Not by the Playbook

Turkish runner Emine Hatun Mechaal explains how holding the Champions League final in Istanbul is providing hope to people from her country following February’s devastating earthquake. Mechaal recalls visiting her home city in the aftermath of her emotional performance at the European Indoor Championships in March and tells us she lost 40 friends and family to the disaster. Hari Budha Magar reflec...

Sportsworld’s Lee James joins us live from Wembley ahead of the first-ever Manchester derby in the FA Cup final and Maz Farookhi joins us live from Eindhoven ahead of the Women’s Champions League final. The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, tells us the fact Manchester United and Manchester City are facing each other proves his area is the biggest football city in the world. We also hear...

The Philadelphia Eagles set up a girls Flag Football league in 2022, which has subsequently grown to 52 teams and this year they’ll donate over 30,000 sports bras to athletes in need. Palumbo Lady Griffins player Ruth Duink and her coach Chris Donnelly discuss how having access to sports bras has boosted the girls confidence out on the field. Loni Bergqvist tells us how she found love while hiking...

Former Nigeria goalkeeper Carl Ikeme discusses his move into Mixed martial arts and says there is something very humbling about being choked out in the cage. Ikeme’s football career was cut short after he was diagnosed with leukemia in 2017. He reflects on that period of his life and tells us he’s only recently been able to enjoy watching football again. Great Britain sitting volleyball player Nic...

Ragnar Klavan joins us to chat about being the spokesperson for Estonia at Eurovision. The former Liverpool defender will deliver the scores of the Estonian jury at the singing contest. He also discusses his time playing for Liverpool and how he felt hearing You’ll Never Walk Alone as a player. Costa Rican surfer Brisa Hennessy believes the health challenges she’s been battling over the last 18 mo...

One of King Charles III’s greatest passions outside of royal duty was polo, one of the world's oldest team sports. It’s a game played on horseback, where a long handled wooden mallet is used to hit a small ball. The King was considered to be a very good polo player and featured in some of the world’s strongest teams. His captain for five years was England international Julian Hipwood. Julian speak...

The five times world champion – Viswanathan Anand – explains his approach to commentating on chess during the World Chess Championship. Anand believes that a fan’s experience of watching a chess game is equivalent to watching a marathon while flying in a helicopter and he aims to fill in the blanks. He also believes the battle between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren is among the best matches of...

Eryn Mathewson tells us about competing for Team USA at the World Transplant Games in Perth this week. Eryn required a transplant and was given just seven days to live after suddenly developing liver failure. She has named her new organ “Salvador”, which is Spanish for saviour as her donor was of Dominican descent. Eryn discusses winning a silver medal in the 4x100 meters relay, her 80 year old te...

Nigeria defender William Troost-Ekong tells us how he ensured his recent transfer to Serie A side Salernitana was carbon neutral and how his interest in climate change began when spending school holidays with his father in Lagos. Jessica Harrington tells us she’ll be watching her horse “Lifetime Ambition” run in the Grand National on television as she’s undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Harr...

Chloe Abbott tells us how she fulfilled a dream by singing on The Voice and how she’d love to appear in a Broadway Show. The 400m runner also gives us her thoughts on the idea of a musical based on the life of her former training partner and legendary athlete Allyson Felix. Abbott is hoping to make the USA team for the Paris Olympics and tells us how singing helps with her athletic training. Austr...

It’s the first weekend of the new baseball season, and despite having some of the most recognisable names in world sport playing the game, baseball has suffered a dip in popularity in recent years. Some suggest it's become too slow, even a bit dull. The MLB, the governing body, have introduced new rules this season to speed up the game, but could they take a few notes from the creator of the hugel...

This time of year the banks of the River Thames in London are always filled with thousands of people. They line up to watch one of the oldest, hardest and most iconic rowing races in the world. The University Boat race. Crews representing the dark blue of Oxford take on the light blue of Cambridge in men's and women's races. So what does it take to win this gruelling event? Sophie Shapter knows, s...

