David Goldblatt

Published to coincide with the World Cup preliminaries, a comprehensive overview of soccer around the world traces the history of the world's most popular sport from its earliest origins to the present day, looking at the game in terms of its political, cultural, and social roles in countries around the world. Original.

A Global History of Soccer

The Ball is Round

Sheila

I am finally finished with this monolith of a book! Not only is this gigantic work a complete global history of football, it is a history of the world in the Industrial and Post-Industrial age, as the incubation & growth of football is completely intertwined with the industrial movement.
This is also an ethnography of one sport in many cultures, a thorough examination of the singular phenomenon of one ball sport taking hold & captivating over 1 billion people from disparate cultures and societies. Football is not just a sport, it is the history of humanity from the mid-19th century onwards. 
What I would love is to see an updated version of this book that reflects on the changes that have taken place in football since 2008 & the new influences on the sport. Regardless, this is a key book for any fan or scholar of football or sport!

The Ball is Round A Global History of Soccer

Reviews