This book examines the interplay between football, politics, violence, passion, and morality in Argentina. Drawing on original ethnographic research, it considers the role of fans, club officials, politicians, and others in the spread and perpetuation of corruption and violence within football and in wider Argentinian society. Argentina’s triumph in the 2022 World Cup brought millions onto the streets of Buenos Aires in celebration, but this book argues that beneath the veneer of sporting success lie networks of power and practices that have naturalized corruption and violence within Argentinian football and, by extension, in Argentinian society as a whole. It shows how the actions of club officials, politicians, barras (groups of organized, violent fans), and the police, which together represent a system of clientelism, exemplify in the world of football the system of organized chaos that habitually defines Argentinian politics. With the barras given licence to engage in violent behaviours linked not only to sporting passion but also to economic and political interests, this book argues that football, politics, and violence have become entangled in a web of social relations that illustrate Argentina’s struggle to break the vicious cycle of corruption and impunity. Shining new light on the significance of sport in wider society and the centrality of football in one of the world’s greatest footballing nations, this book is essential reading for anybody with an interest in the anthropology, sociology, politics, or history of sport, or in political science, corruption, or Latin American studies.

This book presents a series of fascinating case studies that show how the lives and bodies of clubs, players and fans around the world are enmeshed with politics. It draws on original research in countries including England, Scotland, Ireland, Poland, Mexico, Algeria and Argentina and includes both historical and contemporary perspectives. It explores some of the most important themes in the study of sport, including sectarianism, migration, fan activism and national identity, and shows how football continues to be tied to political events, symbols and movements. This is fascinating reading for any student or researcher working in sport studies, political science, sociology or contemporary history.

This book examines the deep connections between football and politics, and explains what those relationships can tell us about sport and wider society. With the game occupying a preeminent place on the world sporting stage, this book argues that the political significance of football has never been greater. The book explores the politics of football governance and the international organisations that run the game, as well as the interaction of footballing authorities with government at all levels. It shows how football clubs and supporter groups have leaned left - such as FC Sankt Pauli - or right – such as SS Lazio – and have been significant voices in secessionist debates and the promotion of religious identities and ethno-centrism, and how football has been used by fascist and communist regimes to project political ideology. The book also considers key contemporary political issues in football, such as surveillance, discrimination, and human rights. This is fascinating reading for anybody with an interest in football, in the politics or sociology of sport, in international relations, government or political ideology, or in the intersection of politics and culture.

The state's presence in professional football has been ad hoc and inconsistent. Football has been largely exempt from the development of the regulatory state and has been left to govern itself. However, new media have raised the profile of the game and globalization has created new pressures as clubs become pawns in the ambitions of states and wealthy individuals. Clubs offer an important sense of identity for fans, but the impersonality and distance of ownership can set up new tensions. Corruption in the international governing body has been a significant problem and the sport's symbiotic relationship with gambling is a concern. There are no off-the-shelf solutions for regulation, but clearly, the complexities of the beautiful game and its economic size require more attention from government.

Deals with the comparative and historical social science. This title focuses on a variety of questions relating to states, citizenship, and power, common themes examined with divergent analytical entry points and through deep knowledge of country cases as diverse as Russia, the United States, El Salvador, South Africa, and Israel.

Sociological Perspectives on Sport: The Games Outside the Games seeks not only to inform students about the sports world but also to offer them analytical skills and the application of theoretical perspectives that deepen their awareness and understanding of social processes linking sports to the larger social world. With six original framing essays linking sport to a variety of topics, including race, class, gender, media, politics, deviance, and globalization, and 37 reprinted articles, this text/reader sets a new standard for excellence in teaching sports and society.

An Open Access edition of this book is available on the Liverpool University Press website and the OAPEN library as part of the Opening the Future project with COPIM. This book explores the pivotal role that football played as part of Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos’ national unity project centred on the peace process with the FARC. Football has huge political and social capital in Latin America, and has often been rhetorically deployed by governments for various ends; rarely, however, has football’s power and potential been used in such a deliberate, strategic and active way towards a national peace process and targeted such enduring divisions that have historically impeded a sense of a united nation and national identity. Football in Colombia is understood popularly as one of the few things capable of uniting the country, a belief that Santos seized upon as the national team had a successful campaign in the 2014 World Cup. This first book on Colombian football in English explores previous iterations of football nationalism in the country, including the El Dorado and ‘Narcofootball’ eras, before analysing Santos’ three-pronged strategy empowering professional and amateur football, including the use of political speeches and Twitter, legislation and public policy, and Sport for Development and Peace campaigns, with a particular focus on football in the FARC demobilisation and reincorporation camps following the historic peace agreement.