Football Cultures and Identities

The game of football has played a key role in shaping and cementing senses of national identity throughout the world. As any seasoned traveller can attest, the quickest entry into most cultures is by talking football or attending a match. The game is a prism for both witnessing and interacting with identities and cultures. Aware that the game may afford a space for expressing or organising protest and dissent, powerful groups the world over may attempt to harness the forces of populist nationalism provided by football. Edited by Britain's leading scholars in the field, this book examines football in eighteen countries to provide an unprecedented breadth of knowledge.