An ordinary girl thrown into an extraordinary life . . . England have made it to the World Cup in Spain and Damien can't wait to see his friends playing for their country. But a last-minute injury means he may get to do more than just watch. His seventeen-year-old girlfriend, Amy, has been trying to get her life back on track, but when a Spanish summer is calling, what\'s a WAG to do . . . ?

An ordinary girl thrown into an extraordinary life . . . England have made it to the World Cup in Spain and Damien can't wait to see his friends playing for their country. But a last-minute injury means he may get to do more than just watch. His seventeen-year-old girlfriend, Amy, has been trying to get her life back on track, but when a Spanish summer is calling, what\'s a WAG to do . . . ?

Money, cars, homes, holidays, parties and all the shoes you've ever dreamed of. The life of a footballer's wife or girlfriend must be as glamorous and exciting as her other half, right? But behind the closed doors of the WAG's world, there are all the pressures as well as pleasures of success. So what is it really like? The Secret WAG lays bare the reality of existence under the celebrity spotlight. It is about fashion and fame, sex and scandal, but, like the bestselling Secret Footballer books, is also an honest appraisal of life on and off the field of play which will change your preconceptions about footballers and their partners. It is sassy, outspoken, funny and above all, written from the heart. Meet The Secret WAG.

Cherylis the definitive biography of the nation's favourite star. From her Newcastle childhood to her stellar success with Girls Aloud, as a number one solo artist and on TV with The X Factor, Sean Smith tells the true, roller-coaster story of how a cheeky and feisty girl from a grim, working class area became the iconic figure for modern women in Britain today. Cheryl's path to fame and fortune has often been difficult, facing the problems drugs and unemployment have brought to those she loves. Now, her turbulent marriage to footballer Ashley Cole is sadly under the spotlight, but, with insight and understanding, Sean Smith reveals the real woman behind the beautiful public face. 'Sean Smith gives a remarkable account of Cheryl's struggle to the top…A first-rate biography' Sunday Express Sean Smith is the UK's leading celebrity biographer whose best-selling books have been translated throughout the world.

As the most popular mass spectator sport across the world, soccer generates key moments of significance on and off the field, encapsulated in events that create metaphors and memories, with wider social, cultural, psychological, political, commercial and aesthetic implications. Since its inception as a modern game, the history of soccer has been replete with events that have changed the organization, meanings and impact of the sport. The passage from the club to the nation or from the local to the global often opens up transnational spaces that provide a context for studying the events that have ‘defined’ the sport and its followers. Such defining events can include sporting performances, decisions taken by various stakeholders of the game, accidents and violence among players and fans, and invention of supporter cultures, among other things. The present volume attempts to document, identify and analyse some of the defining events in the history of soccer from interdisciplinary and comparative perspectives. It revisits the discourses of signification and memorialization of such events that have influenced society, culture, politics, religion, and commerce. This book was originally published as a special issue of the journal Soccer & Society.

The rhetoric of heroism pervades politics. Political leaders invoke their own heroic credentials, soldiers are celebrated at sporting events, ordinary citizens become state symbols (or symbols of opposition), and high profile celebrities embody a glamorized, humanitarian heroism. Using analytical tools drawn from international relations, gender studies, war studies, history, and comparative politics, this book examines the cultural and political phenomenon of heroism and its relationship to the process of creating, sustaining and challenging political communities. Arguing that heroism is socially constructed and relational, the contributors demonstrate that heroes and heroic narratives always serve particular interests in the ways that they create and uphold certain images of states and other political communities. Studying the heroes that have been sanctioned by a community tells us important things about that community, including how it sees itself, its values and its pressing needs at a particular moment. Conversely, understanding those who are presented in opposition to heroes (victims, demonized opponents), or who become the heroes of resistance movements, can also tell us a great deal about the politics of a state or a regime. Heroes are at once the institutionalization of political power, and yet amorphous--one can go from being a hero to a villain in short order. This book will appeal to scholars and students working on topics related to international relations, gender, security and war studies, comparative politics, state building, and political communities.

Football is unquestionably the world’s most popular and influential sport. There is no corner of the globe in which the game is not played or followed. More countries are affiliated to FIFA, football’s governing body, than to the United Nations. The sport has therefore become an important component of our social, cultural, political and economic life. The Routledge Handbook of Football Studies is a landmark work of reference, going further than any other book in considering the historical and contemporary significance of football around the world. Written by a team of leading sport scholars, the book covers a broad range of disciplines from history, sociology, politics and business, to philosophy, law and media studies. The central section of the book examines key themes and issues in football studies, such as the World Cup and international competition, governance and ownership, fandom and celebrity. The concluding section offers in-depth surveys of the culture and organisation of football in each of the regional confederations, from UEFA to CONCACAF. This book will be fascinating reading for any serious football fan and an essential resource for advanced students or scholars undertaking research in football or sport studies, and any practitioner or policy-maker working in football.