Book Launch – The Defiant: A History of Football Against Fascism

Exciting news! My second book is out! It’s called The Defiant: A History of Football Against Fascism. Football and politics do mix, whether we like it or not, and The Defiant explores a century of anti-fascism and anti-far right activity by players, fans, clubs, and other organisations. It’s a whistle-stop tour, as I cover a century of protest in 250 pages.

It’s so hard to find a new angle on football history, but was inspired by the fact that a blog post of mine listing the world’s left-wing football clubs is consistently my most-visited page, with people coming mostly from search engines, so there’s clearly an interest in this topic worldwide. As someone who covered football and politics (Spanish regional identity) as a degree dissertation many years ago, I thought this topic would be worth exploring.

The book’s launch is timed deliberately to coincide with the centenary of Benito Mussolini’s March on Rome in October 1922 when Il Duce assumed power over Italy and established the first fascist dictatorship.

Like my debut book, Origin Stories, the book is out via Pitch Publishing and you can order The Defiant here. I’ve had the privilege of speaking to some incredible people during the research process and some of the stories featured have appeared on Outside Write and I have now removed them for exclusivity.

Here’s a taster of what to expect in the book:

Introduction

I start by looking at when politics and football first started to mix. Spoiler alert: it’s pretty much from the off. With the help of political theorist Cas Mudde and senior lecturer Dr Stuart Whigham, I look at why football is so influential, why the sport is such a potent political vehicle, and its connections with national and regional identity.

I open the book with one of the most infamous incidents of football against fascism, the ‘Death Match’ of 1942 in Kyiv, when a local side took on – and beat – a Nazi airforce team, and ask Dynamo Kyiv fan Denys Nachornyy how that story is viewed eight decades on.

Chapter One: Italy

My first chapter focusses on Italy. I look at how Mussolini used football for propaganda and where resistance to him and his regime surfaced in the game at home and abroad. I look at the stories of Italian footballers who became partisans and activists during World War II and look at the political extremes of the modern ultrà scene. 

I also had the pleasure of speaking to some of Italy’s new wave of progressive football clubs emerging across the length of the peninsula, from St Ambreous in Milan to CS Lebowski in Florence and Quartograd in Naples. 

I explore the pivotal role politics has played throughout Italian football history with insight from John Foot (Calcio), Tobias Jones (Ultra), Mark Doidge (University of Brighton), James Montague (1312: Among the Ultras) along with input from Italian football experts Luca Hodges-Ramon, Wayne Girard, Tom Griffiths, Francesco Sani, Aidan Williams, Dominic Bliss and Marco Giani.

Chapter Two: Iberia

The second chapter looks at the role of football in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) and during the dictatorships of General Franco (Spain) and António de Oliveira Salazar (Portugal). Here, I focus on the Catalan and Basque experiences, in particular. What was football like under Franco? I channelled my university dissertation from 1998 on football and Spanish regional identity for much of this chapter. What role did football players and clubs play in resisting the dictatorship and how do modern progressive ultra groups, such as the Bukaneros at Rayo Vallecano, get involved in the contemporary Spanish political discourse? How did the appearance of Académica de Coimbra in the 1969 Portuguese Cup Final help bring down Western Europe’s longest-running dictatorship?

I am grateful to Beñat Gutierrez (Basque Country), Mikel Huerte (Pamplona), and Alejandro Quiroga (University of Newcastle) for the view in Spain. Also, to Kevin E. Simpson for his insight into the experience of Spanish prisoners of war; Robbie Dunne for his insights on Rayo Vallecano; Independiente de Vallecas on its story; Natxo Parra on the Barcelona scene; and Tom Wardle (University of Southampton) on Spain’s Historical Memory Law. In Portugal, a huge obrigado to Filipe d’Avillez, Miguel Pereira and Ricardo Martins. Thanks also to Paul Reidy and Andrew Gillen in Madrid for their photos from Vallecas.

Chapter Three: Central and Western Europe

My third chapter focusses mainly on footballing resistance to Nazi Germany, both at home and in neighbouring occupied countries. This chapter covers Germany, Austria, France and Netherlands, Hungary and Czech Republic, including the approach of the English, Scottish, and Irish FAs towards Nazi Germany in the build-up to conflict. I then explore WWII football partisans in each occupied country and football in the concentration camps.

The chapter then turns to the modern-day progressive clubs in Germany. I look at FC St. Pauli, of course, with insights from Natxo Parra, who co-wrote a book on the club, and Rob Carroll from the Yorkshire St Pauli fan group on the club’s international appeal. I also interview fans of progressive clubs like Altona 93 of Hamburg and Borussia Dortmund.

I explore football and politics in areas of the former East Germany (DDR/GDR), including an interview with Tennis Borussia of Berlin.

