My second book, The Defiant: A History of Football Against Fascism, is out in October 2022. It charts a century of footballing opposition to fascism and the far right from Mussolini’s ‘March on Rome’ a hundred years ago in October 1922.
I look at footballing opposition to the fascist dictatorships of Mussolini, Hitler, Franco, Salazar in Europe, along with the modern progressive football scene across the continent. I also explore footballing resistance to authoritarian Latin American dictatorships in the Cold War era, including Brazil, Chile, Argentina and Uruguay. I finish with a look at the progressive scene in Britain and elsewhere. With what’s happening around the world – especially in Italy recently – the book has suddenly taken on added relevance.
Author and journalist James Hendicott was kind enough to act as interviewer for this podcast, so big thanks to James.
I release a new podcast every Monday, so be sure to subscribe on your preferred podcast platform. You can find Football Travel by Outside Write on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, Player.FM and Anchor. Look for it in Google Podcasts too. I’d really appreciate a rating or view if you like what we’re doing as it helps others discover our podcast.