Games Without Frontiers

Is soccer inherently political? What does soccer actually mean today? Games Without Frontiers seeks force us to think about what we mean when we say 'soccer'. Along the way, it skewers media cliches about footballers and fans, considers the sport's implications for radical politics and aesthetics, and situates the 'working-man's game' in relation to twenty-first century discussions of political authenticity. Written half as a travelogue, this book seeks to protect football from some of its would-be saviors without ever losing sight of what it means to have a fan's investment in the game.

Joe Kennedy is from the north-east of England and teaches English and Cultural Studies on the University ofGothenburg's programme at the University of Sussex. His academic work focuses on the postwar continuations and mutations of modernism in Britain, and on critical theory. Hewrites on literature, music, visual art, sport and politics for a wide range of publications.