On 25 March 1876, the Football Association of Wales played its inaugural match, against Scotland in Glasgow. On that day 11 intrepid footballers became the first of over 700 players to proudly represent the senior men's team of the world's third oldest football nation. Sons of Cambria is the first volume of a landmark three-part collection that will feature every footballer capped for Wales' senior men's team since 1876 and is the essential reference guide for all followers of Welsh international football. Listed in the order in which they won their caps, every player has for the first time been assigned their unique player number, with Volume I containing biographical listings of the 374 players capped between 1876 and 1939 (as well as the 30 players who represented Wales in uncapped war-time matches) including photographs of almost all the players. In addition to the players, Sons of Cambria also lists every international match (capped and uncapped) played between 1876 and 1946, and includes team photographs from 38 of those games. Packed with incredible stories, fascinating facts and hundreds of photos, Sons of Cambria is a book all Welsh football fans will treasure.

On 12 October 1972, a Uruguayan Air Force plane carrying members of the 'Old Christians' rugby team (and many of their friends and family members) crashed into the Andes mountains. I Had to Survive offers a gripping and heartrending recollection of the harrowing brink-of-death experience that propelled survivor Roberto Canessa to become one of the world's leading paediatric cardiologists. Canessa, a second-year medical student at the time, tended to his wounded teammates amidst the devastating carnage of the wreck and played a key role in safeguarding his fellow survivors, eventually trekking with a companion across the hostile mountain range for help. This fine line between life and death became the catalyst for the rest of his life. This uplifting tale of hope and determination, solidarity and ingenuity gives vivid insight into a world famous story. Canessa also draws a unique and fascinating parallel between his work as a doctor performing arduous heart surgeries on infants and unborn babies and the difficult life-changing decisions he was forced to make in the Andes. With grace and humanity, Canessa prompts us to ask ourselves: what do you do when all the odds are stacked against you?

Rossendale United Football Club 1898-2011: A Season by Season History is the roller coaster story of one of North West England's oldest non-league clubs, which went out of existence in June 2011. The story of a few highs and many more lows that features characters such as secretary of the Football League Charles Sutcliffe, one of England's greatest centre forwards Tommy Lawton, and even cricket legend David Lloyd. Featuring biographies of leading players and an extensive statistical section, this is the story of Rossendale United Football Club over each of its 112 seasons.

The 25th May 1967 is a date ingrained into the DNA of every Celtic supporter. Their club will always be the first British winners of the European Cup, having beaten Inter Milan in the final with a late Stevie Chalmers goal, on a balmy Lisbon night - but for some, grainy YouTube clips and faded news cuttings of that glorious sixties evening are their main insight into the club's finest day. Launched ahead of the 50th anniversary of the triumph, I Remember 67 Well brings to life the legend and tells the full story of what is undoubtedly Celtic's greatest-ever footballing achievement - and one which may never be bettered. The momentous European campaign is replayed from that thumping 5-0 first-round aggregate win over Zurich. Set against the backdrop of global and news events that made headlines at home and abroad and the club's domestic achievements, which included pipping Rangers to the Scottish title, I Remember 67 Well gives Celtic supporters the opportunity to relive their greatest season, and one in which their club ruled Europe.

From causing one of the biggest shocks in FA Cup final history by beating Manchester United in 1976 to promotion to the Premier League in 2012, here are 50 of the club's most glorious, epochal and thrilling games of all! Expertly presented in evocative historical context, and described incident-by-incident in atmospheric detail, Southampton Greatest Games offers a terrace ticket back in time, from the bygone days of Ted Bates and Lawrie McMenemy to the club's rise from League One back to the top flight via administration and near bankruptcy and their highest-ever Premier League finish under Ronald Koeman's masterful management. An irresistible cast list of club legends - including the great Matt Le Tissier, record appearance-maker Terry Paine, Wembley heroes Mick Channon and Peter Osgood, promotion winners Rickie Lambert and Jose Fonte and former European Footballer of the Year Kevin Keegan - comes to life in these thrilling tales of goalscoring feats, great comebacks, Wembley glory and the odd glorious yet crushing disappointment. In all, a journey through the highlights of Saints' history which is guaranteed to make any fan's heart swell with pride.

