In FIFA and the Contest for World Football Sugden and Tomlinson provide the first full-length study of FIFA (the Federation Internationale de Football Association) and its role in framing and controlling world football. Interviewing more than seventy influential leaders world-wide and drawing on exclusive documentary sources, the authors demonstrate FIFA's importance in twentieth-century sport, and in an increasingly global consumer culture.

The first part of the book covers the origins and organizational characteristics of FIFA, and of the European and South American federations. The second part considers how new and powerful players have emerged in FIFA in the wake of the collapse of empires. The book includes analyses of football's contributions to the growth of nationalism and anti-imperialism; the use of football by ruthless and sometimes corrupt officials and political despots; and its expansion under the influence of increasingly prominent commercial paymasters. Football's role in Africa, Asia and the USA is also illuminated, and FIFA's global mission and rhetoric evaluated.

The book is a valuable addition to the politics and social history of sport, and to the sociology of the global system and the changing world order. It will be of interest to students and researchers in the areas of sport studies, cultural studies and the sociology of popular culture, and to everyone concerned with the social organization of one of the world's most popular sports.

A History of the Women's FA Cup Final is an exhaustive account of fifty finals, from the first (on a bumpy field inside an athletics stadium) to the fiftieth (at Wembley, televised to millions), complete with match reports and interviews with some of the greatest players ever to grace the pitch. Every women's FA Cup Final goal scorer can be confirmed in one place for the first time, and the achievements of previously unknown record holders can at last be fully recognised. But this is more than just a stats book; it is a tribute to the pioneers of the game, who fought to overturn a fifty-year ban on female players and who paved the way for the incredible game we have today.

During the 2012 European Soccer Championship (popularly called the Euro ), nearly one and a half million people attended the matches. It was the third most-watched sporting event in the world, with the best teams on the continent competing for the title. Yet, only half a century ago the idea of a European championship wasn t widely supported. When it finally received the green light from the world soccer authorities, the best European teams weren t interested in participating in the new event. But as the popularity of soccer grew across the world, and the reputation of the tournament increased with each competition, the Euro has become one of the most popular sporting events world-wide. In European Soccer Championship Results: Since 1958, Tomasz Malolepszy charts the growth and expansion of this popular sport in Europe with a complete statistical history of both the men s and women s competition. For the first time ever, soccer fans can find detailed results, rosters, medalists, and standings for the European Championships all in a single volume. In addition, this book contains a list of interesting records, many of which have never before been published. European Soccer Championship Results is a valuable resource for any soccer fan, journalist, or researcher. Companion volumes to this book include European Basketball Championship Results: Since 1935, European Ice Hockey Championship Results: Since 1910, and European Volleyball Championship Results: Since 1948."

This book explores issues related to the abuse of referees and match officials in sport. Drawing on original empirical research in football, rugby union, rugby league and cricket, it provides an insight into the complexities involved in the recruitment, retention and development processes of match officials from across the global sports industry. Using an evidence-based approach, the book examines why abuse occurs, the operational environments in which match officials operate, and underlying issues and trends that cut across sports and therefore can be linked to wider societal trends. It challenges global sport policy and discusses the development of an inclusive, cohesive and facilitative environment for match officials, players, coaches and spectators to ensure the future provision of global sport. Referees, Match Officials and Abuse is an invaluable resource for all students, scholars and national governing bodies of sport with an interest in match officials, sports governance, sport policy, sport management and the sociology of sport.

This book assesses the transformation of football fan culture from a gender perspective. Referring to the notions of homosociality, hegemonic masculinity and performative perspectives on gender and fandom, it investigates the processes of women entering the world of football fandom. Drawing on multidimensional qualitative and quantitative research, the book analyses different aspects of female fandom, such as women's socialisation to be a fan, building their sense of fan identity, ways of performing fandom, and gender. Also, it explores the response of male fans by shedding light on the sense-making process of a growing number of female fans in the stands and its consequences for prevailingly male football culture. This study stands out for its richness and diversity of empirical material used in order to make a significant contribution to our understanding of social dynamics related to the changing nature of female football fandom. The book is fascinating reading for researchers and students in a broad range of areas, including gender studies, sociology of sport, football, women's studies and Central Eastern European studies. It is also a valuable resource for scholars, and football and club authorities who have an interest in understanding the development of female football fandom and its impact on the male fandom community.

