Description

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Can a soccer match trigger a war? Can soccer push back against the tyranny of dictatorship or usher one into power? Kicking Off Around the World shares some incredible stories in which football clubs have been a mirror to—and a maker of—world history.

Ramon Usall shows that almost no contemporary historical episode is not reflected in the trajectory of a soccer club somewhere. Taking the reader on a whistle-stop tour of the events that have defined the last century, we encounter anti-colonial rebellions, class conflict, Nazism, communism, national liberation struggles, and sectarian strife.

Full of anecdotes, little-known facts, and illustrations, Kicking Off Around the World mixes the grassroots with the greatest of all time: the unknown and the unforgettable. It looks at the women's game, soccer during the war in Ukraine, and stories of clubs worldwide: in Britain and the USA, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa.

About the Author

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Ramon Usall is a writer, academic and political activist. He holds a PhD in history from the University of Lleida, and regularly writes in different media on the relationship between sport, history, society and politics. He is the author of Futbol per la llibertat, which won the Josep Vallverdú Essay Prize.

Luke Stobart is an academic and writer, as well as a translator and interpreter. He is a lecturer in Spanish history and politics at King's College, London, and economic history at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. He is currently writing a book on contemporary left-wing politics and movements in the Spanish state.

Praise For…

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'A tour de force that touches on how football is always mixed up with politics in every corner of the globe'
Mehreen Khan, The Times and co-host of the Humans & Heroes football podcast

'Usall brings us closer, through these 55 stories, to that often overlooked and underestimated aspect of football, the most social, political, and advocacy-driven one, which truly imbues clubs with soul and keeps them rooted in their respective communities'
Carles Viñas, author of St. Pauli: Another Football is Possible

'An absolute must for anybody interested in the history of football clubs. Kicking Off Around the World not only provides riveting stories, it also reveals surprises about the politics of football that will keep you engaged throughout the whole book.'
Stephen Ortega, Global Sports Initiative, Harvard University