*** SHORTLISTED FOR THE TELEGRAPH'S 2021 SPORTS BOOK AWARDS - INTERNATIONAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR 'One of the best football books I've read for a very long time.' - Sam Pilger, FourFourTwo Magazine 'An extraordinary, granular depiction of a young football star's life.' - The Daily Mail 'An excellent read with some incredible stories.' - TalkSPORT Breakfast Show Known as 'Lord Bendtner' to his fans and haters alike, Nicklas Bendtner has been lauded for his football skills at super clubs like Arsenal and Juventus. But his career has been haunted by his rocky behaviour and tendency to self-sabotage. In this disarmingly honest memoir, Bendtner talks about the darker side of football and his own difficult fall from grace; about what it's like to have so much promise that you lose touch with reality altogether. It's is about growing up in a working-class neighbourhood and fighting to reach the top in the worlds' toughest league. It's about friendship, rivalry, and the constant quest for an adrenaline kick. It's about money and what happens when you give a troubled, overconfident teen millions to spend. It's about an industry that has lost sight of what really matters. A modern footballing fable, it's a story of decline, temper, talent, great football and ultimately the tragedy of unfulfilled potential. Not since the days of Paul McGrath's Back From The Brink have we seen such honesty on the page of a footballer's memoir. Fans of Paul Merson, George Best and Tony Adam's autobiographies will also find pure fascination here in a story that has gripped international readers...

Got, Not Got: The Lost World of Newcastle United is an Aladdin's cave of memories and memorabilia, guaranteed to whisk you back to St James' Park's fondly remembered 'Golden Age' of mud and magic - as well as a Mags-mad childhood of miniature tabletop games and imaginary, comic-fuelled worlds. The book recalls a more innocent era of football, lingering longingly over relics from the good old days - Toon stickers and petrol freebies, league ladders, big-match programmes and much more - revisiting lost football culture, treasures and pleasures that are 100 per cent Newcastle United. If you were a Junior Magpie, one of the army of obsessive soccer kids at any time from the Joe Harvey era to the early days of the Premier League, then this is the book to recall the mavericks - Macdonald, Mirandinha and Gascoigne; Keegan, Quinn and Waddle - and the marvels of the lost world of football.

So, you think you're a true Norwich City fan? A proper Canary? Yes, you've a shirt or two, you even know the first verse of 'On The Ball City', but do you really know the history of the club? Do you know the substitute in the 1985 League Cup Final? Or who our captain was in the 1983 FA Cup quarter-final? Or from which club Gordon Bolland joined us? Test yourself here with the ultimate quiz book on Norwich City FC. A book for any and all supporters of that mighty team in yellow and green, it's the perfect companion for those long journeys to away games or nights down at the local. From famous players, managers and matches, to transfers, incidents and trivia; it's all in here, designed to tease and test your knowledge of the club. So get your Canary thinking caps on - it's quiz time!

The Sunday Times Bestseller and Number 1 Sport Book of 2016 'A tale that's truly inspirational' The Sun An ordinary lad from Sheffield, Jamie Vardy has become known as an against-the-odds footballing hero the world over. Yet a few years ago, things couldn't have been any more different. Rejected as a teenager by his boyhood club, Jamie thought his chance was gone. But from playing pub football and earning GBP30 a week at Stocksbridge Park Steels, while still working in a factory, his off-the-cuff performances saw him rise. Jamie had a wild and turbulent youth, but football became his saving grace and, once he filled his boots with goals at FC Halifax Town and Fleetwood Town, he moved to Leicester City. After the miracle of surviving relegation, the team of unlikely outsiders bonded together to achieve the unthinkable: Jamie set the record as the first player to score in 11 consecutive Premier League matches and Leicester beat odds of 5000-1 to become champions. Jamie has now been nominated for the Ballon d'Or, firmly establishing himself as one of England's leading goal scoring footballers. Not forgetting his roots, however, he has set up the V9 Academy in a bid to find the next big talent from non-league football. Defying all expectations, this is the story of the boy from nowhere who reached the top in his own unflinching, honest words.

