The Definitive List of Political Football Books

Inspired by a recent Twitter conversation around the launch of my second book, The Defiant: A History of Football Against Fascism, I’ve put together a list of ‘political football’ books, some of which are in the bibliography, others of which are just of interest. This list is not a list of football history books, so does not include the per-country/region books, such as Tör, Morbo, Angels With Dirty Faces, ¡Golazo!, Calcio or Futebol, but those do have some references to politics.

Thanks to everyone who chipped in with suggestions on Twitter.

General

Football Against the Enemy, Simon Kuper

The original football and politics book, which came out in 1994. It covers the political undercurrents of some of the world’s biggest football rivalries. When I was writing my university dissertation on Spanish regional identity as expressed through football (yes, really) in the late ‘90s, there was little in English around the topic of the Madrid-Barça rivalry. In the same vein, read Fear and Loathing in La Liga by Sid Lowe.

How Football Explains the World, Franklin Foer

American Foer explores Serbian football, Rangers-Celtic, European football’s Jewish history, English hooliganism, and much more besides through frank interviews with people in the front line. 

1312: Among the Ultras, James Montague

James spends time up close and personal with some of the world’s most dangerous ultra groups, from Argentina’s barras bravas, to the ultras of Stockholm and Indonesia. 

Listen to my podcast with James about his travels with the ultras here.

Futbolitica, Ramón Usall

This book was published in Catalan, so not one for everyone. I speak Spanish and, with a little help from translation tools on Kindle, I discovered some interesting stories, especially from Iberia. Similarly, Fútbol y Fascismo (Football and Fascism) by Cristóbal Villalobos Salas is in Spanish and does what it says on the tin, so to speak.

CONIFA: Football For The Forgotten, James Hendicott

Do you know what CONIFA is, or its objectives? James Hendicott chronicles the story of football for unrecognised nations, such as Tibet and, er, Yorkshire. Learn more about CONIFA in my podcast with James.

Soccer Versus the State: Tackling Football and Radical Politics, Gabriel Kuhn

First published in 2011, Kuhn explores the evolving relationship between football and politics since its earliest days. Given we live in an era of commercialisation and accusations of ‘sportswashing’ by certain states, this is certainly a topic for our age.

Italy

Football and Fascism: The National Game Under Mussolini, Simon Martin

Mussolini was probably the first world leader to exploit football consciously and strategically for political ends. While a very academic read, this is a thorough examination of the structure of Italian football during the Mussolini era.

Listen to my podcast with Aidan Williams for more on football under Mussolini.

Ultrà: The Underworld of Italian Football, Tobias Jones

Jones travels with the Cosenza ultras across Italy and explores the origins of the movement and its role in Italian society. It’s a very easy read, too.

For more, listen to my interview with Tobias.

Football, Fascism and Fandom: The UltraS of Italian Football, Alberto Testa and Gary Armstrong

Testa and Armstrong look at the political undertones of one of the world’s most explosive rivalries – AS Roma v SS Lazio. This read is a real eye-opener into what goes on in Italian football off the pitch.

Cuori Partigiani, Eduoardo Molinelli

This Italian language book, which translates as ‘Partisan Hearts’, highlights the role of Italian footballers during World War II and their role in bringing down fascism, from organising strikes to guerrilla activity.

Germany

The People’s Game: Football, State and Society in East Germany, Alan McDougall

East Germany existed as a communist satellite state of the Soviet Union from the late 1940s until 1990, when Germany reunified. McDougall explains what happened to football in the former East Germany during this period.

Listen to my interview with Alan to learn more on football in the former East Germany.

Football Nation: The Playing Fields of German Culture, History, and Society, multiple authors

McDougall features again here as one of the authors of this academic tome that looks at the entire history of football in Germany, from its introduction in the 1870s, through the Weimar Republic, the Nazi era, division, and post-reunification.

For more, listen to my interview with two of the authors on the role of football in German society.

St Pauli: Another Football is Possible, Carles Viñas and Natxo Parra

FC St Pauli of Hamburg has to have the most famous of all the anti-fascist fan bases in the world. The fans have been politically active since the 1980s, at least, and Viñas and Parra tell the whole story expertly.

Check out my podcast with Natxo Parra as to how FC St Pauli became a ‘cult club’.

Balkans

Fan Activism, Protest and Politics: Ultras in Post-Socialist Croatia, Dr Andy Hodges

What happened to football culture in Croatia after the breakup of Yugoslavia? Dr Andy Hodges was based in Zagreb and got under the skin of the local ultra culture to find out.

Listen to my interview with the author about ultra culture in Croatia.

The Politics of Football in Yugoslavia, Richard Mills

Football has always extremely political in the countries of the former Yugoslavia. In this book, Richard Mills goes into incredible detail over the political and social history of the game in the region.

For more, listen to Richard on the podcast discussing the politics of football in Yugoslavia.

Others of note:

Working Class Heroes, Robbie Dunne: A look at Madrid’s third club, Rayo Vallecano, and its staunchly left-wing fan base.

Scoring for Britain, Peter J Beck: How football has been politicised in Britain over the decades.

Futbolera: A History of Women and Sports in Latin America, Brenda Elsey and Joshua Nadel: For more on this book and the role of gender and football in Latin America, listen to my podcast with Brenda Elsey.

African Soccerscapes: How a Continent Changes the World’s Game, Peter Alegi: Listen to my interview with the author to learn more about the role of colonialism and its legacy on African football.

The Roaring Red Front: The World’s Top Left-Wing Clubs, Stewart McGill and Vince Raison: A look at some of the world’s prominent leftist clubs.

Gunshots and Goalposts: The Story of Northern Irish Football, Benjamin Roberts: Learn about the history of Northern Ireland through its football. Listen to my podcast with the author here.

Blood on the Crossbar: The Dictatorship’s World Cup, Rhys Richards: Argentina 1978 is arguably the most controversial World Cup to date. Listen to my podcast with Rhys around the story of Argentina ’78.

Just finally, another shout out for my second book, The Defiant: A History of Football Against Fascism. If that’s a topic that interests you, do please do pick up a copy!