The 2020-21 season closed on June 8 as Chris Bolsmann and Dil Porter joined us for a discussion of their book, English Gentlemen and World Soccer: Corinthians, Amateurism and the Global Game.

Participants included: Gabe Logan, Matthew Brown, Stefan Szymanski, Andrew Lee, Martha Saavedra, Titi Kou, Chuck Carlson, Jon Dart, Andrew Guest, David Kilpatrick, Rwany Sibaja, Brian Bunk, Enrico Castro Montes, and Peter Alegi.

Listen to the audio recording of the session (for personal/educational use only):

Enjoy the Euros and see you in early October for the opening of the 2021-22 season, featuring Simon Kuper and his new book, The Barcelona Complex.

We are pleased to announce that our last session before the Euros is scheduled for Tuesday, June 8, at 3pm US Eastern (8pm UK time). Chris Bolsmann and Dil Porter will join us for a discussion of their book, English Gentlemen and World Soccer: Corinthians, Amateurism and the Global Game.

According to the publisher, the book “critically reassesses the club’s role in the development of football and fills a gap in existing literature on the relationship between the progress of the game in England and globally. Most crucially, the book re-examines the sporting ideology of gentlemanly amateurism within the context of late-nineteenth century and early-twentieth century society.”

To receive the Zoom invite please email Peter Alegi (alegi AT msu DOT edu).

On April 24, FSF came together to discuss the extraordinary events of the past week with the rise and fall of the European Super League. Participants included: Titi Kou, Tom McCabe, Andrew Lee, Stefan Szymanski, Adam Winkel, Lindsay Avant, Derek Catsam, Brian Wesaala, Chuck Carlson, and Peter Alegi.

Listen to the audio recording of the session (for personal/educational use only):

Our second session of 2021 took place on April 21 as David Trouille joined us to discuss his new book Fútbol in the Park: Immigrants, Soccer, and the Creation of Social Ties.

Participants included Tony Adedze, Chris Bolsmann, Peter Jones, Titi Kou, Chris Gaffney, Declan Abernethy, Nicholas Howe Bukowski, Dil Porter, Ted Richards, Chuck Carlson, Simon Rofe, Andrew Lee, Andrew Guest, Enrico Castro Montes, and Peter Alegi.

Listen to the audio recording (for personal/educational use only):

FSF’s next event is in early June (date/time TBD), featuring English Gentlemen and World Soccer: Corinthians, Amateurism and the Global Game, by Chris Bolsmann and Dil Porter. Email Peter Alegi (alegi AT msu DOT edu) to register.

It is our pleasure to welcome sociologist David Trouille, author of Fútbol In the Park: Immigrants, Soccer and the Creation of Social Ties (University of Chicago Press, 2021), to FSF on April 21, 2021 at 3:00pm US Eastern Time (2000 London time).

From the publisher: Fútbol in the Park “takes us into the world of Latino soccer players who regularly play in an upscale Los Angeles neighborhood where they are not always welcome. Together on the soccer field, sharing beers after the games, and occasionally exchanging taunts or blows, the men build relationships and a sense of who they are. Through these engrossing, revealing, and at times immortalizing activities, they forge new identities, friendships, and job opportunities, giving themselves a renewed sense of self-worth and community. As the United States becomes increasingly polarized over issues of immigration and culture, Fútbol in the Park offers a close look at the individual lives and experiences of migrants.”

Email Peter Alegi (alegi AT msu DOT edu) to sign up and receive a Zoom invite.

Our first session of 2021 took place on February 25 as Heather Dichter joined us to discuss her edited volume Soccer Diplomacy: International Relations and Football since 1914.

Participants included Brenda Elsey and Chris Bolsmann, who contributed chapters to the book, as well as Stefan Szymanski, Andrew Lee, Andrew Guest, Enrico Castro Montes, Itamar Dubinsky, Jermaine Scott, Chuck Carlson, Lindsay Avant, Jon Dart, Mike Cole, Tom McCabe, Sarah Dwyer-Shick, Alon Raab, Anakwa Dwamena, Arnaud Amouroux, Simon Rofe, and Peter Alegi.

Listen to the audio recording: (personal/educational use only).

FSF’s next session is on April 21 at 3pm US ET (8pm UK) with David Trouille and his new book, Fútbol in the Park: Immigrants, Soccer, and the Creation of Social Ties. Email Peter Alegi (alegi AT msu DOT edu) to participate via Zoom.

Our first session of 2021 will feature a discussion of Soccer Diplomacy: International Relations and Football since 1914, edited by Dr. Heather Dichter (University Press of Kentucky, 2020).

Dichter (@hdichter) is an Associate Professor at De Montfort University’s International Centre for Sports History and Culture (@ICSHC).

Join us via Zoom on Thursday, February 25, at 3pm US ET (2000 UK time). Email Peter Alegi (alegi AT msu DOT edu) for invites and a discount code.

The following session is scheduled for April 21, at 3pm US Eastern Time, with David Trouille and his new book, Fútbol in the Park.

On the sixth anniversary of Ismail Morina audaciously piloting a drone draped with an Albanian flag over the pitch at Belgrade’s Marakana stadium, FSF held the second convo of the 2020-21 season featuring James Montague’s 1312: Among the Ultras, A journey with the world’s most extreme fans.

The author joined us from Istanbul to share his fieldwork experiences and reflect on the process of writing a book that took him to 20 different countries. The Q&A with Montague, as expected, provided an opportunity to dig deeper into this engaging ethnography of a male-dominated youth fan culture.

Participants: John Boyd, Chuck Carlson, Alex Cizmic, John Ford, Andrew Guest, Titi Kou, Lindsay Krasnoff, David Kilpatrick, Tom McCabe, Danyel Reiche, Kirk Rudell, Adam Winkel, Andrew Weeks, and Peter Alegi.

Click below to listen to the audio recording of the session (personal/educational use only).

Award-winning author and journalist James Montague joins FSF on Thursday, October 15, at 2pm US Eastern Time (2000 Central European Time) to discuss his new book, 1312: Among the Ultras, A journey with the world’s most extreme fans.

1312 investigates the international phenomenon of the ultras from South America to Europe, Southeast Asia, and the USA. Using his signature globetrotting style, Montague charts the evolution of these radical supporters into political organizations (mostly aligned with the far right, at present) and as spaces of resistance against state authorities and the corporate takeover of football.

To participate via Zoom contact Peter Alegi (alegi AT msu DOT edu).

25 participants kicked off the Football Scholars Forum’s 12th season on Thursday, September 17.

Historians Brenda Elsey and Jermaine Scott spearheaded an excellent discussion of key issues raised by their Fare report on the “Representation of Black and Latinx Communities and Women in U.S. Soccer” [full text here].

Click below to listen to the audio recording of the session (personal/educational use only).

Our next session takes place on Thursday, October 15, at 2pm US ET (-6 Central European Time). We welcome back James Montague for a conversation about his new book, 1312: Among the Ultras, A journey with the world’s most extreme fans.