This book takes a closer look at the societal functions of sports clubs by using the broad range of empirical data of a comparative study. There is a limited amount of up-to-date knowledge on the functions of sports clubs and their potential to promote public health, social cohesion and democratic participation through volunteering and thus contribute to public welfare in European societies. Most of the existing studies are country-specific and therefore do not allow for making comparisons from a cross-national perspective. In light of this, the project 'Social Inclusion and Volunteering in Sports Clubs in Europe' (SIVSCE) collected, analysed and discussed comparable data and knowledge across ten European countries and disseminated this knowledge to politicians, sports professionals and sports volunteers in Europe. The SIVSCE project contains comparative data of clubs as well as of members in selected sports clubs. In each country chapter, the comparative data from the SIVSCE project is put together in a coherent way. Particularly, the data of the member survey give in-depth information about the fulfillment of the different functions of sports clubs (e.g. extension of democratic participation, social integration). Providing in-depth data related to policy issues, structure and management of clubs and individual member surveys, this book will be useful for students particularly those in sports management programmes as well as researchers and practitioners in social science and economics.

A warmly written, readable and intelligent history of this famous football club... published just as United have been promoted back to the Premier League. In The Biography of Leeds United, Telegraph journalist and lifelong fan, Rob Bagchi, chronicles a history that will educate, entertain and inform both old and new supporters. Packed with fresh stories about (and from) former players, managers and money men, the book is an affectionate, comprehensive and blackly humorous portrait of a club like no other. Leeds United were founded in 1919 to revive professional football in Yorkshire's biggest city following the expulsion of their fragile and bungling predecessors, Leeds City. Over a century on from their formation, a club that makes a virtue out of its many ups and downs in its own anthem, has endured a turbulent existence of extraordinary, often mercurial, success tempered by crushing disappointment and conflict. This book is a roar of defiance against the recent period of mediocrity served up prior to the past few seasons of revival and, as well as providing vivid recollections of their greatest days, the three league championships, FA Cup, League Cup and floodlit memories of nights of European glory, it offers a broad sweep of the club's often neglected early history. The Biography of Leeds United includes the voices and thoughts of Johnny Giles, Eddie Gray, Scott Sellars, Gordon Strachan, David O'Leary and Gary Kelly and uses them to look deep into the soul of the club and at the spirit that resides with in it. A passionate manifesto that captures the essence of a club that has for the past five decades been in it's own story of great adventures, fleeting splendour, relegation and defiant, hard battles against authority, owners and self-sabotage, this rousing and comprehensive book is written for the supporters and echoes their passionate cry - We Are Leeds! When United mark their centenary in October 2019, vivid recollections of their greatest days, the three league championships, FA Cup, League Cup, and floodlit memories of nights of European glory will be celebrated throughout the vast fanbase, local and international, such triumphs promoted. Elland Road icons John Charles, Billy Bremner, Jack Charlton, Peter Lorimer, Norman Hunter, Eddie Gray, Tony Currie, John Sheridan, Gordan Strachan, David Batty, Eric Cantona, Gary Speed, and Lucas Radebe played for teams that were both revered and reviled, contributing to the club's fame throughout the world. Don Revie's team of the 60s and 70s, that immortal line-up that rolls off the tongue of generations of football fans, propelled the club and city to unprecedented heights. But when they reached the top, they failed to plan and there was nowhere to go but down. The theme of the past five decades has been the struggle to get back, a story of great adventures, fleeting splendour, relegation, and defiant, hard battles against authority, owners, and self-sabotage. So, here we go with Leeds United, a club adorned by hall of fame managers from Major Frank Buckley to Don Revie, Brian Clough, Jock Stein, George Graham, and Marcelo Bielsa, is also an institution that has perennially toiled to pay its own way and in recent years has suffered as a vehicle for the greater good of Peter Ridsdale, Kenneth Bates, Massimo Cellino and others. Yet it survives and now thrives because of the millions of people who love it. In The Biography of Leeds United, Telegraph journalist and lifelong fan Rob Bagchi writes the story of this famous club and chronicles a century of history that will educate, entertain and inform both old and new supporters. Packed with fresh stories about and from former players, managers, and the money men, as well as the fans, this book is an affectionate and insightful portrait of a football club like no other, 'Super Leeds'.