The world s most popular sport, soccer is a global and cultural phenomenon. The television audience for the 2010 World Cup included nearly half of the world s population, with viewers in nearly every country. As a reflection of soccer s significance, the sport impacts countless aspects of the world s culture, from politics and religion to business and the arts. In The World through Soccer: The Cultural Impact of a Global Sport, Tamir Bar-On utilizes soccer to provide insights into worldwide politics, religion, ethics, marketing, business, leadership, philosophy, and the arts. Bar-On examines the ways in which soccer influences and reflects these aspects of society, and vice versa. Each chapter features representative players, providing specific examples of how soccer comments on and informs our lives. These players selected from a wide array of eras, countries, and backgrounds include Diego Maradona, Pele, Hugo Sanchez, Cha Bum-Kun, Roger Milla, Jose Luis Chilavert, Zinedine Zidane, Paolo Maldini, Cristiano Ronaldo, Xavi, Neymar, Clint Dempsey, Mia Hamm, and many others. Employing a unique lens to view a variety of topics, The World through Soccer reveals the sport s profound cultural impact. Combining philosophical, popular, and academic insights about our world, this book is aimed at both soccer fans and academics, offering readers a new perspective into a sport that affects millions."

A failure at most things but not storytelling, this is Mick Channon Jnr's finest book to date. This is also his first book. Framed within the tribulations of a turbulent year in a racing yard, How's Your Dad? examines the relationship between a father and son. Mick Channon Snr, an arthritic workaholic and "grumpy old bastard", played football at the highest level for over twenty years. Almost uniquely, he followed up this sporting career with another, scaling the heights of racing. Mick Channon Jnr had plenty to live up to and despite enjoying the benefits of such a heritage he felt that pressure, as well as the relative anonymity of always being 'Mick's son'.

This book assesses association football's history and development in Ireland from the late 1870s until the early twenty-first century. It focuses on four key themes-soccer's early development before and after partition, the post-Emergency years, coaching and developing the game, and supporters and governance. In particular, it examines key topics such as the Troubles, Anglo-Irish football relations, the failure of a professional structure in the Republic and Northern Ireland, national and regional identity, relationships with other sports, class, economics and gender. It features contributions from some of today's leading academic writers on the history of Irish soccer while the views of a number of pre-eminent sociologists and economists specialising in the game's development are also offered. It identifies some of the difficulties faced by soccer's players and administrators in Ireland and challenges the notion that it was a 'garrison game' spread mainly by the military and generally only played by those who were not fully committed to the nationalist cause. This is the first edited collection to focus solely on the progress of soccer in Ireland since its introduction and adds to the growing academic historiography of Irish sport and its relationship with politics, culture and society. The chapters in this book were originally published an a special issue in Soccer & Society.

'The Europe of football' is one of the aspects of the history of European integration that has generated the smallest amount of academic research. However, the successive invention of sporting traditions with a European calling since the Belle Epoque, followed by the creation of various European cups during the interwar constitute at the same time an original form of 'Europe-building' and a lasting contribution to the creation of a European space and spirit. The target of the authors in this book is to look back on the genesis of European competitions that leads to the creation of the European cups now organised by UEFA. It also seeks to show how football has made possible the setting up of a partially transnational space through sports journalism. Lastly, through the study of the mobility and connections of football's actors, the different chapters will also try to identify the various phases of football's Europeanisation process on the old continent. It will lay strong emphasis on the anthropological, cultural, economic, political and social aspects of this history, notably the production of body techniques, representations, emblematic figures, consumption habits and their role in the larger context of international relations. This book was previously published as a special issue of Sport in History.

The Emergence of Football fuses sports history into mainstream economic, social and cultural history, setting the development of the people's game against the backdrop of the Industrial Revolution. The book challenges conventional histories of nineteenth-century football that surrounded mass games and the public schools and extends the revisionist critique of those histories with the imaginative use of new and original empirical evidence. It outlines the continuing presence of a working-class footballing culture across the century, arguing that the structure of football was a product of industrialisation, urbanisation and population growth that had resulted in a far-reaching restructuring of the class system and urban hierarchies. It was these new hierarchies and class system that gave birth to professional football by the late 1870s. It is essential reading for students of sports studies, economic, social and cultural history, urban and local history, and sociology, as well as a valuable resource for scholars and academics involved in the study of football across the world. This is an absorbing and fascinating read for any of the millions of fans of the game who are interested in the early history of football.

