Whilst corruption and organized crime have been widely researched, they have not yet been specifically linked to sport. Corruption, Mafia Power and Italian Soccer offers an original insight into this new research area. Adopting a psycho-social approach based mainly on Pierre Bourdieu's praxeology, the book demonstrates that corruption and the mafia presence in Italian soccer reflect the Italian socio-political and economic system itself. Supported by interviews with security agency officials, anticorruption organisations and antimafia organisations, and analysing empirical data obtained from a case study of 'Operation Dirty Soccer', this important study explains why mafia groups are involved in soccer, what the links are to political corruption and what might be done to control the problem. It also examines the mechanisms that make it possible for mafia groups and affiliates to enter the football industry and discusses how mafia groups exploit and corrupt Italian football. This is important reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students, researchers and academics working in the areas of sociology, criminology, policing, anthropology, the sociology of sport, sport deviance, sport management and organised crime. It is also a valuable resource for practitioners in the football industry.

Soccer has the unique ability to represent and strengthen different cultural identities and ideologies throughout the world. Perhaps nowhere can this be seen more prominently than in Spain, which has surged to the forefront of the world's most popular sport. The national team has won the last two European Championships and the 2010 World Cup, while the two preeminent club teams in Spain, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, have reached the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League in 2011, 2012, and 2013. Even before the sport became a global phenomenon, soccer had established a strong connection with Spanish identity and culture. In Soccer in Spain: Politics, Literature, and Film, Timothy J. Ashton examines the sport's association with Spanish culture and society. In this volume, Ashton demonstrates how Spain's soccer clubs reflected the politics of the region they represented and continue to reflect them today. The author also explores the often-tenuous relationship between the intellectual classes and the soccer community in Spain. Although some of the country's most highly-praised literary figures had a passion for soccer-which was often reflected in their work-many intellectuals deemed the topic unsuitable for critical study. Ashton also discusses how soccer films faced a similar rebuff from Spanish intellectuals, though the popularity of these films has grown in recent years. As soccer continues to be one of the modern world's most significant representations of globalization, its importance as a cultural touchpoint cannot be ignored. For anyone wanting to learn more about the relationship between soccer, politics, and popular culture, this volume offers critical insights. Soccer in Spain is a valuable read for students and scholars of Spanish political history, literature, film, and sport.

SHORTLISTED FOR FOOTBALL BOOK OF THE YEAR, SPORTS BOOK AWARDS 'Beautifully written and immaculately researched. Jonathan Wilson is the finest sports writer of his generation' Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads In 1953, the Mighty Magyars beat England 6-3 at Wembley, a result that echoes through the history of football. A year earlier, this Hungarian team had won Olympic gold. A year later, they lost agonisingly in the final of a World Cup that they dominated. This is the beginning, middle and end of Hungarian football in the popular imagination. Only, how come the ideas from this team spread around the world? Why do Hungarian managers spring up in Italy, Germany, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, across Europe and the Americas, bringing their secrets with them? And what are the incredible stories they have to tell, of escaping the Nazis and the Soviet communists? How did the history of modern football come to be born in the Budapest coffeehouses of the early twentieth century? Fifteen years in the making, this new book from bestselling football historian Jonathan Wilson is the missing piece of the jigsaw; the forgotten story in football's history, lost in war, in revolution, in death and tragedy.

Many books have been written about the 1966 World Cup but this one is different. Brian Scovell was the only national newspaper sports writer-for the 'Daily Sketch'-to report on both the World Cup and the England v West Indies series dominated by Gary Sobers. He had full access to the heroes like Bobby Charlton, who was nearly run over on the day of the Final, Bobby Moore, who was sacked by West Ham just before the event and reinstated, Eusebio, Alf Ramsey, Colin Cowdrey, Tom Graveney, Brian Close, Ken Barrington, Wes Hall and all the leading figures. He contrasts these stirring and sportsmanlike happenings against what is occurring now-greed and corruption in football and the absence of genuine heroes in cricket. His 'on the spot reports' from his cuttings and the book he wrote on the Test series at the time, 'Everything that's cricket,' brings to life the action which captivated the nation. This is his 27th book and four of them have been short listed by the British Sports Books Award. After the 'Sketch' was merged with the 'Daily Mail' in 1971, he completed forty years with Associated Newspapers before retiring to write books.