Written from the unique point of view of the club chairman, A Year in the Life of Somerset County Cricket Club is the story of the highs and lows of county cricket. Somerset County Cricket Club was founded in 1875 and since then has provided its many members and supporters with countless memories. In recent years the Club has established itself as one of the leading clubs in England, closely competing for honours every season and developing many young players through its age-group and Academy system. The Club has simultaneously transformed its fortunes off the pitch, managing to redevelop the County Ground in Taunton without freighting itself with large debts. In October last year the ECB granted Somerset Provisional Category B status, meaning it can now progress towards hosting England ODIs and T20 fixtures, which will bring many benefits to the West Country. This book provides a captivating insight into the daily workings in and around the Club throughout 2012 as it meets numerous challenges and prepares future plans. All royalties from sales of this book have been kindly donated by the author to the Clowance charity that promotes youth cricket.

Sport, and in particular the sporting environment, has undergone significant changes in recent decades. The social significance and commercialization of sport; the use of new technologies and organizational structures; and the involvement of various stakeholders matter more today than ever before. This book addresses the key influence of stakeholders in particular on the activities of sports organizations, taking into account certain territorial differences around the world, but also within Europe. The authors explain the key characteristics of the management of sports organizations as opposed to other organizations. These include the strategic management and setting of long-term goals such as sporting success, sustainable funding, youth training, and community building. The authors present a strategic model for these goals and stakeholders in the context of sport, together with research-based case studies in which the critical factors in the strategic management of successful and unsuccessful sports organizations are identified.

This title introduces soccer fans to the history of one of the top MLS clubs, Columbus Crew SC. The title features informative sidebars, exciting photos, a timeline, team facts, a glossary, and an index. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards.

This title introduces soccer fans to the history of one of the top MLS clubs, the Portland Timbers. The title features informative sidebars, exciting photos, a timeline, team facts, a glossary, and an index. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards.

In 2011, nine years after being on the brink of obscurity, Swansea City made it to the Premier League following their defeat of Reading in the Championship play-off final at Wembley. Wales, at last, had a premier club in the Premier League. This no-holds-barred account graphically describes that first year in the Premier League and the dramas of one football fan's journey. Written off by pundits at the beginning of the season, this turned out to be an explosive year in the history of Swansea City FC.

From the thousands of matches ever played by Norwich City, stretching from giant-killing exploits during Southern League days to the Premier League era, here are 50 of the Canaries' most glorious, epochal and thrilling games of all! Expertly presented in evocative historical context, and described incident-by-incident in atmospheric detail, Norwich City Greatest Games offers a terrace ticket back in time, taking in everything from League Cup glories to nationally celebrated European excursions. An irresistible cast list of club legends - Chris Sutton, Ken Foggo and Ron Ashman, Mark Bowen, Bryan Gunn and Ralph Hunt - springs to life in a thrilling selection of hard-fought derby matches, landmark European victories, league and cup exploits, including near glory in the inaugural Premier League season. In all, a journey through the highlights of Canaries history which is guaranteed to make any fan's heart swell with pride.

Fifteen Fulham legends come together to tell the stories behind their favourite ever games for the club - enabling Cottagers fans of all ages to relive these magic moments through the eyes and emotions of the men who were there, playing their hearts out for the white shirt...John Mitchell and Les Strong recall 1975 FA Cup heroics, recounting stories of overturning Birmingham City in the semi-final before facing West Ham at Wembley as Second Division underdogs; George Cohen waxes lyrical about an eight-goal semi-final against Manchester United in 1958. Rodney McAree opts for the goal at Carlisle in 1997 that started Fulham's climb from the basement to the Premier League - while Simon Davies nominates the Europa League Final. Craven Cottage greats Steve Earle, Ray Lewington and Danny Murphy also turn in characteristic star performances, winding back the clock to relive treasured memories of the Match of Their Lives for Fulham.

The Official England Annual 2022 is a must-read for all England fans. From profiles of all your favourite Three Lions and Lionesses, to match reviews, this is essential reading for fans of the beautiful game! You can learn about the history of the England national team and discover some of the greatest goals that have been scored over the years, as well as brush up on your knowledge of the managers leading our star players. Plus, even the most ardent fan will find something to challenge their England knowledge with games and quizzes for everyone to enjoy. Come On England!

