Fathers of Football: Great Britons Who Took the Game to the World

by Keith Baker

The long-overlooked story of a number of adventurous Britons who left their homeland before the First World War to inspire and shape the growth of modern football in continental Europe and South America. Drawn from widely different backgrounds, their motivations and contributions were diverse - helping to form legendary clubs now supported by millions across the globe; bringing revolutionary changes to the way football was taught and played, and laying the foundations on which the game would continue to flourish. Full of entertaining accounts and anecdotes from the birth of the global game, Fathers of Football places the lives of these innovators soundly in historical and social context. They all left a deep and lasting impression on football in the countries they worked in; yet for too long Britain turned its back on their lessons and achievements. Even today they remain largely unknown - prophets more honoured abroad than at home.

Genres: Sports

303 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2015

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Please see: Keith Baker


Keith Baker is the author of a book on the 1908 London Olympics and a biography of the chemist and philosopher, Joseph Priestley. A former senior civil servant and by temperament an historian and sports devotee, Keith was educated at Aberystwyth University and the LSE. He lives in Sheffield, home of Britain's oldest football club, Sheffield FC.

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read on the early days of football in Spain, Argentina, Russia, Brazil and Italy and the part played in its development by Brits. Contains a couple of errors regarding more recent events however - Dynamo being beaten 1-0 by Rangers in '72 Cup Winners Cup Final being the most obvious example (it was a 3-2 defeat).