after a 20-year playing career that saw him go from child refugee to one of Major League Soccer’s most popular players.

More than the Score’s Lee James hears his story, from memories of growing up amid civil war in Sierra Leone to a football career that took him all across the USA, as well as a spell in the Premier League with Norwich City. Kei also explains how he took an unusual route to earn his big break in the MLS.

More...

Figure skating was the social media hit of the Winter Olympics, with stars like Alyssa Liu becoming globally famous over the course of the Games. But it wasn't just the skaters going viral - fans' eyes were also drawn to Jordan Cowan, a cameraman in a sparkling white suit, who took to the ice after routines to capture the emotion and atmosphere like never before.

Formerly a competitive skater himself, Jordan now uses his on-ice skills and passion for cinema to create intimate films of the world's greatest skaters at work. His On Ice Perspectives YouTube and...

The New York Knicks are in the NBA Finals for the first time in 27 years after they swept aside the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals. They'll face either defending champions Oklahoma City Thunder, or Victor Wembanyama's San Antonio Spurs, for the NBA title.

The likes of Spike Lee, Timothée Chalamet, Anne Hathaway and Larry David are expected to take their seats on Madison Square Garden's "Celebrity Row" come game time in June. But why has it taken so long for one of the most storied franchises in sport to return to basketball's biggest stage?

India will take part in the Unity Cup, an invitational four-nation tournament in London. Joining them will be Nigeria, Jamaica and Zimbabwe. The event, launched in 2002, is designed as a celebration of communities with a large diaspora in the city. Football in India has endured a difficult period, however. The Indian Super League was shortened after starting late. There's a lack of quality foreign players, while a seven-month winless streak for the national team only ended in March 2026.

India's captain, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, tells Mani Djazmi why competing at the Unity Cup - which is being held...

Video assistant referees - or VAR - are among the most scrutinised figures in football. Decisions made using the technology have seemingly played huge roles in title races across Europe, and it once again looks set to be a major talking point at the upcoming men's World Cup. But what's it like to do the job itself?

Back in November, John Bennett talked to the former referee Graham Scott, who spent more than a decade officiating in the English Premier League before retiring in 2025. He explains how much of an impact the technology has had on the...

New Zealander Scott Dixon has spent more than two decades as one of the biggest names in IndyCar racing. He's been crowned the overall IndyCar series champion six times, and, aged 45, is still one of the sport's leading drivers. His achievements in the US have made him a national hero in New Zealand - in 2025, he was made a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, and he's twice been named the country's Sportsman of the Year.

On Sunday, he'll be lining up alongside 32 other drivers from 15 different countries for the sport's most famous race...

Aaron Rai wasn't one of the favourites for this year's US PGA tournament - the second of the sport's four men's majors. But on the final day of the championship, the Englishman slowly emerged from a huge pack of contenders to top the leaderboard. Showing no nerves, he held off the likes of Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas to take his first major title, finishing three shots clear of the field.

So where did he come from, and where might he go next? More than the Score's Ade Adedoyin hears from Rai's childhood coach, Darren...

Welcome to Wrexham and Formula 1: Drive to Survive are among the wave of sporting reality TV shows that have become global hits over the past decade. They've also had a major influence on the teams and sports they feature, with Wrexham now targeting a place in the Premier League, while F1 has soared in popularity in markets such as the US.

But why have behind-the-scenes shows like these become so popular - and are they having an effect on the way sport itself is run?

Fulwell Entertainment co-founder Ben Turner is a producer and director...

Jada Tati was part of Namibia's junior inline hockey women's team, which beat the USA in 2022 to win the country’s first title at the World Skate Games. Inline hockey is similar to ice hockey, but played with roller skates rather than blades.

Sophia Hartley is joined by BBC World Service Newsday presenter Isaac Fanin, who spoke to Jada about why she's since retired from the sport and how she's using her platform as a Miss Namibia 2026 semi-finalist to embark on a different journey.

Every Monday to Friday, More than the Score tells stories beyond th...

Spanish football manager Unai Emery has won four Europa League titles - can he win a fifth with Aston Villa? Emery led Sevilla to three Europa League titles in a row between 2014 and 2016 before winning it again with Villareal in 2021. So why is he so successful in European Football's second tier competition?