Authorative, comprehensive, all encompassing and the last word on the history of the British & Irish Lions - this book is essential reading for dedicated followers of the team that best represents the spirit of rugby and is THE ONLY OFFICIAL LIONS HISTORY This fully revised and updated edition includes a full review of the 2017 Tour to New Zealand and a preview of the 2021 Tour to South Africa Over 130 years of Lions rugby is chronicled in this authoritative and lavishly illustrated book which was originally written by Clem Thomas, (Lion #386), up to the 1993 Tour and then carried on by his son Greg and renowned rugby writer, Rob Cole. With over 500 pages of content and over 400 illustrations, including photographs, paintings, scrapbooks & memorabilia, the book is simply the most comprehensive and thorough re-telling of Lions' history - Each tour is covered in wonderful detail. This edition also carries a foreword by Lions Chairman, Jason Leonard #644 and there is a 75 page statistics section that includes: the score and team makeup of every Test played by the Lions, full lists of every Lion by A-Z and by order of appearance (from #1 Jack Anderton to #835 Finn Russell), records against each country, appearances, points, tries and so much more.

It's 40 years since Ipswich Town's UEFA Cup triumph, a cup run that saw them having to beat no less than three champions-elect to lift the trophy in Amsterdam's Olympic stadium. In this, the definitive account (to date!) of Town's European games, the authors take you through the seasons: From Alf Ramsey's Champions playing in the European Cup, through the Bobby Robson era and the UEFA Cup triumph in Amsterdam, to the George Burley Premiership team, and the 'bonus' season in Europe ending under Joe Royle. Every tie is summarised and most are well illustrated, with photos of action on the pitch, memorabilia, and the fans on location. As the club's appointed travel agents, the Houseley brothers were handed a huge responsibility for smooth organisation, and seeing off any trouble at a time of widespread football hooliganism. The Ipswich fans, however, were a credit to club and country and took their good behaviour and good humour as a badge of honour, something greatly appreciated by the club's directors and owners, manager Sir Bobby Robson and the players. The memories these trips produced are priceless: ships, planes, trains and coaches were chartered as thousands of fans made the journeys to some of the finest cities in Europe, to see their team come up against some of Europe's most famous names. Coach and manager Bobby Ferguson wrote the Foreword and then gives his assessment of the players of 1980-81 team. There are accounts from fans, stewards and club officials, journalists, and the brothers themselves. The Travel Card scheme for fans devised by David and Philip was ahead of its time: it was taken up by other clubs, Dennis Howell's working party appointed by the prime minister, and finally by the FA as the England Travel Club.

Cricket is a very old game in Scotland - far older than football, a sport which sometimes exercises a baleful, obsessive and deleterious effect on the national psyche. Cricket goes back at least as far as the Jacobite rebellions and their sometimes vicious aftermaths. It is often felt that Scottish cricket underplays itself. It has been portrayed as in some ways an English sport, a "softies" sport, and a sport that has a very limited interest among the general population of Scotland. This is emphatically not true, and this book is in part an attempt to prove that this is a misconception. Sixty-one games (it was going to be just 60, but one turned up at the last minute!) have been chosen from the past 250 years to show that cricket does indeed influence a substantial part of the nation. The matches have been selected at all levels, from Scotland against visiting Australian teams all the way down to a Fife school fixture. These naturally reflect the life, experience and geographical whereabouts of the author. The games are quirky sometimes, (and quirkily chosen) with an emphasis on important events in the broader history of this country, notably the imminence of wars and resumptions at the end of these conflicts. But the important thing is that every single cricket contest does mean an awful lot to some people.

This book encapsulates the 120-year history of Ebbsfleet United in a series of team photographs, action shots, player portraits, old programmes, statistical information and other fascinating ephemera. It explores the stories of Gravesend United, Northfleet United, the combined club (Gravesend & Northfleet FC) and its modern-day counterpart Ebbsfleet United - the first club to be owned by the people, via myfootballclub.com. All the great days of the club's history are recounted, from strong links to Tottenham Hotspur right through to Ebbsfleet's memorable FA Trophy success at Wembley, along with the many ups and downs in between. This is a must-have for all fans of the club.