The Pioneers

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

Podcast: A Global History of Modern Football

Alan McDougall's new book explores the role of economics, race, gender and much more in the spread of football We…

4 years ago

Podcast: Romanian Football History

5th tier football in Bucharest, with the imposing Casa Presi Liber (House of the Free Press) in the background [Credit:…

4 years ago

Podcast: The History of Football in Africa

Al Ahly from Cairo, Egypt, is Africa's most successful club side Our guest is football historian Peter Alegi, who has…

4 years ago