As he prepares to lead a side in a 6th Europa League final, Delyth Lloyd is joined by the BBC's Nick Mashiter and German football broadcaster Constantin Eckner to find out what makes Emery tick and a little bit more about the team standing in...

Last month, Madina Okot was picked 13th in the WNBA Draft - the earliest any Kenyan player has been selected in the competition's history. She was chosen by the Atlanta Dream after an impressive college career, even though she only took up basketball six years ago. She's also not had a straightforward route to the top level of the sport, with multiple rejections along the way, and faced a battle to even earn a visa to come to the US. Soon after the draft, BBC Africa’s Anita Nkonge spoke to Madina about her journey from Kenya to the US...

Interim managers have played a big part in this Premier League season. Tottenham Hotspur’s decision to appoint Igor Tudor until the end of the campaign went badly wrong, with the Croatian sacked after just seven games. Calum McFarlane is set to lead Chelsea out for the FA Cup final, having been called up from his role as the club's under-23 manager following the sacking of Liam Rosenior. After being appointed initially as a caretaker boss, Michael Carrick led Manchester United back into the Champions League.

Mike Stowell - currently the goalkeeping coach at Plymouth Argyle - sp...

Haiti has been a country in turmoil for more than a decade. A devastating earthquake triggered a humanitarian crisis in 2010, and many areas are under the control of violent criminal gangs.

Its national football teams cannot currently play games at home - but this summer, the Haitian men's team will compete at the Fifa World Cup for the first time since 1974. Haiti also reached the finals of the women's World Cup for the first time in 2023.

The BBC's Emma Smith has spoken to Jerome Salbert, a football agent who's been helping the Haitian FA find...

Russ Anber is one of the most distinguished names in boxing. In a career spanning more than 45 years as a trainer and cut-man, he's worked with some of the sport's biggest names, including heavyweight great Oleksandr Usyk, Vasiliy Lomachenko and Roy Jones Jr. He's also written a new memoir, Russ Anber: Unrivaled, in which he reflects on more than four decades of working in one of sport's most pressurised environments.

Anber explains to More than the Score's Ade Adedoyin what separates the elite from the rest. Following Fabio Wardley's defeat to Daniel Dubois, he also discusses why...

England fly-half Zoe Harrison says the introduction of smaller balls for this autumn's WXV Global Series is "the worst decision someone has ever made". Size 4.5 balls - about 3% smaller, but the same weight as a regulation size five - will be used for the tournament in September and October.

Delyth Lloyd is also joined by the BBC’s Rugby reporter Sara Orchard and England World Cup winner Danielle Waterman. Sara explains the issues around the introduction of a new size ball and how frustrated some players are at the prospect of playing with one and the potential ex...

Over the past three years, women's basketball has become one of the most watched and talked-about sports in the USA. Around 1.5 million viewers tuned in to this year's WNBA draft, where the Dallas Wings made Azzi Fudd the number one pick. However, much of the media coverage of the draft focused more on Fudd's relationship with the Wings' star player, Paige Bueckers, than on Fudd's attributes as a player. Sophia Hartley is joined by journalist Frankie de la Cretaz, author of the newsletter Out of Your League, and the CBC's Karissa Donkin to discuss whether coverage of women's sport...

Fabio Wardley’s journey to the top of the heavyweight boxing reads like a Hollywood movie script. Having been part of Ipswich Town's academy as a teenager, he discovered boxing in his 20's. He had four white collar fights before deciding to turn professional. White collar is a form of boxing where people in professional careers with no prior boxing experience train to compete in amateur matches, often for charity.

Wardley tells Ade Adedoyin about his steep learning curve from an amateur with no formal experience, to the top of the division and a first WBO title de...

The launch of LIV Golf in 2022, backed by Saudi Arabia's powerful Public Investment Fund (PIF), sent shockwaves through the world of sport. Many of golf's biggest names, such as Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson, signed up to LIV, and were rewarded with hugely lucrative prize money - while others, including Rory McIlroy, fiercely criticised the new competition.

