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  • © 2018

The Palgrave International Handbook of Football and Politics

Palgrave Macmillan
  • Provides the first handbook exclusively covering the relationship between football and politics
  • Offers a global comparison, covering 35 countries across 5 continents
  • Covers topical themes relating to football and its main political and social issues

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Table of contents (33 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xv
  2. Introduction

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
    2. Football and Politics: Between the Local and the Global

      • Ramón Spaaij, Jean-Michel De Waele, Suzan Gibril, Ekaterina Gloriozova
      Pages 3-17
  3. Western Europe

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 19-19
    2. Belgium

      • Jean-Michel De Waele, Grégory Sterck
      Pages 21-38
    3. France

      • David Ranc, Nicolas Hourcade
      Pages 39-59
    4. Germany

      • Albrecht Sonntag
      Pages 61-83
    5. Greece and Cyprus

      • Christos Kassimeris
      Pages 85-103
    6. Italy

      • Fabien Archambault
      Pages 105-124
    7. Spain

      • Carles Viñas
      Pages 125-137
    8. Sweden

      • Aage Radmann, Torbjörn Andersson
      Pages 139-161
    9. Switzerland

      • Thomas Busset, Christian Koller
      Pages 163-180
    10. United Kingdom

      • Matthew Taylor
      Pages 181-201
  4. Eastern Europe

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 203-203
    2. Croatia

      • Loïc Tregoures
      Pages 205-222
    3. Poland

      • Wojciech Woźniak
      Pages 223-244
    4. Romania

      • Florin Faje
      Pages 245-264
    5. Russia

      • Ekaterina Gloriozova
      Pages 265-285
    6. Serbia

      • Richard Mills
      Pages 287-309
    7. Ukraine

      • Olga Ruzhelnyk
      Pages 311-326

About this book

This Handbook offers an analysis of the relation between football and politics, based on over 30 case studies covering five continents. It provides a detailed picture of this relation in a wide number of European, American, African, and Asian states, as well as a comparative assessment of football in a global perspective, thus combining the general and the local. It examines themes such as the political origins of football in the studied country, the historical club rivalries, the political aspects of football as a sports spectacle, and the contemporary issues linked to the political use of football. By following the same structure with each study, the volume allows for the comparison between largely investigated cases and cases that have seldom been addressed. The Handbook will be of use particularly to students and scholars in the fields of sport studies, political science and sociology, as well as cultural studies, anthropology and leisure studies.

Editors and Affiliations

  • Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium

    Jean-Michel De Waele

  • Centre d’Etude de la Vie Politique (CEVIPOL), Université libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium

    Suzan Gibril

  • Centre d’Etude de la Vie Politique (CEVIPOL), Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium

    Ekaterina Gloriozova

  • Institute for Health and Sport, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia

    Ramón Spaaij

About the editors

Jean-Michel De Waele is Professor of Political Science at the Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium. His areas of expertise include Central and Eastern European politics, social-democracy, as well as the relations between sport and politics.

Suzan Gibril is F.R.S-F.N.R.S Fellow at the Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium. Her fields of expertise include contentious politics in the Middle East and the relations between sport and politics in the region.

Ekaterina Gloriozova is F.R.S-F.N.R.S Fellow at the Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium. Her research interests are the relations between sport and politics in post-Soviet and contemporary Russia.

Ramón Spaaij is Associate Professor and Research Program Leader (Sport in Society) at Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia. His overarching research interests centre on questions of social cohesion, conflict and social change in sport and violent extremism. 

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 139.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 179.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 249.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access