Critical Research in Football
About the Book Series
The Critical Research in Football book series was launched in 2017 to showcase the inter- and multi-disciplinary breadth of debate relating to 'football'. The series defines 'football' as broader than association football, with research on rugby, Gaelic and gridiron codes also featured. Including monographs, edited collections, short books and textbooks, books in the series are written and/or edited by leading experts in the field whilst consciously also affording space to emerging voices in the area, and are designed to appeal to students, postgraduate students and scholars who are interested in the range of disciplines in which critical research in football connects. The series is published in association with the Football Collective, www.footballcollective.org.uk.
Soccer, Globalization, and Innovation: The Beautiful Game in the 21st Century
1st Edition
Edited
By Kirk Bowman, John B. Boyd
September 24, 2025
This is the first book to focus on innovation as a response to globalization in soccer in the context of the global development of the world’s most popular sport. Concentrating on social innovation and on innovations in governance and organization in soccer’s traditional heartlands and also at its...
Football, Power, and Politics in Argentina
1st Edition
By Eugenio Paradiso
August 29, 2025
This book examines the interplay between football, politics, violence, passion, and morality in Argentina. Drawing on original ethnographic research, it considers the role of fans, club officials, politicians, and others in the spread and perpetuation of corruption and violence within football and ...
Racism, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, and Islamophobia in European Football: Symptoms, Sources, and Solutions
1st Edition
Edited
By Udo Merkel
June 19, 2025
This book examines the prevalence of racism, xenophobia, antisemitism, and Islamophobia in European football. It provides critical assessments of selected policies, strategies, campaigns, and initiatives that have been developed by various stakeholders aimed at combating these discriminatory ...
Politics, Social Issues and the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup
1st Edition
Edited
By Danielle Sarver Coombs, Molly Yanity
May 16, 2025
This book takes a close look at politics and social issues in the context of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, one of the most attended women’s sporting events in history. Featuring the work of leading researchers from around the world, the book is arranged into two thematic sections, with the first...
Football and Diaspora: Connecting Dispersed Communities through the Global Game
1st Edition
Edited
By Jeffrey W. Kassing, Sangmi Lee
May 06, 2025
This is the first book to examine football (soccer) through the lens of diaspora studies. Presenting case studies from across four continents, it considers how diasporic minorities develop a sense of belonging between their national and transnational ethnic communities through an active ...
LGBT Football Fans: Authenticity, Belonging and Visibility
1st Edition
By Rory Magrath
April 14, 2025
While recent years have seen the emergence of a significant body of research on LGBT inclusion in sport, little is known about LGBT fans. This book provides the first in-depth examination of LGBT football fans’ experiences and sense of place in the contemporary English game. Drawing on almost 100 ...
The Politics of Football
1st Edition
By Christos Kassimeris
December 18, 2024
This book examines the deep connections between football and politics and explains what those relationships can tell us about sport and wider society. With the game occupying a preeminent place on the world sporting stage, this book argues that the political significance of football has never been ...
The Safe Standing Movement in Football: Fan Networks, Tactics, and Mobilisations
1st Edition
By Mark Turner
December 18, 2024
This book tells the important story of the 30-year social movement against all-seated stadia in football in England and Wales that developed in the wake of the Hillsborough stadium disaster and the wider European and international significance of that movement. Examining the fan networks, relations...
Football in the Nordic Countries: Practices, Equality and Influence
1st Edition
Edited
By Mihaly Szerovay, Arto Nevala, Hannu Itkonen
November 28, 2024
This book explores football culture, organisation and development in the five Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Sweden and Norway. These countries represent an important case study in sport culture, policy and management, being shaped by unique traditions in their civil society and in ...
Football Fandom, Sexualities and Activism: A Cultural Relational Sociology
1st Edition
By Peter Millward
October 09, 2024
This is the first book to examine the growing movement of organised networks of LGBT+ football supporters, exploring activists’ biographies and the meanings they ascribe to participation in identity politics-centred social movements. The book draws upon in-depth original research into the Pride in ...
Critical Issues in Football: A Sociological Analysis of the Beautiful Game
1st Edition
Edited
By Will Roberts, Stuart Whigham, Alex Culvin, Daniel Parnell
August 26, 2024
Showcasing some of the most important current research in football studies, this book demonstrates the value of social theory and sociology in helping us to better understand the world’s favourite sport. This book sheds critical new light on key issues in contemporary football, with each chapter ...
The UEFA European Football Championships: Politics, Media Spectacle and Social Change
1st Edition
By Jan Andre Lee Ludvigsen, Renan Petersen-Wagner
August 26, 2024
This book explores social and political issues and trends emerging around the UEFA European Football Championships. It presents a contemporary sociology of the European Championships which, despite its significance as a mega-event, has been largely overshadowed by the Olympics and the FIFA World ...