More than the Score

LeBron James will play in a record breaking 23rd NBA season, while Mohamed Salah has just helped Egypt qualify for another Fifa World Cup. Lee James, John Bennett and Louisa Thomas of The New Yorker discuss what motivates the likes of James, Salah and Serena Williams to keep winning, even when there's nothing left to win. We hear from the Egypt and Liverpool striker off the back of another record...

Ezra Frech tells Lee James why he's calling on the International Paralympic Committee and World Para Athletics not to scrap the T63 long jump - one of his best events - from the LA2028 program. He’s already a double Paralympic champion and his hopes of completing a “triple crown” at his hometown games in Los Angeles are under threat due to the IPC’s plans to remove one of his events. Head of WPA,...

Zinedine Zidane won the World Cup and the Euros with France but his son, Luca, has chosen not to follow in his footsteps and instead represent Algeria – the birthplace of his grandparents. The 27-year-old goalkeeper – who came through Real Madrid’s academy - has been named in Algeria’s latest squad for their forthcoming 2026 World Cup qualifiers. John Bennett, Algerian football journalist Maher Me...

Former England captain Lewis Moody has revealed he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease. Moody was part of the side that won the 2003 World Cup. The 47 year old is the latest former sportsman to announce he has the incurable condition. We hear from Moody and his wife, Annie, on how difficult it was to break the news to their two teenage sons while BBC rugby union reporter Sara Orchard tel...

Didier Drogba says his time winning major trophies with Chelsea and Ivory Coast can help grow the sport of all-electric powerboat racing in Africa. The E1 Series is being held on the continent for the first time with the two-time African Footballer of the Year one of its investors. Drogba, and his partner and co-owner Gabrielle Lemaire, discuss hosting the event in Nigeria and why it’s important f...

Tennis legend Boris Becker says he regrets winning Wimbledon at the age of 17 because of the pressure it placed on him during and after his playing career. In 1985 the German beat Kevin Curren to become the youngest ever Wimbledon men's singles champion. He won five more Grand Slam titles, including another two at Wimbledon, and became one of the greatest players of his generation. But his success...

The NFL’s International Series is underway with competitive games being held in Brazil, Ireland, England, Spain and Germany. Minnesota Vikings linebacker, Jonathan Greenard, tells Delyth Lloyd why he’s really enjoyed being a part of it and the challenges it brings. Delyth’s also joined by former Buffalo Bills assistant coach and NFL pundit, Phoebe Schecter - she says the NFL has nowhere left to gr...

Jose Mourinho has returned to Benfica a remarkable 25 years after leaving the club. He’s also managed Chelsea on two occasions. But should managers ever return to their former club? Mani Djazmi discusses why some just can't resist going back with former Scotland manager Craig Levein – a man who tells us he regrets going back to Heart of Midlothian - and Portuguese sports journalist Luís Cristóvão.

Only three countries – Australia, New Zealand and England – have ever won the Women’s ODI World Cup. Is that kind of dominance bad for the tournament and are India ready to win their first World Cup? John Bennett is joined by Stumped’s Charu Sharma and Firdose Moonda from ESPNcricinfo. They debate how much the competition needs a new winner and hear from South Africa’s Annerie Dercksen on how she...

Former world champion and Olympic gold medallist James DeGale says he plans to return to boxing after six years by first competing in the controversial Bare-Knuckle Fighting Championship. Thanks to the power of social media, the controversial sport is one of several extreme combat sports on the rise. DeGale's once bitter rival and fellow former world champion George Groves tells Lee James and Ade...

As Rwanda host one of cycling's most prestigious events, we ask what the competition being held in Africa for the first time could do for cycling on the continent. BBC World Service reporter, Victoria Uwonkunda, the former team principal of the first African first team to compete in the Tour de France, Doug Ryder, and BBC cycling reporter, Matt Warwick, tell John Bennett that cycling is already hu...

Ahead of the Women's Rugby World Cup, Canada fundraised a million Canadian dollars to help them achieve their goal of winning the World Cup. They’re in the final and will face tournament hosts and the world's top ranked side, England in the decider. Maz Farookhi is joined by BBC rugby commentator Claire Thomas and the first captain of the Canada women's side, Stephanie White de Goede, to discuss w...

