Euro 2016 kicks off tonight in France and to mark this occasion we decided to resurrect and update our football inspired reading list that we originally published almost 2 years ago to the day when the World Cup 2014 was just about to begin. These are just a small number of the e-books currently available to staff and students of the University in the Library’s collections that look at different aspects of the beautiful (or not so beautiful) game.
Football’s dark side: corruption, homophobia, violence and racism in the beautiful game by Ellis Cashmore and Jamie Cleland aims to express the views of thousands of football fans on the game they love, but which they know has an unpleasant underside demonstrating that beyond football’s assumed social value, the glamour and the spectacle an array of serious problems and exclusions endure. [This is also available in print in the Main Library at GV943.9.S64 Cas.]
Marketing and football: an international perspective edited by Michel Desbordes and Simon Chadwick examines in two parts the study of football marketing in Europe and the development of a marketing dedicated to football, with the question of the European example being used worldwide.
Organisation and governance of top football across Europe: an institutional perspective edited by Hallgeir Gammelsæter and Benoît Senaux aims to provide an extensive overview of how football is organised and managed on a European level and in individual European countries, and to account for the evolution of the national, international and transnational management of football over the last decades.
Globalization and football by Richard Giulianotti and Roland Robertson provides a clear view of the interrelationships within key globalisation processes and the international sport of football. Combining conceptual and methodological aspects of global studies with the specific cultural conditions of football the book highlights its social history and diffusion, as well as wider cultural, economic, political and social dimensions. [This is also available in print in Moray House Library at GV943.9.S64 Giu.]
Football hooliganism, fan behaviour and crime: contemporary issues edited by Matthew Hopkins and James Treadwell focuses on a number of contemporary research themes placing them within the context of palpable changes that have occurred within football in recent years. The collection brings together essays about football, crime and fan behaviour from leading experts in the fields of criminology, law, sociology, psychology and cultural studies.
Spanish football and social change: sociological investigations by Ramón Llopis-Goig look at how Spanish football has undergone a significant transformation, both on and off the pitch, in the past few decades with Llopis-Goig analysing these trends, questioning the role of football in contemporary Spanish society and examining the historical reasons for its social hegemony.
The global football league: transnational networks, social movements and sport in the new media age by Peter Millward addresses the themes that have come to define the global flow of images, capital and people that exist in contemporary football today, including case studies on Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City football clubs.
Identity and nation in African football: fans, community and clubs edited by Chuka Onwumechili and Gerard Akindes brings together top scholars on African football to explore a range of issues such as gender, identity, nationalism, history, cyber-fandom, the media and fan radicalisation.
An ethnography of English football fans: cans, cops and carnivals by Geoff Pearson is based upon sixteen years observation of English football fans who travel home and away with their team – Manchester United, Blackpool and the England national team. The book challenges a number of the myths about hooliganism and crowd control and describes the interpretations, motivations and behaviour of these groups of fans both at home and abroad. [This is also available in print in the Main Library at GV943.9.F35 Pea.]
Foreign players and football supporters: the Old Firm, Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germaine by David Ranc looks at supporters’ reactions to the increase in the number of foreign players in the clubs they support. It concentrates on three case studies on Glasgow (Celtic and Rangers), Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal in London and the book charts the evolution of the link between supporters and club between 1995 and today.
The association game: a history of British football by Matthew Taylor traces British football from the establishment of the earliest clubs in the nineteenth century to its place as one of the prominent and commercialised leisure industries at the beginning of the twenty first century. It covers supporters and fandom, status and culture, big business, the press and electronic media and development in playing styles, tactics and rules. [This is also available in print in Moray House Library at GV944.G7 Tay.]
Access to the e-books listed is only available to current students and staff at University of Edinburgh.
Caroline Stirling – Academic Support Librarian for Social and Political Science