For a long time, various different lobbying sectors have claimed that the use of video technology is an effective aid in decision-making. Now the IFAB has taken a historic step in the approval of experiments on the use of video to provide support to football refereeing. The Use of Video Technologies in Refereeing Football and Other Sports analyses the capacity of audio-visual technology from different perspectives to help understand the best implementation of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system in football and, more generally, in other sports. This book addresses in-depth interdisciplinary viewpoints on the need and the opportunity of the implementation procedures regarding how to use it, considering that it could lead to very important changes. The book goes on to examine various approaches to the most interesting topics for players, amateurs, coaches, referees and referees coaches. Offering viewpoints from both academics and professionals, this new volume addresses the VAR issue in a multidisciplinary way, analysing the implications of video replay application in football from the perspective of players, coaches, television professionals, referees, amateurs, sports lawyers, media and educators.

Football in Fiction represents the most comprehensive historical mapping and analysis of novels related to association football (soccer). It offers a theoretically informed field guide, a scholarly cartography of football fiction's uncertain - and until now - only partially explored terrain. Combining an extensive search for texts with up-to-date academic research, journals, surveys, catalogues, and reviews the book demonstrates a topographic perspective of the field - one that captures and establishes its breadth, depth, and distinctive identity. The book uses and adapts two distinct reading models of abstraction, in conjunction with closer textual analyses. Together they assist in realising a set of demonstrable conventions, outline a taxonomy of fictive types, establish the genre's current state of play, and advance the football novel as a form with its own literary history and traditions. This book is a valuable resource for those studying and researching in the areas of the social and cultural aspects of football, sports fiction, sports writing, creative writing, and literary and genre studies. Furthermore, related industry professionals will find this a fascinating read, particularly football writers, fans of the sport, and those interested in sports history and cultural phenomena.

Football is big business. The top teams and leagues in world football generate billions of dollars in revenue and serve an audience of billions of fans. This book focuses on the marketing of football as the apex of the contemporary football industry. Drawing upon key theories and concepts in sport marketing, it highlights the critical strategic and operational elements that underpin effective marketing in football clubs around the world. From the English Premier League to Major League Soccer, this handbook addresses the most important developments in sponsorship, marketing communications, digital marketing strategies, customer relationship management and social media. Written by a team of leading football marketing experts, it presents the latest cutting-edge research in case studies from countries including the UK, USA, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, China and Japan. The only up-to-date book on football marketing written from a truly international perspective, the Routledge Handbook of Football Marketing is an invaluable resource for any researcher or advanced student with an interest in football marketing, as well as all marketers working in the professional football business.

The number of kids who love to play soccer has exploded in the last decade. Unfortunately, so has the number of sports injuries. Why? More games, more competitions, and early specialization have all contributed, but so have our methods of training them. High pressure to perform along with an increased volume and intensity of training has combined to hamper young soccer athletes. They favor one side, overuse one muscle group, and do it over and over again. This is a recipe for injury.

In Fit 2 Finish, Dr. LeBolt takes a sport scientist's eye to the training of our soccer-loving kids. She distills the gems of two decades of coaching and injury prevention training to display the methods that have worked to make her athletes safer, healthier and more effective, all while never losing the fun. Coaches at all levels can apply the Fit2Finish principles to every facet of their coaching: warm up, skills and drills, game play, post game routines, recovery, rest and preparing for the next game. Fit 2 Finish is the training manual and the game plan for the coach who's first objective is to keep kids healthy and in the game.

Yes, we must address the 'too much, too early' in today's youth sports, but while we go about changing the culture, the kids who are currently in it need saving. Today's coaches can start now by taking the Fit2Finish method straight to their practice field. If strong, balanced, healthy, high-performing athletes are what we're after, then Fit 2 Finish will get us there.

