The European Ritual Football in the New Europe

Football constitutes a vivid public ritual in contemporary European culture through which emergent social solidarities and new economic networks have come into being. This fascinating and unique volume traces the transformation of European football from the 1950s to the present, focusing in particular on the dramatic changes that have occurred in the last decade and linking them to the wider process of European integration. The examination of football illuminates how the growing dominance of the free market has changed European society from an international order in which the nation-state was dominant to a more complex transnational regime in which cities and regions are becoming more prominent than in the past. The study is supported by detailed ethnographic accounts emerging from the author's fieldwork at Manchester United and interview data with some of the most important figures in European football at clubs including Juventus, Milan, Bayern Munich, Schalke and Barcelona. It also includes a highly topical examination of racism in European football.

Contents: Part I: The Transformation of a Ritual: From 1968 to 1999; The new Europe: cities, states or superstate? Part II: Football in the Old Europe: The early years of the European Cup: 1955-70; Eurosclerosis. Part III: Football in the New Europe: Bosman; The television; The new business of football; The League of Champions. Part IV: Football Fans in the New Europe: The politics of football; Localism; Racism; The contours of a new Europe; Bibliography; Index.

Dr Anthony King is a Reader in Sociology at the University of Exeter, UK. He is the author of The End of the Terraces (1998).