My family doesn't do happy endings. We do sad endings or frustrating endings or no endings at all. We are hardwired to expect the next interruption or disappearance or broken promise. Hope Solo is the face of the modern female athlete. She is fearless, outspoken, and the best in the world at what she does: protecting the goal of the U.S. women's soccer team. Her outsized talent has led her to the pinnacle of her sport - the Olympics and the World Cup - and made her into an international celebrity who is just as likely to appear on ABC's Dancing with the Stars as she is on the covers of Sports Illustrated, ESPN The Magazine, and Vogue. But her journey - which began in Richland, Washington, where she was raised by her strong-willed mother on the scorched earth of defunct nuclear testing sites - is similarly haunted by the fallout of her family history. Her father, a philanderer and con man, was convicted of embezzlement when Solo was an infant. She lost touch with him as he drifted out of prison and into homelessness. By the time they reunited, years later, in the parking lot of a grocery store, she was an All-American goalkeeper at the University of Washington and already a budding prospect for the U.S. national team. He was living in the woods. Despite harboring serious doubts even about the provenance of her father's last name (and her own), Solo embraces him as fiercely as she pursues her dreams of being a world-class soccer player. When those dreams are threatened by her standing within the national team, as when she was famously benched in the semifinals of the 2007 World Cup after four shutouts and spoke her piece publicly, we see a woman of uncompromising independence and hard-won perseverance navigate the petty backlash against her. For the first time, she tells her version of that controversial episode, and offers with it a full understanding of her hard-scrabble life. Moving, sometimes shocking, Solo is a portrait of an athlete finding redemption. This is the Hope Solo whom few have ever glimpsed.

United With Dad is an emotional tale of football fandom and fatherhood, detailing the agonising final two years of a man’s life while drawing on his love for and memories of Manchester United. David Lloyd passed away from metastatic prostate cancer in a nursing home in November 2019. During his heartbreaking decline, he also lived with dementia. His affection for United was ignited by early visits to Old Trafford as a boy in the 1950s. Through the anguish of his final months, his passion for the club never completely faded, even when so many other things did. United With Dad is written by David’s son, Simon, who reflects on his father’s life and their relationship, attempting to make sense of why, at such a bleak time, a shared love of a football club should matter so much. It is a book that transcends club allegiances, for anyone who knows what it is to devote a large chunk of their life to watching their favourite team beside someone they love, then, one day, realise the time has come to go on doing so without them.

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.

Endorsed by the club, written by Eagles aficionado Neil McSteen, and with a foreword by club legend Geoff Thomas, Crystal Palace On This Day chronicles, in diary form, the major events in the club's history: such as the heady days of the epic FA Cup run in 1990, masterminded by Steve Coppell and spearheaded by Ian Wright and Mark Bright; or the dramas of various promotions to the top flight of English football. With individual entries for every day, and multiple listings for more historic and busier days, the book is a dip-in, dip-out offering and includes all the club's big matches, promotions, cup runs, significant events, and sensational signings. Packed with Palace history, it is a must for all Selhurst Park goers.

This book presents an overview on sport history research in Europe by giving insights into various topics between Europes south and north. Examples are physical activities in the middle ages in Cordoba, bullfighting in Spain, aspects of football in various countries to winter sports in France. Football is mainly looked at in the period of the late 1930s to the 1940s, a period of dictatorship in many European countries. This is shown at the example of the German press coverage of German-Danish sport collaborations and the identity of Spanish football during this time. A further focus are the Olympic Games. This topic is taken up in two articles: One discusses as its main subject the famous painting 'Sport Allegory/The Crowing of the Athletes' created by the father of Pierre de Coubertin, the other one has a more current content and shows stakeholders and challenges of the European Youth Olympics in 2015. Besides these broad topics, a focus is put on research in sport history by reflecting on historical frameworks and various methodological approaches. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue in The International Journal of the History of Sport.

