Books in the Critical Research in Football series

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 participation in football.

This book explores social and political issues and trends emerging around the UEFA European Football Championships. It presents a contemporary sociology of the European Championship which, despite its significance as a mega-event, has been largely overshadowed by the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup in existing literature.

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 is the first book in English to closely examine the life of Diego Maradona from socio-cultural perspectives, exploring how his status as an icon, a popular sporting hero and a political figurehead have been culturally constructed, reproduced, and manipulated.

This is the first book to look closely at the concept of 'risk' in elite and professional football from a social scientific perspective. Drawing on the wider sociological, criminological and management literature on risk, it shows how football helps us to understand global risk more generally in present-day society.

This book takes a close look at discrimination in football in order to illuminate our understanding of the interaction between sport and wider society, politics and culture, particularly in terms of the (re)production of identity.

This book presents a series of fascinating case studies that show how the lives and bodies of clubs, players and fans around the world are enmeshed with politics.

Football is ubiquitous and a permanent fixture of modern life. More than a sport, it frequently manifests in broader popular culture. This book examines the significance of football for, and in, popular culture across a wide range of forms, including music, film and social media.

Working within the context of Zagreb, Croatia, this book offers an in-depth ethnography detailing fans' interactions with the police, club management, state authorities and other fan groups, and examining themes ranging from politics, socialization, masculinity, sexuality and violence to fan authenticity.