To prepare for what's expected to be one of the most hostile atmospheres in the history of golf's Ryder Cup, Team Europe have been wearing virtual reality headsets to help replicate the partisan home supporters in New York. The competition is a golfing event like no other when it comes to the crowd with atmospheres often akin to something you'd experience at a football match. Mani Djazmi is joined...

Jamie Lawrence’s football talent was spotted while he was serving a prison term. After he was released, his talent and hard work took him all the way to playing in the Premier League and there are now plans to make a movie about his story. He tells More Than The Score about how he turned his life around and why he’s had to rule out Denzel Washington portraying him. The BBC’s John Bennett, Katie Sm...

Chiamaka Nnadozie is the first African woman to be nominated for the Yashin Trophy, awarded to the world's best female goalkeeper of the year at the Ballon d'Or ceremony. The 24-year-old helped Nigeria win a record-extending 10th Women's Africa Cup of Nations title in July, a month after securing a dream move to the Women's Super League. We hear from Chiamaka on what's been a so far unforgettable...

Faith Kipyegon has gone from running her first races barefoot to reaching the summit of the track and field world, winning her fourth women’s 1500m world title in Tokyo. But what is that makes her such a dominant force? Ed Harry and Ade Adedoyin are joined by Kenyan track and field journalist Lynne Wachira, while Ade gets the thoughts of Kenya’s double Olympic champion and the men’s world and Olym...

Eric Cantona retired from football at the age of 30. Ashleigh Barty left tennis as World Number One at the age of 25. And Nico Rosberg walked away from Fomula One just days after winning the 2016 World Championship. Jeremy Lin, though, announced the end of his playing career, 13 years after the rise of "Linsanity" when he had a great spell with the New York Knicks. But when is the right time sport...

From Leicester City winning the Premier League to Eric the Eel competing at the 2000 Olympic Games, what are the greatest sporting underdog stories? Lee James, John Bennett and Mani Djazmi debate and discuss their big sporting shocks as Pafos FC of Cyprus, Norway's Bodo/Glimt, Kairat Almaty of Kazakhstan and Belgium’s Union Saint-Gilloise all make their Champions League debuts. Could any of them c...

After Armand Duplantis broke another world record to win the men’s pole vault world title in Tokyo, More Than The Score’s Ed Harry and Ade Adedoyin look back on how Duplantis has become a record-breaking athlete. Hear from Duplantis after he became outdoor world champion for the third time with a new world record clearance of 6.30m. Plus, family anecdotes and insight from Duplantis and his dad fro...

Jamaica's Oblique Seville put Jamaica’s men back on top of the sprinting world with victory in the 100m at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo – becoming the first Jamaican man to win the world title since Usain Bolt in 2015. With Jamaica back on top of the podium, and with Seville’s compatriot Kishane Thompson securing silver, what do their performances mean for the world of sprinting? Ed...

From Diego Simeone’s expressive touchline antics to Ruben Amorim not being able to watch his team’s penalty shootout, football managers aren’t ones to shy away from showing their emotion. But how do managers manage their emotions and can a manager show too much? Former Brentford and Nottingham Forest manager Mark Warburton joins Lee James to share what it’s like as a manager in those situations an...

US pole vaulter Sam Kendricks was in Japan ready for the start of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 when he received a notification to say he had tested positive for Covid. It meant the reigning world champion couldn’t compete and he would spend the next 10 days in isolation. What was that time like for Kendricks and how does he feel about returning to the Japanese capital for the World Athletics Champio...

Seeing basketball players jump high into the air and dunk the ball into the basket is always an impressive sight but in the 2025 WNBA regular season there haven’t been any dunks. So why aren’t WNBA players dunking? Seattle Storm player Dominique Malonga talks about the realisation of finding out she could dunk and the reaction to her dunking videos which went viral online. Maz Farookhi is also joi...

“The long throw-in is back” according to England boss Thomas Tuchel, but is he correct? As we know sport is about fine margins, so are football teams now utilising the tactic made famous 20 years ago in the English Premier League to gain an edge over their rivals? More Than The Score has assembled its very own team of long throw experts from a world record holder to a throw-in specialist. Thomas G...

For many sports stars breaking a world record is a lifetime achievement, but for Olympic champion Armand "Mondo" Duplantis it is becoming a habit. The Swede broke his own pole vault world record for a 13th time in August with a clearance of 6.29m. He joins More Than The Score ahead of the Tokyo World Athletics Championships to discuss his incredible achievements. Hosts Ed Harry and Ade Adedoyin ar...