World Cup 2026: Can Vancouver hang on to its own team?

World Cup 2026: Soccer's growth in Trump's America

Lee James looks at whether co-hosting the men's Fifa World Cup will take football to another level in the United States. In many countries around the world, football is the major obsession - but the same can't be said about the US. The NFL, NBA, Major League Baseball and NHL have a longer history and dominate the media coverage, the sponsorship deals and the national conversation. But has this World Cup changed that - particularly now President Trump has got involved? Lee tells the story of how soccer has made big strides in the country since it first hosted the men's World Cup in 1994. The women's team is a dominant powerhouse, and Lionel Messi's move to Inter Miami has boosted interest in the men's domestic league, the MLS. Among the people we hear from are former head of US soccer Alan Rothenberg, the USA international footballers Eric Wynalda and Heather O'Reilly, MLS vice-president Dan Courtemanche, and South Korea captain Son Heung-Min, who made the move to the MLS from the English Premier League. More than the Score brings you more than the men’s football World Cup - the new teams, standout stars, trends and fandoms shaping the tournament in ways the stats don’t show. With 48 teams competing across Mexico, the US and Canada, BBC World Service promises to take you deeper - from the group stages to the final. Search for More than the Score wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

World Cup 2026: Can Vancouver hang on to its own team?

As Vancouver hosts the last of its seven games at World Cup 2026, the city now faces a battle to keep its own MLS team. The Vancouver Whitecaps are for sale and have been linked with a potential relocation to Las Vegas. The Whitecaps say they’ve held serious talks with more than 100 potential interested parties, but no viable offer has emerged that would keep the team in Vancouver. Lee James speaks to former Canada internationals David Edgar and Paul Dolan, who both have links with Vancouver, to get their take on the situation. Isaac Fanin visits the city to speak to Whitecaps fans, journalists and former players to find out how people feel about a possible relocation to Las Vegas. We also hear from MLS vice president Dan Courtemanche about the possibility of the club relocating. More than the Score brings you more than the men’s football World Cup - the new teams, standout stars, trends and fandoms shaping the tournament in ways the stats don’t show. With 48 teams competing across Mexico, the US and Canada, BBC World Service promises to take you deeper - from the group stages to the final. Search for More than the Score wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

World Cup 2026: Haaland and Norway sail on as Brazil drought continues

Norway, aided by two goals from Erling Haaland, have reached the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time with a 2-1 win over Brazil – whose wait for their sixth title will stretch to at least 28 years. Mani Djazmi is joined by Norwegian football journalist Lars Sivertsen and South American football expert Tim Vickery to reflect on what the results mean for both countries… Lars discusses the influence of Norway goalkeeper Orjan Nyland, the fact Erling Haaland wants to inspire young people to dream of playing for Norway and explains the shared football heritage of Norway and England ahead of the two sides facing each other in the last eight. Tim derides the decision to take Neymar to the World Cup and to bring him on against Norway and says manager Carlo Ancelotti will now feel pressure around his position much greater than anything he will have experienced at Real Madrid or AC Milan. More than the Score brings you more than the men’s football World Cup - the new teams, standout stars, trends and fandoms shaping the tournament in ways the stats don’t show. With 48 teams competing across Mexico, the US and Canada, BBC World Service promises to take you deeper - from the group stages to the final. Search for More than the Score wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

World Cup 2026: How Mexico fell in love with football

Co-hosts Mexico have won four matches in a row at the World Cup, and are now set to face England at Mexico City’s legendary Azteca Stadium, with a place in the quarter-finals on the line. Football is a way of life in Mexico - but did you know a group of Cornish miners helped introduce the sport to the country? Henry Cowling has been investigating the role those miners played in Mexico's footballing story. This documentary first featured on Not By The Playbook. More than the Score brings you more than the men’s football World Cup - the new teams, standout stars, trends and fandoms shaping the tournament in ways the stats don’t show. With 48 teams competing across Mexico, the US and Canada, BBC World Service promises to take you deeper - from the group stages to the final. Search for More than the Score wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

What makes a Grand Slam grand?

The Indian Wells tournament and the Players Championship are often unofficially referred to as the “fifth Grand Slam” and the “fifth major” of tennis and men's golf respectively. But could those nicknames ever become a reality – and who gets to confer that status on them? What makes some tournaments ‘major’, and why do they seem to matter more? BBC golf correspondent Iain Carter talks to More than the Score’s Ade Adedoyin about how the Open, the Masters, the US Open and the US PGA came to be regarded as the four majors of the men’s game – even though other tournaments previously had that status too. What do they reveal about where power lies in the sport? Ben Rothenberg, editor of tennis magazine Bounces, also joins the pod to explain what sets the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open apart from the rest of tennis. How much does entering their name into history still motivate golfers and tennis players today? And if you've got your own take on the stories we cover, we'd love to hear from you. Email morethanthescore@bbc.co.uk [morethanthescore@bbc.co.uk], or WhatsApp us on 0044 800 032 0470. You can find more information, along with our privacy notice, on our website: www.bbcworldservice.com/morethanthescore