The inspirational story of an amazing group of soccer-playing South African "grannies". In rural South African, beloved humanitarian "Mama Beka" defied social convention and started a soccer team for the women in her community. The Soccer Grannies, as they came to be known, won over their families and villages who at first rejected the idea of older women playing soccer, and that single team quickly grew into dozens. Soon, the strength, tenacity, and pure joy of the Soccer Grannies had captured the attention of the world. In Soccer Grannies: The South African Women Who Inspire the World, Jean Duffy, a soccer-playing mom herself, recounts how she and her team set to work to bring the Soccer Grannies to the U.S. after hearing their incredible story. Despite many obstacles that stand in their way, the Soccer Grannies finally arrive, and Jean describes the wonderful friendships and cultural exchanges that follow. But Soccer Grannies tells more than just the physical journey of the South African women; it also details the Grannies' personal journeys, sharing poignant insights into the realities of women living in South Africa. Life beyond the pitch has not been easy for the Grannies. They have persevered through apartheid, rampant poverty and unemployment, the loss of children to AIDS, domestic abuse, and more. But with the friendship and support of their fellow Soccer Grannies, these women face life's challenges with dignity, humor, and hope. Their stories show to the world the power of sport and its unique ability to bring people and cultures together.

'Unmissable: please read this extraordinary book.' - Daily Mail 'Genius... A difficult, deeply personal story beautifully told.' - The Athletic 'All men should read this book - important and brilliantly written.' - Alan Shearer 'A fantastic read... educational and thought-provoking. - ITV News 'A triumph... A worth follow-up to The Boy on the Shed.' - Jeff Stelling Former Newcastle United winger Paul Ferris was 51. He had successfully forged a post-football career as a physio, barrister and then a CEO, and his award-winning memoir, The Boy on the Shed, was just about to be published. But then he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. This honest, sometimes brutal and frequently funny book tells the story of what happened next. Prostate cancer. It's a phrase that strikes fear into the heart of every man. It's the most common male cancer, but treatable if it's caught early enough. Paul doesn't shy away from describing that treatment. And neither does he hold back on its life-changing consequences - from harrowing surgery, humiliating procedures and excruciating consultations - as he strives to become the man he once was again. The mental challenges and psychological impact of living with this acute condition are explored in Paul's revealing and riveting narrative that represents rare male honesty, but this is never a 'poor me' book or not in any way self-pitying. Courageous, inspirational and beautifully written, The Magic in the Tin is a rare thing: deeply moving yet rich in humour, written by a true sportsman in every sense of the word. A brutal and poignant account of one man's journey through prostate cancer.

FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF RONALDO AND NEYMAR. Prolific, cool-headed and unerringly consistent, Lionel Messi is one of the most revered footballers in history. But did you know that his transfer to Barcelona was first agreed on a paper napkin? Or that an x-ray of his hand was to thank for identifying his growth hormone deficiency? And do you know why he refused to collect his first ever Champions League winner's medal? Find out all this and more in Luca Caioli's classic portrait of a footballing icon, featuring exclusive interviews with those who know him best and even Messi himself.

This ground breaking collection provides the first detailed social analysis of football within Africa. The book features case-study essays that draw heavily on detailed fieldwork to examine the distinctive football cultures that have grown up in African communities. The book should be compulsory reading, for social scientists in sport studies and African studies, and for informed football followers everywhere.

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 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.

With rare and unrivaled access, bestselling coauthor of Soccernomics and longtime Financial Times journalist Simon Kuper tells the story of how FC Barcelona became the most successful club in the world-and how that era is now ending FC Barcelona is not just the world's highest grossing sports club, it is simply one of the most influential organizations on the planet. At last count, it had approximately 214 million social media followers, more than any other sports club except Real Madrid CF-and by one earlier measure, more than all thirty-two NFL teams combined. It has more in common with multinational megacompanies like Netflix or small nation-states than it does with most soccer teams. No wonder its motto is "More than a club." But it was not always so. In the past three decades, Barcelona went from a regional team to a global powerhouse, becoming a model of sustained excellence and beautiful soccer, and a consistent winner of championships. Simon Kuper unravels exactly how this transformation took place, paying special attention to the club's two biggest stars, Johan Cruyff and Lionel Messi, who is arguably the greatest soccer player of all time. Messi joined Barca at age thirteen and, more than anyone, has been the engine and standard-bearer of Barcelona's glory. But his era is coming to an end-and with it, a once-in-a-lifetime golden run. This book charts Barca's rise and fall. Like many world-beating organizations, FC Barcelona closely guards its secrets, granting few outsiders access to the Camp Nou, its legendary home stadium. But after decades of writing about the sport and the club, Kuper was given access to the inner sanctum and the people behind the scenes who strive daily to keep Barcelona at the top. Erudite, personal, and capturing all the latest upheavals, his portrait of this incredible institution goes beyond soccer to understand FC Barcelona as a unique social, cultural, and political phenomenon.