Cold War Football (Tony Shaw)

A gargantuan battle for hearts and minds, the Cold War is the supreme example of a 'people's war'. But what did the 'people's game' have to do with it? From Dynamo Moscow's stormy tour of Britain in 1945 to the inaugural Women's World Cup in 1991, Tony Shaw and Alan McDougall chart the clash between capitalism and communism in ten iconic football matches. They take us across Europe, Asia, South America and Africa to uncover football's part in bolstering democracies and dictatorships and in the struggle for influence in the developing world. They show how these matches offered a rare opportunity to see what life was like on 'the other side' of the Iron Curtain, making friends of enemies but also fuelling revolution. Featuring legendary players, goals and on- and off-field controversies, this is a fascinating history of how the Cold War shaped football and how football shaped the Cold War.

Tony Shaw is Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Hertfordshire. His books include Eden, Suez and the Mass Media (1996), Cinematic Cold War: The American and Soviet Struggle for Hearts and Minds (2010) and Hollywood and Israel: A History (2022). Alan McDougall is Professor of History at the University of Guelph. His books include The People's Game: Football, State and Society in East Germany (2014), Contested Fields: A Global History of Modern Football (2020) and Dreams and Songs to Sing: A People's History of Liverpool FC from Shankly to Klopp (2025).

Buch (Hardcover), Englisch, 284 Seiten