However, LIV's big spending may be set to come to an abrupt halt. The PIF announced it would withdraw its funding at the end of the 2026 season, stating: "The substantial investment required by LIV Golf over a longer...

Four teams are set to battle it out for a place in the Premier League via the Championship play-offs. It's the teams that finished between third and sixth in the second tier at the end of the regular season. Hull City and Millwall face each other over two legs. The winner of that one facing the winner of the semi-final between Middlesbrough and Southampton in a decider at Wembley. The winner of that game gets promoted to the Premier League and a financial boost upwards of $135m. 

John Bennett is joined by BBC Sport's Jonty Colman to d...

During Lionel Messi's tour of India last year, he witnessed the unveiling of a 70ft statue of himself in Kolkata. It's reportedly the biggest-ever statue of an athlete - but does that make it any better? Why are sculptures such a popular choice for honouring sporting greats, and what gives them their power?

Back in January of this year, More than the Score's Lee James talked to two people who know plenty about sport and statues.

Tom Murphy's sculptures have become a huge part of Liverpool's cultural identity. They can be seen everywhere from the...

Ineos Grenadiers - formerly known as Team Sky - were the dominant team at cycling's most famous race, the Tour de France, during the 2010s. Chris Froome, Bradley Wiggins, Geraint Thomas and Egan Bernal all claimed the yellow jersey while leading a squad of riders that had the peloton at their mercy.

But in the past few years, they've begun to fade into the background. UAE Team Emirates, led by the astonishing talents of Tadej Pogacar, are now cycling's top squad, with Jonas Vingegaard's Visma-Lease a Bike as their main rivals.

Now, Ineos plan to...

Jamie Murray, one of the most decorated doubles players in tennis history, announced his retirement from tennis earlier this month, aged 40. He claimed seven Grand Slam titles across his career, playing alongside four different partners, as well as teaming up with his brother Andy to help Great Britain win the 2015 Davis Cup.

But what makes a great doubles player, and what are the ingredients for making a partnership tick? Does tennis take doubles seriously enough, and what does the future of the format look like?

Rennae Stubbs is a six-time Grand Slam doubles champion, forming...

In the Premier League, Manchester United and Newcastle have increased season-ticket prices by 5% for 2026-2027, while Liverpool have taken the fairly unprecedented step of announcing price rises across the next three years - that decision has been met with protests from some supporters, including boycotting spending money inside Anfield Stadium. In Spain, a ticket to El Clasico between Real Madrid and Barcelona, can cost as much as €465 ($540).

Football finance expert, Kieran Maguire, tells John Bennett why a new breed of football owner is more concerned with financial success than the community elements that make a club.

...

Sabastian Sawe made history by becoming the first athlete to run 26.2 miles in under two hours in a competitive race. The Kenyan crossed the line to win the London Marathon in 1:59:30 - that's more than one minute faster than the previous record set in 2023. He tells the BBC he can go even faster.

Kenyan sports journalist, Evelyn Watta, tells Ade Adedoyin why Sawe's move from half-marathon competition to marathon competition, was something of an accident. She also explains why she thinks Sawe will go on to break his own record.

Athletics commentator, Martin Keino, discusses...

Former Manchester United forward Jesse Lingard is making history with Corinthians as he’s the first Englishman to play in Brazil’s top-flight. His career to date has also seen him play for England at the 2018 World Cup and enjoy a spell with FC Seoul in South Korea. BBC News South America correspondent, Ione Wells, has been to meet him in Sao Paulo and in a wide-ranging chat they discuss his time in Seoul, whether Michael Carrick should get the Manchester United manager’s job and how Lingard's Portuguese is coming along.

Every Monday to Friday, More than t...

Table tennis's top players are heading to London for the World Team Championships, which start on April 28. Among them are players from 11 African nations, including Nigeria, Egypt and Tunisia.

Wahid Oshodi, president of the African Table Tennis Federation explains the importance of these championships, the strength of the sport in Africa and how he believes we could have a senior singles world champion sooner than many might think.

He tells More than the Score's Ade Adedoyin why he thinks we could see an African world medallist in the next three to four years, and identifies...