FOOTBALL SCHOLARS FORUM

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  • World Cup Syllabus

    The final event of the 2025-26 season took place on June 4, 2026. Ron Krabill, Pavandeep Singh Josan, and Emilia Flores of the University of Washington’s Global Sport Lab joined us for a discussion of the World Cup Syllabus, a free digital resource to help people learn about the history, politics, and culture of the men’s and women’s tournaments organized by FIFA since 1930.

    Participants included: Brenda Elsey, Laurent Dubois, Sean Jacobs, Martha Saavedra, Mauricio Borrero, Patrick Ridge, John Sloop, Andrew Lee, Rwany Sibaja, Edwin de la Cruz, Celso Castilho, David Kilpatrick, Joshua Nadel, Jesus Hidalgo, Emma Ariyo, Chuck Carlson, Jon Dart, Brian Bunk, William Sclabassi, Adam Winkel, and Peter Alegi.

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

  • “An American Game” Pod

    circular logo of An American Game podcast

    For the first time in our 16-year history, FSF tackled a podcast series! On May 13, historian Tom McCabe and screenwriter Kirk Rudell—hosts and producers of An American Game—were joined by Adam Winkel, David Kilpatrick, Martha Saavedra, John Sloop, Edwin de la Cruz, Chuck Carlson, Justin Lovich, Kevin Tallec Marston, Patrick Sullivan, Brian Bunk, and Peter Alegi.

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

  • Beyond the Field

    an old black and white photograph of a soccer team on a field

    Historian Brian Bunk joined us for a conversation about his recent book, Beyond the Field: How Soccer Built Community in the United States.

    Participants on April 17 included: Alon Raab, John Sloop, David Kilpatrick, Andrew Guest, Kevin Tallec Marston, Ron Krabill, Adam Winkel, Chuck Carlson, Eric Walcott, James Brown, Rory Bryce, and Peter Alegi (host).

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

  • You’ll Never Walk Alone

    On January 30, 2026, historian and Liverpool supporter Alan McDougall discussed his new book, Dreams and Songs to Sing: A People’s History of Liverpool FC from Shankly to Klopp.

    Joining our author were 26 participants, including John Sloop, Andrew Lee, Karl Zoller, Andrew Guest, Bill Sutherland, Cian McMahon, Martha Saavedra, Jon Dart, Tom McCabe, Peter Alegi, Ryan Turcott and his sports management students at Gonzaga University.

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

  • Heritage, History, or Hoax?

    On December 12, historians Kevin Marston and Mike Cronin joined us for a discussion of their book, Inventing the Boston Game: Football, Soccer, and the Origins of a National Myth.

    Participants included: Tony Adedze, James Brown, Yomi Ejikunle, Andrew Lee, David Kilpatrick, Ron Krabill, Andrew Guest, Tom McCabe, Cian McMahon, Jed Murr, Rwany Sibaja, William Sclabassi, Yacov Zohn, and Peter Alegi.

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

    Happy Holidays and see you in 2026!

  • Injury Time — Part 2

    The second half of our conversation with David Goldblatt about his latest book, Injury Time: Football in a Time of Emergency, took place on November 14.

    Participants included: Robert Edelman, Andrew Lee, Tom McCabe, Alan McDougall, John Sloop, Chuck Carlson, Jesus Hidalgo, Stefan Szymanski, David Kilpatrick, Martha Saavedra, Ron Krabill, John Lewis, Phillip Gollner, Ryan Turcott, Andrew Guest, Adam Winkel, and Peter Alegi.

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

  • Injury Time — Part 1

    The 2025-26 FSF season opened with David Goldblatt’s Injury Time: Football in a State of Emergency. This was the first of two sessions on the book, with the second half to be played on November 14 at 1pm US ET.

    Participants included: Declan Abernathy, Gerard Akindes, Chris Bolsmann, Kirk Bowman, Chuck Carlson, Vitas Carosella, Jon Dart, Bob Edelman, Joshua Grace, Andrew Guest, Jesus Hidalgo, Thomas McCabe, Alan McDougall, Alon Raab, Martha Saavedra, Jon Sloop, William Sutherland, Stefan Szymanski, Jean Williams, Adam Winkel, Karl Zoller, and Peter Alegi.

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

  • 2025-26 Schedule

    book cover with a soccer ball on yellow background

    Oct. 10, 1pm US ET
    David Goldblatt, Injury Time: Football in a State of Emergency (part 1)

    Nov. 14, 1pm US ET
    David Goldblatt, Injury Time (part 2)

    men playing ball with a building and trees in the background

    Dec. 12, 12pm US ET
    Kevin Tallec Marston and Mike Cronin, Inventing the Boston Game: Football, Soccer, and the Origins of a National Myth

    soccer players with a trophy in a stadium

    January 30, 2026 (12 Noon US ET)
    Alan McDougall, Dreams and Songs to Sing: A People’s History of Liverpool FC from Shankly to Klopp

    an old black and white photograph of a soccer team on a field

    April 17, 2026, 2pm,
    Brian Bunk, Beyond the Field: How Soccer Built Community in the United States 

  • Fútbol Films in Latin America

    Title slide with movie posters

    On May 16, Patrick Ridge (Virginia Tech) led a discussion on film and football in Latin America based on these feature films, documentaries, and series:

    • Rudo y Cursi [link]
    • Puerta 7 [link]
    • Copa 71 [link]
    • Pelé (2021) [link] and Pelé: Birth of a Legend (2016) [link]

    Participants included: Jesus Hidalgo, Andrew Guest, Shawn Stein, Thomas McCabe, William Sclabassi, Eben Levy, and Peter Alegi.

    This audio recording of the session is for personal/educational use only:

  • Godwin, with Joseph O’ Neill

    On February 21, FSF hosted award-winning novelist Joseph O’Neill for a discussion of his latest book, Godwin. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the main focus of the conversation was the football dimension of the novel. This was important to O’Neill for personal reasons—as a former youth player and life-long Man United supporter—and for literary reasons given that the game, as he put it, “is the most salient and rigorous manifestation of global culture.”

    Participants included: Chuck Carlson, Jon Dart, Ron Krabill, Tom McCabe, John Sloop, Cyprian Pisturnek, Adam Winkel, Jean Williams, Lisa Roe, and Peter Alegi.

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

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