Cracking Down on Football

CRACKING DOWN ON FOOTBALL The civil unrest and government crackdowns in Nicaragua, which led to the cancellation of the CONCACAF Women's Under-17 Championship in the country is continuing to affect the sport in Nicaragua. In a country where almost 30 per cent of girls are pregnant before the age of 18, and around half never go to secondary school, Soccer Without borders helped to break certain norms in a male-dominated society. But that work has been severely curtailed.RED STAR RISING Red Star Belgrade were the last club to win football's European Cup when it was a knockout competition. But until this season, they'd not qualified for the Champions League. We explore the fall and rise again of Serbia's most famous football club, ahead of their first group stage match at home to Napoli on Tuesday. SKATEBOARDING TO SAFETY Skateboarding will make its Olympic debut in Tokyo in two years time. And with the support of one of South Africa's top competitors, Jean-Marc Johannes, the sport is helping keep Cape Town youngsters away from drugs and gangs in the City's townships. GRAND PRIX, BUT NO DRIVER As Singapore hosts the latest round of the F1 World Championship this weekend, can the country produce its own F1 driver?  We speak to the young karting star, who may be that driver, and his mother, after the family re-located to Italy to chase the dream.SNOOKER'S NEW ERA?When it comes to snooker the male stars of the game can earn up two million dollars in prize money in a good year. The Chinese players Ding Junhui and Marco Fu can add considerably more from endorsements. But the women's game is still amateur. With government backing and engaging personality, Hong Kong's women's world number one, Ng On Yee could be the player to help change that.Photo: The aftermath of an anti-government protest in Nicaragua (Getty Images)