A Sociology of Football in a Global Context

This book examines the historical, social and cultural complexities of the game of football (also known as soccer) across Europe, Africa, Asia and North and South America, and charts how these can be studied in greater detail by placing the world’s most popular sport in a global context. This approach subsequently allows for an analysis of the key developments within football in the twenty-first century on a chapter-by-chapter basis. The themes of the chapters each highlight the different social and cultural changes football has seen, often over a very short period of time.

Association football is now the global sport, consumed in various ways by millions of people across the world. Throughout its history, football has been a catalyst as much for social cohesion, unity, excitement and integration as it can be for division, exclusion and discrimination. A Sociology of Football in a Global Context examines the historical, political, economic, social and cultural complexities of the game across Europe, Africa, Asia and North and South America. It analyses the key developments and sociological debates within football through a topic-based approach that concentrates on the history of football and its global diffusion; the role of violence; the global governance of the game by FIFA; race, racism and whiteness; gender and homophobia; the changing nature of fans; the media and football’s financial revolution; the transformation of players into global celebrities; and the growth of football leagues across the world. Using a range of examples from all over the world, each chapter highlights the different social and cultural changes football has seen, most notably since the 1990s, when its relationship with the mass media and other transnational networks became more important and financially lucrative.