The Pioneers

El Clásico Uruguayo: The Roots of South America’s Oldest Derby

Nacional fans at the Estadio Centenario (Photo: Marcus Haydon) Between them, Peñarol and Nacional have won 98 of the 116…

4 years ago

Visiting the Royal Arsenal – and other important Arsenal sites south of the river

The Royal Arsenal, the workplace of the original 'Gunners' [Photo: Christopher Hylland] In this guest post, Arsenal fan and author…

4 years ago

Women’s Football and the Scottish Football Association

A match between Stewarton Thistle and Holyrood Bumbees in May 1964. Finding match officials was a perennial problem for women's…

4 years ago

The Philadelphia Story: Irish Footballers in Early US Soccer

Modern Philadelphia [Photo by ActionVance on Unsplash] In this guest post, Irish football historian Gerard Farrell explores the role of Irish footballers in…

4 years ago

Podcast: Andrew Watson – The First Black International Footballer

Queen's Park in the early 1880s. Andrew Watson is standing top left [Credit: Queen's Park FC] My guest is Llew…

4 years ago

Podcast: Pioneers of Women’s Football

The statue of Lily Parr. The UK's first-ever statue of a female footballer [Photo: National Football Museum, Manchester] My guest…

4 years ago

BOOK LAUNCH: Origin Stories – The Pioneers Who Took Football to the World

Origin Stories: The Pioneers Who Took Football to the World is out NOW! It's finally out! Origin Stories: The Pioneers…

4 years ago

Podcast: Footballing Pioneers with Jon Driscoll

Our guest is the journalist Jon Driscoll, author of The Fifty: Football's Most Influential Players. We look back at players…

4 years ago

11 clubs that changed the course of football history

An early photo of Sheffield FC, the world's oldest football club [Photo: Sheffield FC] I’d been researching the roots of…

4 years ago

Podcast: Black Pioneers of the Football League

Our guests are Bill Hern and David Gleave as they discuss the experience of the first black professionals at each…

4 years ago