The study of football fandom is a fast-growing area of research in the sociology of sport. The first work of its kind, this book explores football fan activism and its impact on contemporary football culture in England, Italy and the Czech Republic. Presenting a comparative study of fan activism in national and transnational contexts, it explores the characteristics of each country's football fan culture as well as the varying and at times volatile dynamics between fans, authorities and the mass media. Its chapters address key themes and issues including: fans' reactions to policing and security measures in football stadiums; the socio-cultural significance of symbols and rituals for fans at football games; and fans' critical engagement with football club ownership and management. Offering original insights into the power of fan activism to influence social change, this book has wider implications for understanding social movements in other cultural and political spheres beyond Europe. Football Fans, Activism and Social Change is fascinating reading for all students, scholars and football fans with an interest in sport studies, fan culture, politics and society.

The success, failure and revival of Barry Town is a story that needs to be told. Few clubs have risen so high – facing Dynamo Kiev and FC Porto in the Champions League – and then sunk so low – going into administration, relegated and eventually withdrawn from football altogether – before being brought back to life by loyal fans who even had to take the Football Association of Wales to court in order to play. Following the club over 25 years, starting with the 1993-94 season when they beat Cardiff City to win the Welsh Cup, Unbelievable Barry Town covers the club’s golden decade where they won the Welsh Premier seven times, through the years of playing as an amateur team under controversial owner Stuart Lovering, until the fans were able to take over and turn the club around to once again play in Europe in 2019.

Be inspired by Football Legend, Kylian Mbappe! Discover more about this incredible player's journey from his early career at AS Bondy, coached by his father, to his success at Paris Saint-Germain FC and fulfilling his dream of playing for France. Football Legends: Young readers will love finding out all about the lives of their favourite players in this incredible biography series. Packed with footie facts and match stats plus Mbappe's career highlights Also in the series: Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling, Tammy Abraham, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Lionel Messi. Amazing cover artwork illustrated by Stanley Chow, whose iconic work has found worldwide acclaim

'What Ned hasn’t seen on a sports TV channel isn’t worth knowing about.' Gabby Logan 'From falling out with Mourinho to flying with Gerrard, this is a wonderful journey through football.' Henry Winter Square Peg, Round Ball is a candid, insightful reminiscence on a life in football. Although best known as ITV's commentator on the Tour de France, Ned Boulting has spent most of his professional life covering football. Follow Ned's journey from football supporter to reporter – from criss-crossing the country in a banger of a car hoping for a word or two from the latest big signing, to the glamour of the Champions League. Ned really has been there, done that, and got the Sky Sports jacket to prove it. Witnessing the shenanigans, the machinations and the idiocy of football at close quarters Ned shares his best stories with affection. Whether it's treading mud into Steven Gerrard's pristine white carpets, or nearly being pushed into oncoming traffic by a menacing Vinnie Jones, or being chased away from Roman Abramovich's house by some scary looking men on quadbikes – Ned has made a fool of himself to bring us the best tales from his experiences in 90s and 2000s football.

While globalisation has undoubtedly occurred in many social fields, in sport the importance of 'the nation' has remained. This book examines the continuing but contested relevance of national identities in sport within the context of globalising forces. Including case studies from around the world, it considers the significance of sport in divided societies, former global empires and aspirational nations within federal states. Each chapter looks at sport not only as a reflection of national rivalries but also as a changing cultural tradition that facilitates the reimagining of borders, boundaries and identities. The book questions how these national, state and global identifications are invoked through sporting structures and practices, both in the past and the present. Truly international in perspective, it features case studies from across Europe, the UK, the USA and China and touches on the topics of race, religion, terrorism, separatism, nationalism and militarism. Sport and National Identities: Globalisation and Conflict is fascinating reading for anyone with an interest in the sociology of sport or the relationship between sport, politics, geography and history.

New topic: Give Back Phenomenon, which has contributed to a new knowledge of African footballers' migration to the European leagues. Highlights the link between the evolution of African football, footballers' migration strategies and the Give Back Phenomenon Multidisciplinary analysis based on a socioeconomic model New perspectives on research concerning professional football and local interpretation of socioeconomic development in African countries. Written by three experts in African football and economic sociology of which two are African migrants who studied in Europe.