Big thanks in this chapter to Kevin E. Simpson and Aidan Williams again, plus Gerard Farrell (Ireland), Red Star (Paris), Professor Peter J. Beck (Kingston University), Steve Menary, and Jurryt van de Vooren (Netherlands), Benjamin McFadyean (Borussia Dortmund London Fan Club), plus Michael Wagg and Jan Stöver on Altona 93.

Chapter Four: Eastern Europe and the Balkans

This chapter covers Poland, the countries of the former Soviet Union (USSR), as well as the former Yugoslavia and Greece. I touch briefly on modern Ukraine but please note that the copy was written before Russia’s invasion in late February 2022, so I did amend some parts during editing for sensitivity.

I look at Poland’s clandestine football culture under Nazi occupation (thanks to author Ryan Hubbard for his insights) and the current state of politics in Polish football. This chapter was a particular eye-opener, as I spoke to analysts of the far right in Eastern Europe, including Michael Cole (University of Tartu, Estonia), and Rafal Pankowski (Never Again Association, Warsaw).

I look at Russia’s sportsmen in the ‘Great Patriotic War’ against Nazi Germany, plus a bit on the modern-day scene up until the 2018 World Cup, again, written before the 2022 war in Ukraine. Thanks to FC Zenit for images and historical information.

The Yugoslavia chapter is dominated by Croatian side Hajduk Split, which was something of a patriotic cause abroad – much like the Basque national side – during the last years of World War II. I interviewed Richard Mills, Dr Andy Hodges, and Croatian journalist Juraj Vrdoljak for this section, looking at ideology in Croatian football past and present.

The section on Greece was really interesting. It’s a theatre of World War II that I didn’t know much about – Captain Corelli’s Mandolin aside… Thanks so much to George Tsitsonis for his insights into the Greek football scene during this period. I naturally also look at Omonoia Nicosia, famed for its left-wing fans.

Chapter Five: Latin America

During the Cold War, Latin America was a key ideological battleground, with oppressive right-wing dictatorships taking over in Paraguay, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Chile. Football became a platform for resistance at home and abroad, especially in the 1970s.

I start in Brazil, the most successful footballing country on the continent, covering the military dictatorship and Corinthians Democracy, which has seen a revival in recent years. Huge thanks to Dr Pete Watson for his pan-Latin American insights throughout this chapter, and Andrew Downie on Brazil.

This chapter naturally features Chile’s controversial non-match with the USSR at the Estadio Nacional in Santiago, days after it was used as a detention and torture centre following Pinochet’s coup of September 1973. This section feature interviews with Chile-based Adam Brandon and US academic Brenda Elsey, who’s written extensively about the South American game. Thanks also to Alan McDougall for the East German viewpoint on Chile’s appearance at the 1974 World Cup.

Argentina 1978 is arguably the most notorious World Cup to date, taking place when the military Junta was at its height. This section covers domestic and international football opposition to the tournament, including interviews with Rhys Richards, who’s written a whole book on the topic, and Argentinian football journalist and podcast Nacho Dimari on how the tournament is viewed now in hindsight. 

I wrap up the chapter with a bit on Uruguay’s Mundialito (Little World Cup), a tournament that’s been largely forgotten and caused great embarrassment to a floundering regime.

Chapter Six: Britain

I wrap up my location-specific chapters in Britain, which looks at the far-right in football in the 1970s hooligan scene and how the authorities and football clubs tried to counter it. I had the privilege of interviewing John Williams (University of Leicester), who’s studied and written about hooliganism extensively.

I then look at some current progressive clubs in English football, particularly in the non-league, and interview people close to Dulwich Hamlet, Clapton CFC, Whitehawk FC of Brighton and I also speak to Eastbourne Town’s ultra group, Pier Pressure. The chapter also features interviews with anti-fascist merch maker, TUFAC, and Andrew Lawn, who’s written about the history of football chants. Please note, I don’t cover Celtic, whose fan activity is pretty well covered in other books so I wanted to look at different, lesser known stories.

Chapter Seven: Conclusion

Progressive and activist football is not limited to the geographies I cover in my chapters. In my conclusion I speak to fans of Vålerenga (Oslo) and Standard Liège (Belgium) about the challenges they are addressing in their cities and look at activism by fans of Besiktas (Istanbul), Bohemians FC (Dublin), and Portland Timbers (Oregon, USA).

It’s been a fascinating project to do during the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021. Huge thanks to all involved and to Pitch Publishing and Dunc Olner’s design team. I came up with a concept of a cover that would look like a Spanish Civil War recruitment poster with some examples and the designer just knocked it out the park. Please judge this book by its cover…and its content. I hope you find it informative.

Apologies if I missed anyone out, please flag and I will add. If you would like to interview me about it for your podcast before launch or would welcome a relevant guest article from me, please get in touch.

The Defiant: A History of Football Against Fascism is out via Pitch Publishing and you can order it here.