Football has always been the People's Game and even after three decades of clubs being loaded with debt, ticket prices hiked, and fans blasted with gambling ads, football persists as a source of solidarity, civic engagement and national and international pride.
Football: The People's Shame asks how we can reclaim the Game from the corporations and oligarchs who have stolen it from us, using accessible language and common-sense examples to:
- lay out exactly why football is in the dire state it is
- explore football history to show it hasn’t always been the way it is now
- look at how they do things differently in other countries
- introduce a new model of ownership drawing on research by respected academics
- suggest how to organise locally in order to force through change at national level
Arguing for a new organisational model for the sport and its players, one that respects its contribution to local communities and the national economies, The People’s Shame is a clarion call to the fans to begin demanding something new. Football is more than just a sport, and our passion for the game can and should become an engine for change.