England On This Day revisits all the most magical and memorable moments from the national side's rollercoaster past, mixing in a maelstrom of quirky anecdotes and legendary characters to produce an irresistibly dippable Lions diary - with an entry for every day of the year. From the first ever international match in 1872 to the Premier League era, England's faithful fans have witnessed decades of world domination and tragicomic failures, grudge matches, World Cup heroics, bizarre goals, fouls and metatarsals - all featured here. Timeless greats such as Bobby Charlton, Kevin Keegan and Paul Gascoigne, Steve Bloomer, David Beckham and Stanley Matthews all loom larger than life. Revisit 12 May 1971, when England beat Malta 5-0 and Gordon Banks only got four touches - all backpasses! 1 September 2001: Germany 1-5 England! Or 12 July 1966, when the England team took a morale-boosting trip to the set of You Only Live Twice...

Who is Harry Redknapp? Football genius or football chancer? Master tactician or practical joker? How is it that even when he was facing court proceedings for tax evasion so many people were still seriously tipping him to be the next England manager? How can one man have two such diametrically opposed and incompatible career trajectories? Does the longing to have an English manager in charge of the national side warp people's thinking?

To Portsmouth fans, Redknapp was the man who walked on water and won them an FA Cup. To Southampton fans, he is still the devil incarnate who had them relegated before jumping ship to their arch rivals. Spurs fans weren't sure what he was, and they didn't care as long as he kept the team together and winning and qualifying for the UEFA Champion's League. Then he accepted the challenge at relegation threatened Queen's Park Rangers...

Sometimes he's the Messiah, at others the clown. Whoever he is, Crace is determined to find out.

Football is undoubtedly the sport with the largest following in the world, attracting billions of fans across the globe. These fans play an integral part in determining the identity of the football club they support. Many studies have focused on the intense rivalry between clubs, their fans and the opposing identities they represent. However, little attention has been paid to examples of cooperation between rival fans. This book is the first to explore antagonistic cooperation in football; the idea that rival fans can work together despite their animosity. With examples from Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Mexico, Croatia, Poland, Turkey, Ukraine, the UK, the US and Zimbabwe, this book brings together case studies on rival fans working together and explores how and why such cooperation takes place. Showcasing original research from a team of international football scholars, it sheds new light on the social and political complexities of contemporary football fan culture. Football Fans, Rivalry and Cooperation is fascinating reading for anybody with an interest in football studies, the sociology of sport, sport and politics, or sport and social theory.

This book explores the key issues of racism, anti-racism and identity in British football. It relates the history of black players in the game, analyzes the racism they have experienced, and evaluates the efficacy of anti-racist campaigns. The efficacy of the policing of racism is also assessed. The nationalism and xenophobia evident in much of the media's coverage of major tournaments is highlighted in the context of the way that English, Scottish, and Welsh identities are constructed within British football.

Football Fandom, Protest and Democracy offers an in-depth and inside approach to the socio-political history of football in Turkey, where fandom is often revered as part of the national identity, presenting the historical context for football events in the country. Based on original research, the book explores the complex political processes at play in modern Turkey and deepens our understanding of fandom, fan activism and protest movements, questioning all presuppositions about the society and football fandom in Turkey. In particular, it examines the role of football fans in the pro-democracy Gezi Protests of 2013, the history of football in Turkey, the sociology of middle-classes and the transformation of football in the country. Interdisciplinary in nature, this book is a valuable resource for scholars and students of sports sociology, popular culture studies, Turkish studies and media studies.

