Gaming

Learning football from video games now a legit teaching method for coaches, athletes

"The games have gotten to be so detailed that it's correct," said former college star David Pollack, who has used video games to help coach.

Jason Jones Comments count 12

As League of Legends esports celebrates 15 years, its GOAT adds another title

Daniel Brown and Yifan Wu Comments count 8

Football Manager 2026: The 20 best wonderkids to sign

Ajay Rose Comments count 52

FM26: The 20 best free agents to sign in Football Manager 2026

Ajay Rose Comments count 30

Football Manager 26 review: Was the two-year wait for FM26 worth it?

Art de Roché Comments count 110

Jan 15, 2026

Connections: Sports Edition

Group sports terms that share a common thread. A new puzzle is available each day.

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The Tactics Board: How the 4-4-2 works

Part two of The Athletic's series on football formations takes a close look at the classic 4-4-2

Ahmed Walid Comments count 16

Beloved 1997 computer game 'Backyard Baseball' to return as 2D animated special

The animated show, based on a popular 1997 computer game, will be released on YouTube and shown at Dave & Buster's locations across the U.S.

Denny Alfonso Comments count 12

FM26: The 20 best teams to manage in Football Manager 2026

From the game's biggest transfer budget to Belgian third-division strugglers, these are the saves you should attempt

Ajay Rose Comments count 54

FM26's best transfer budgets and wage budgets for over 200 Football Manager 2026 clubs

The Athletic breaks down the top transfer and wage budgets across the latest edition of Football Manager 26

Ajay Rose Comments count 23

Madden, EAFC maker Electronic Arts to go private in record $55bn buyout

The purchasing consortium consists of Saudi Arabia's PIF, Silver Lake and Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners.

Ali Rampling Comments count 60

EA Sports FC 26 review: From an 'authentic' game mode to rage-quitting penalties, what's new this year?

The latest iteration of an EA Sports juggernaut has been released — Ajay Rose explores what's new about this year's game

Ajay Rose Comments count 43

Women's football in Football Manager 26: How will it work? What could the impact of its inclusion be?

After the scrapping of FM25, women's football will feature in FM26 when it is released in November. So how will it work?

Art de Roché Comments count 43

Football Manager 26 gets release date after 2025 edition cancelled

Football Manager 25 was cancelled in February this year after several delays in the release of the game

Nnamdi Onyeagwara Comments count 53

NBA 2K26 review: Authentic moves, 'drive-and-kick' among gameplay improvements

The latest installment in the 2K hoops series picks up with enhancements in the realism of the gameplay from last year's video game.

Jason Jones Comments count 5

EA pulls NCAA hoops video game game proposal, 2K teases 'college basketball experience'

In a memo, EA Sports cited some schools accepting a 2K Sports proposal for inclusion in the "NBA 2K" series.

Chris Vannini Comments count 51

Why Football Manager 25 was cancelled: 'Pulling the game was absolutely the right thing to do'

Sports Interactive boss Miles Jacobson talks about shelving the release of FM25 and why his team expect to redeem themselves with FM26

Art de Roché Comments count 228

Premier League Predictions: Man City vs Tottenham, Newcastle vs Liverpool and the rest of Matchday 2

How did our writer get on in MD1 against a subscriber, a child and an algorithm? And what is everyone predicting for MD2?

Oliver Kay Comments count 74

Premier League Predictions: Liverpool vs Bournemouth, Man Utd vs Arsenal and the rest of Matchday 1

Welcome to the new game where subscribers pit their wits against one of our writers, a predictive model and a very informed small child

Oliver Kay Comments count 47

Surfing dogs, fighting robots, racing dinosaurs: Ranking 15 sports to watch on 'ESPN8: The Ocho'

"The Ocho" has oddities worth checking out, whether to get a good laugh or find a new favorite novelty. We ranked our favorites.

Steven Louis Goldstein Comments count 3

Premier League predictions: Take on an Athletic writer in our new weekly game

We're launching a new predictions game for each Premier League matchday and need a subscriber each week to take part in the coming season

Oliver Kay Comments count 17

EA Sports College Football 26: Best strategies, tips and tricks to win

An expert's guide to what video game players of all skill levels need to do to win in EA Sports College Football 26.

Cameron Teague Robinson Comments count 11

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Angel Reese, Carmelo Anthony chosen for NBA 2K26 covers

The trio will share a cover for NBA 2K26’s “Leave No Doubt” Edition, a special release, in addition to having their own individual covers.

Jason Jones Comments count 107

EA Sports College Football 26: What's new in Dynasty? What we like and still want to see

Asthe July 10 release date gets closer, we can finally talk about the foundational part of the College Football 26 video game: Dynasty mode.

Chris Vannini and David Ubben Comments count 65

The esports champion who is now operating as a real-life footballer for Lazio

Oliver Provstgaard's career has seen him win the Champions League in the virtual world — now the aim is to play in it in the real world

Anantaajith Raghuraman Comments count 10

Knicks' Mikal Bridges has mastered adversity: Video games, bullying and friendship

Bridges continues to show his mental toughness, and it has led to the Knicks being up 2-0 over Boston.

James L. Edwards III Comments count 141