Heather L. Dichter

Although the game of football is known by many names around the world - soccer, fútbol, Fußball, voetbal - the sport is a universal language. Throughout the past century, governments have used football to further their diplomatic aims through a range of actions including boycotts, carefully orchestrated displays at matches, and more. In turn, football organizations have leveraged their power over membership and tournament decisions to play a role in international relations. In Football Diplomacy, an international group of experts analyzes the relationship between football and diplomacy. Together, they investigate topics such as the use of football as a tool of nation-state-based diplomacy, football as a non-state actor, and the relationship between football and diplomatic actors in subnational, national, and transnational contexts. They also examine the sport as a conduit for representation, communication, and negotiation. Drawing on a wealth of historical examples, the contributors demonstrate that governments must frequently address football as part of their diplomatic affairs. They argue that this single sport - more than the Olympics, other regional multisport competitions, or even any other sport - reveals much about international relations, how states attempt to influence foreign views, and regional power dynamics.

International Relations and Football Since 1914

Football Diplomacy

Robert J. Lake

Mark Dyreson

New Dimensions of Sport in Modern Europe offers new perspectives on European sport history in the ‘long twentieth century’ designed to challenge and deconstruct what might be considered ‘traditional’ or more familiar Euro-centric conceptions and geographies of sport and leisure—especially those deriving from the leading hotbeds of European sport history. This anthology adds to the growing corpus of explorations of sport and leisure in late-modern European history from a variety of countries: France, Spain, Finland, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Slovenia. With topics covering several different sports and ranging from sport during empire to mega-events, and sport literature to women’s sport attire, the insights provided by this new body of research demonstrate a greater understanding of the connections between sport and society in Europe throughout the long twentieth century. This book was originally published as a special issue of The International Journal of the History of Sport.

Perspectives from the ‘Long Twentieth Century’

New Dimensions of Sport in Modern Europe

Although the game of soccer is known by many names around the world -- football, fútbol, Fußball, voetbal -- the sport is a universal language. Throughout the past century, governments have used soccer to further their diplomatic aims through a range of actions including boycotts, carefully orchestrated displays at matches, and more. In turn, soccer organizations have leveraged their power over membership and tournament decisions to play a role in international relations. In Soccer Diplomacy, an international group of experts analyzes the relationship between soccer and diplomacy. Together, they investigate topics such as the use of soccer as a tool of nation-state--based diplomacy, soccer as a non-state actor, and the relationship between soccer and diplomatic actors in subnational, national, and transnational contexts. They also examine the sport as a conduit for representation, communication, and negotiation. Drawing on a wealth of historical examples, the contributors demonstrate that governments must frequently address soccer as part of their diplomatic affairs. They argue that this single sport -- more than the Olympics, other regional multisport competitions, or even any other sport -- reveals much about international relations, how states attempt to influence foreign views, and regional power dynamics.

Heather L. Dichter

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