Sporting Around the World

Uganda may have a difficult past, but its athletes have risen to the top of the sporting world on more than one occasion. You have football stars such as Denis Onyango, world record runners like Joshua Cheptegei, and top basketball prospects like Arthur Kaluma representing Uganda in big ways. With a rapidly growing population, Uganda are a country to look out for in several team sports including n...

The NCAA Men's Division 1 Basketball Tournament is upon us! Also known as March Madness, the exciting single-elimination tournament sees the best basketball programs in the country compete to be national champion. We cover the tournament favorites, some of the exciting matchups, and games with upset potential to get you up to speed on this year's tournament.  Tell us about your country, sugge...

Nicaragua has had a difficult past thanks to a number of reasons, but they've had athletes break through in the world of sports in some big ways. From baseball stars such as Dennis Martínez to boxing world champs like Román González, Nicaragua has every reason to be proud of their sporting accomplishments. While a lack of funding has hindered the country's growth in some team sports, Nicaragua has...

Baseball on the world's biggest stage is back! David and Bobby provide some background on the World Baseball Classic and take a look at all 20 nations participating at this year's event. Powerhouses such as Japan, the Dominican Republic, and the United States will enter as favorites to win it all, while newcomers Nicaragua, Great Britain, and the Czech Republic will look to make a name for themsel...

Slovenia has had a ton of athletes make an impact in the world of sports, ranging from the conventional (football, basketball, etc.) to the extreme (like skiing down Mt. Everest). We take a look at Slovenia's performance as a team in events such as the FIBA World Cup and how their individual athletes have excelled, such as alpine skier Tina Maze. Name any sport and you can bet that Slovenia has so...

David and Bobby bring on their friend Alex to get you up to speed on the current state of NASCAR. We cover everything from the history of the sport, favorite drivers, and some of the exciting races you can watch during the 2023 season, such as the Daytona 500 on February 19th. Check out the 2023 race schedule here: https://www.nascar.com/nascar-cup-series/2023/schedule/ Tell us about your country,...

Kyrgyzstan is a country filled with strong people doing sports that require a great amount of strength. These sports range from conventional events like Olympic-style wrestling to the wonderfully bizarre horseback game of kok boru (basically dead goat polo/rugby). Kyrgyzstan is home to plenty of your favorite ball sports as well, such as football, handball, and the winter sport of bandy. Tell us a...

The 2023 ICC Women's T20 World Cup begins February 10 in South Africa! David and Bobby take a look at the host stadiums, the teams involved, and who the favorites are to win the tournament. The tournament will run from Feb. 10-26 and can be viewed on ESPN+ in the United States. Check the first link below for streaming information if based outside the US. https://www.t20worldcup.com/news/2445214 Pl...

In our smallest country profile yet, we take a look at Djibouti. Like other countries in East Africa, Djibouti excels at long distance running, including marathons. While they don't produce the same quantity as Ethiopia or Kenya, Djiboutian runners have excelled on the continental and global stage. Djibouti enjoys their ball sports too (association football, basketball, handball, etc), but boules...

Handball seems to be a popular sport just about everywhere except for the United States. So what better time for two Americans to dive into the sport than during the 2023 World Men's Handball Championship. We begin with a look at the basics of handball, followed by the tournament structure, and ending with some players to watch this year.  Contact us at sportingaroundtheworld@gmail.com Find w...

There are really three major sports to talk about with North Macedonia: association football, basketball, and handball. The country has made some major waves in football and basketball in the last decade, usually surprising the rest of Europe with some unexpected performances. As for handball, North Macedonia have established themselves as a steady presence in international tournaments and have ev...

Australia is a major player in the world of sports and are really good at just about everything. While there were a lot of sports and athletes we could highlight, we stuck to the ones we felt were most representative of Australia's sporting culture. So sports like cricket, rugby league, and Australian Rules Football to name a few! In hindsight, we could have made this one longer and talked about m...

Volleyball is a sport that just about everyone is familiar with, but in the United States, it doesn't get much attention beyond the college level. We take a look at the many, many international tournaments that FIVB hosts and get frustrated with the naming conventions for said tournaments. We also talk about volleyball's interesting history that saw the sport spread from a Massachusetts YMCA to th...

Samoa is a nation filled with strong people doing strong things. From rugby to wrestling to any form of football, you'll find Samoans playing sports at the highest level and making their people proud. Not sure where Samoa is or thought it was called American Samoa? Don't worry, we'll cover that too. (American Samoa will be covered in a separate episode by the way). Want to help us with country res...

With the FIFA World Cup still going on, we decided to take a look at two infamous matches in football history that led to rule changes afterwards: the 1994 Caribbean Cup match between Barbados and Grenada, and the 1982 World Cup match between Austria and West Germany.  Want to suggest a topic or help us out with a country profile episode? Contact us at sportingaroundtheworld@gmail.com

In our first bonus episode, Bobby and David recount the World Cup so far and look at the match-ups for the round of 16 (and make their best guesses for the rest of the bracket too!) Contact us at sportingaroundtheworld@gmail.com

Bulgaria have a strong sporting history filled with Olympic successes and dominating performances in sports like wrestling, weightlifting, and gymnastics. While their sporting fortunes have changed a bit since 1990 (and their population has declined significantly), Bulgaria remains relevant in the aforementioned sports and have had great showings in volleyball and their miraculous 1994 semi final...

Collegiate basketball in the United States serves as a proving ground for the best amateur players who want to pursue the sport at the professional level. While the player pool is far and away composed of Americans, there are several notable players from abroad playing at top-ranked schools. Bobby and David take a look at a dozen or so of the best international players in NCAA basketball in the 20...

As is the case with most of South America, association football is by far the most popular sport in Ecuador. With notable clubs on the domestic level and recent successes for the national teams (including the 2022 FIFA World Cup), football is a major source of pride in the country. Ecuador is also home to some unique sports such as Ecuavoley and Pelota Nacional. And you can't forget about the dive...

The 2022 FIFA World Cup is finally here! David provides background on the host nation Qatar and how the tournament works, followed by some insight from Bobby on each of the teams participating. The World Cup kicks off on November 20 with Qatar taking on Ecuador and finishes up on December 18. Feel free to contact us at sportingaroundtheworld@gmail.com

Bangladesh may look small on a map, but this country has a massive population and a massive passion for cricket. In the past 20 years, cricket has become a source of national pride for the Bangladeshi people and the progress their country has made in that time. Team sports like association football, field hockey, and kabaddi are also popular in Bangladesh, as are individual sports like archery and...

With the 2022-23 National Hockey League (NHL) season getting under way, David and Bobby take a look at the history of the league and its star players from outside of North America. With about a third of the league's players hailing from outside the US and Canada, you'll find no shortage of hockey talent from places such as Sweden, Finland, Russia, and the Czech Republic just to name a few.

Zimbabwe have had their fair share of troubles in the past century, with some of those troubles seeping their way into the world of sports. In this episode, Bobby and David look at the good and bad of Zimbabwean sports including cricket, football (soccer), and rugby.

Aside from association football, cricket may be the most popular sport in the world. While the bat-and-ball game may be unfamiliar to most Americans (including us), we took it upon ourselves to learn the basics and share them with you before the ICC Men's T20 World Cup kicks off. If you don't know what T20 is, don't worry! We go over that too. The 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup takes place in Austra...

While The Bahamas only has a population of around 400,000 people, they have definitely made their mark on the world of sports. The island nation has produced star athletes in basketball, baseball, and tennis, and has even had a few players in the NFL. But of course, where The Bahamas shines brightest in the world of sports is on the Olympic stage where they have had a consistent stream of medal-wi...