In its one and a half century of life, soccer has helped telling the story of societies in transformation. Under the eye of such simple and at the same time magnetic game, passionate, tragic, sublime and dramatic moments have been registered. Like a faithful portrait of the people who adopted it, soccer witnesses both social barbarities and episodes of collective joy; it has suffered threats and been unfair; it has distributed pleasures and ecstasies with the same agility it has produced traumas and minor suffering, but it has always been there. It is not by chance that this original and skilful form of group competition which highlights individualities is the only human activity known to be followed every day of the week, anytime and anywhere by nothing less than four billion people. There are neither geographical frontiers nor social barriers for those who appreciate the game. The spectacle of soccer may be expensive and unaffordable, the guts of the sport may be obscure, like so many activities of the contemporary jungle, and the control mechanisms are not always based on common sense and honesty. However, in this regard, enjoying it is for free. There shall never be exclusion for those who want to practice it, adhere to it, admire it and suffer with it. Yes, because soccer is also a land of uncertainties and afflictions – attractive, renewing and energetic ones, but afflictions nevertheless. In 150 years, the sport that was born in the heart of England’s Industrial Revolution has undergone through countless periods of transformation and adjustments to several cultures. It has been molded in accordance to the idiosyncrasies of the societies that have incorporated it, embraced local costumes in a long maturation process and, just when it seemed consolidated, it discovered the market laws and plunged into a new revolutionary adventure, based on technology, on the speed of information and on globalization. Even so, it has never lost its human essences because, in this game, as the writer Eduardo Galeano lucidly and wisely states “from where we least expect comes the impossible, the dwarf teaches the giant a lesson and the puny, bowlegged black boy makes a fool out of an athlete sculpted in Greece”.

How Football Became Football traces football's evolution from a version of rugby played before a handful of friends to a spectacle played in packed stadiums before television audiences of 100 million or more. Organized by era, How Football Became Football shows how football's rules, tactics, and equipment shifted over time, as did its coaching, officiating, and fan behavior. Richly illustrated and written in a fun, engaging manner, readers learn why maul-ins, puntouts and quarterback kicks disappeared from the game, as well as how helmets, end zones, hash marks, and penalty flags became part of football. Walter Camp, Paul Brown, and Sid Gillman receive their due, while revealing the roles played by Frank Birch, John Lockney, and other lesser-known men who impacted the game. How Football Became Football provides a thoroughly researched and humorous look at how football became the game we know and love today.

This complete illustrated history of the FA Cup celebrates the most exciting, significant and memorable goals, games and upsets in English football history.

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.

In March 1871 the first international match took place between England and Scotland at Raeburn Place in Edinburgh. Donned in all white the fledgling England team lost that day 0-1 but it was the start of remarkable history. This Rugby Football Union (RFU) product is written by the curator of the World Rugby Museum, Phil McGowan, and recounts the story of how the England team (and rugby itself) grew from an amateur collection of public schoolboys playing in a 'Home Nations Championship' into the globally recognised team they are today, watched by 80,000 at Twickenham and millions on television.

They think it’s all over...it is now, with this comprehensive guide to football shirts through the years. From the obscure to the ubiquitous, The Football Shirts Book is packed with over 150 original and super rare shirts from the greatest game on earth. Covering everything from the iconic to the unusual, even the most hard-core fans will find out something new about the kit of their favourite team. Including full-colour photography, as well as interviews with football shirt design teams, musicians, and fashion designers, this guide offers a full exploration of the brands, design, and sponsorship history behind the world’s best-loved football shirts. It is a must-have for those crazy about football shirts, as well as those whose interest is piqued by history, design, and pop-culture.

Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. When is the “beautiful game” at its most beautiful? How does football function as a lens through which so many view their daily lives? What's right in front of fans that they never see? Football celebrates and scrutinizes the world's most popular sport-from top-tier professionals to children just learning the game. As an American who began playing football in the 1970s as it gained a foothold in the States, Mark Yakich reflects on his own experiences alongside the sport's social and political implications, its narrative and documentary depictions, and its linguistic idiosyncrasies. Illustrating how football can be at once absolutely vital and "only a game," this book will be surprising and insightful for the casual and diehard fan alike. Object Lessons is published in partnership with an essay series in The Atlantic.