Football and television have been intertwined in culture for more than half a century and Brian Barwick has played a massive role in the continuing liaison between them. Watching The Match tells the story of how football on television became a national obsession. The first live football match in England was the 1938 FA Cup final, and the winning goal was a penalty in the last minute of extra time - proof if ever it was needed that football can deliver the dramatic like no other sport. The BBCs Match of the Day, the first dedicated football highlights show, was first aired in August 1964. The FA Cup Final, for years the only match shown live, suddenly became an all-day event with ITV's FA Cup Wrestling Special FA Cup Final going up against the BBC's It's An FA Cup Knock-out. The 1966 World Cup brought live international matches into the public's home for the first time and the BBC coverage of the final will forever be remembered by Kenneth Wolstenholme's legendary, "Some people are on the pitch ...they think it's all over ...here comes Hurst ...it is now!" Soon commentators, presenters and analysts such as Wolstenholme, Barry Davies, John Motson, Brian Moore, Martin Tyler, Keith Macklin, Gerald Sinstadt, Jimmy Hill, Brian Clough and Terry Venables became national figures and their sucessors, Gary Lineker, Gabby Logan, Jeff Stelling, Adrian Chiles, more so. Satellite television has moved football into a new stratosphere with almost 40 per cent of all Premier League matches shown live every season and the FA's sale of broadcast rights in 2012 for that league alone brought in GBP3 billion. Watching The Match is full of a fascinating story, personal anecdotes and interviews from in front of and behind the cameras, spanning 75 years. Written by a man who has held every important post in football television, this is a must-read book for all football fans.

This fascinating collection brings together leading football historians and sociologists from the UK, Germany, the USA and Australia to offer fresh perspectives on the early development of football (soccer), not only illuminating our understanding of the early history of the world's most popular sport, but also the importance of sport in our broader social and cultural history. The book presents new evidence and fresh perspectives which will inform the robust debate that has been raging about the origins and early development of football. It addresses key issues at the centre of this debate, including the influence of former English public schoolboys, the development of football subcultures outside of prestige educational institutions, and the intersection and divergence of the various football codes around the world. The Early Development of Football is an important resource for anyone working in the history of football or sports in general, football studies or the sociology of sport. It is also a useful read for those interested in sport management and the development of sports organisations and rules.

Long before perma-tanned football agents and TV mega-rights ushered in the age of the multimillionaire player, footballers' wages were capped - even the game's biggest names earned barely more than a plumber or electrician. Footballing legends such as Tom Finney and Stanley Matthews shared a bond of borderline penury with the huge crowds they entertained on Saturday afternoons, on pitches that were a world away from the pristine lawns of the game's modern era. Instead of the gleaming sports cars driven by today's top players, the stars of yesteryear travelled to matches on public transport and returned to homes every bit as modest as those of their supporters. Players and fans would even sometimes be next-door neighbours in a street of working-class terraced houses. Based on the first-hand accounts of players from a fastdisappearing generation, When Footballers Were Skint delves into the game's rich heritage and relates the fascinating story of a truly great sporting era.

Football is ubiquitously acknowledged as 'The Global Game' and/or 'The People's Game' - everyday all-encompassing terms familiar to anyone with an interest in football which illustrate, albeit nebulously, the game's international reach and popularity. Yet much academic and popular attention has been, and continues to be, narrowly centred on topics pertaining to the elite and professional aspects of the game. At a time when there appears to be an ever-widening gap between the grassroots and elite levels of the sport, this book brings together, for the first time, a collection of research articles dedicated solely to youth and junior grassroots football. The intention is to generate future inquiry, encourage theoretical debate and stimulate empirical research on topics and issues within the relatively marginalised area of the game that is youth and junior grassroots football. The collection represents a preliminary consideration of what is already currently known about grassroots football and, no less importantly, point towards what remains unknown and under-researched but which deserves much more attention than has been given hitherto. As such, the collection includes contributions from practitioners and researchers alike. Topics included range from the provision, organisation and development of grassroots football in one national association, to broader issues such as the sources of enjoyment in participation, the lived experiences of junior players and coaches, to the causes of youth dropout from football. In addition, the significance of social stratification and various forms of social division which structure children's participation in grassroots football are discussed. These include female participation and the role of elite female role models, and issues relating to the participation of immigrant youth. The book is intended to appeal to practitioners, academics and football enthusiasts alike. This book was originally published as a special issue of Soccer & Society.