Jerry Schemmel is the voice of baseball’s Colorado Rockies. As a renowned play by play radio announcer for the MLB, Jerry is warming up for a new season that will see him travel all over the USA. Travelling was part of his role when he was working for the Continental Basketball Association back in July 1989 when he got on United Airlines Flight 232 to Chicago… But the plane never arrived, in fact...

Some of the best male golfers in the world are tackling the iconic Sawgrass course this week in the prestigious Players Championship. One man who knows better than most how to conquer the course is Jeremy Poincenot. The Florida course is regarded as one of the most challenging in the sport and more so for Jeremy, who is blind. Last year the two time Blind World Champion played in the blind version...

World Champion triathlete and movie screenwriter, Lesley Paterson, tells us how her athletic career has helped fund dreams of winning an Oscar. Her film “All Quiet on the Western Front” is nominated for best picture at the Academy Awards later in March. She spent 16 years battling to get it made and believes the opening scene of the film is “Oscar worthy”. Paterson also tells us she’s already been...

The line-up is complete for the women's football World Cup taking place later this year in Australia and New Zealand. Haiti have joined Portugal and Panama in making the World Cup for the first time. We will be joined by former New Zealand captain Rebecca Smith who will give her thoughts on these teams and how significant it will be for Australia and New Zealand to host the tournament. Over the ne...

Ghanian sports broadcaster Michael Oti Adjei and the BBC’s John Bennett pay tribute to Christian Atsu after he was found dead under the rubble of his home almost two weeks after the Turkey earthquake. The Ghana international – who was playing in Turkey for Hatayspor - had spells with Premier League sides Everton, Chelsea and Newcastle and was also well respected for his charity work in Ghana. Phot...

A unique look at the most watched annual sporting event in the world the Super Bowl, this year hosted in Phoenix, Arizona. Whilst the Super Bowl is the ultimate dream, sometimes that dream becomes a nightmare. 8 long years of slugging it out in the NFL had made Joe Hawley tired both physically and mentally. When the Tampa Bay Buccaneer’s season ended in 2018, Hawley not only made the momentous dec...

David Wheeler is a footballer with a difference. The Wycombe Wanderers star is now a veteran of the game having played in all but one of the top 5 tiers on English football. He's also unafraid to use his platform to speak about issues that are close to him, from mental health to the harm gambling advertising in the game can do. He was recently became the first ever Sustainability Champion for the...

Less than 10 weeks after giving birth, Napheesa Collier was back on court with her Minnesota Lynx team mates in the WNBA. A star of the sport, she's not only an Olympic Gold medallist but is kept busy as one of just a handful of players benefiting from a new deal with the league that pays them to help market the sport during the off season. Paul Felder had a long and successful career as an MMA fi...

Warning! If you are not good with heights, look away now. Canada's Lysanne Richard is one of the best high divers in the world. The former World Champion excels at throwing herself from extraordinary heights, and as she plummets from the tops of cliffs she can reach speeds in excess of 75 kilometres per hour... So how does she overcome fear and exactly how high is high diving? The city of Liverpoo...

Sweden's Lucy Wildheart tells us about the difficult choice she had to make as to which of her to loves, boxing and ballet, she should pursue professionally. Lucy tells us about her journey from giving up school aged 14 to finding ballet which she credits with changing her life having suffered from eating disorders and issues around body image. She also explains how she transitioned from the dance...

Orlando Magic’s Mo Bamba is one of the most recognisable names in basketball, and not just because rapper Sheck Wes named his viral song after him. He was born in New York City to parents who emigrated to the United States from Ivory Coast, and grandparents from Mali. He joins Sportshour's Caroline Barker to discuss the importance of keeping in touch with your roots and developing basketball in th...

A look back at some of our favourite stories from 2022 Photo: A view of SoFi Stadium as workers prepare for Super Bowl LVI on February 01, 2022 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

We preview the World Cup final between Argentina and France in the company of two football journalists. Argentina's Seba Ongarelli and Sara Menai for France. Plus we hear about some of the more than 130 players taking part in the World Cup but whom represent countries they were not born in. Dr Gijs van Campenhout from the University of Utrecht has been writing about the subject of migrant football...