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 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.
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'Cold War Football is a milestone in political football literature. Tony Shaw and Alan McDougall condense the historical complexity with the help of ten matches. It is precise, eye-opening and entertaining. And the best proof that history can be taught particularly well through football.' Ronny Blaschke, author of Football and Racism: How Colonialism Shaped the Modern Game 'In Cold War Football: A History in Ten Matches, Tony Shaw and Alan McDougall skilfully weave Cold War tensions and the excitement of football to illustrate the close connections of sport and politics in a drama-filled and enjoyable read.' Heather L. Dichter, editor of Soccer Diplomacy 'Enormously documented, accessibly written and lavishly illustrated, Cold War Football gives us a new way of understanding the role of sport in the postwar world. Rather than focusing on the role of states, the prolific authors have given us a book that situates the world's most popular sport in the societies of which it was so prominent a part. Instead of bipolarity, the reader will find a rich and complex collection of stories that enhance our understanding of the postwar world. Seen for too long as a practice that was apolitical, this elegant volume demonstrates that soccer and politics did indeed mix. While they choose ten matches, our authors set these games in rich contexts that demonstrate the limitations of understanding Cold War sport as something solely about the Olympic Games.' Robert Edelman, author of Spartak Moscow 'With deft tactics, McDougall and Shaw dribble the ball effortlessly through history. Cold War Football tackles Middlesbrough's North Korean heroes, an Irish crusade against godless communism, an Africa emancipating itself from European colonisers, CIA-backed coups in Latin America and Eastern Bloc regimes defending for their lives. It's a resounding victory.' Richard Mills, author of The Politics of Football in Yugoslavia 'This fast-paced book reads like football itself: we keep our eyes on the ball as the author-referees take us through a series of breathtaking Cold War encounters that reshaped the history of international football. Goals are scored and missed. Reputations are made and shattered. The Cold War is relived this time on the pitch. An exciting read for all football aficionados!' Sergey Radchenko, author of To Run the World 'A superb kaleidoscope of the Cold War through ten international football matches. Excellent scholarship and writing by two experts who demonstrate once more that football can teach us a lot about the ins and outs of international politics and history in modern times. Highly topical reading for the year of a FIFA World Cup in a world of renewed tensions between East and West.' Kay Schiller, co-editor of The FIFA World Cup 19302010: Politics, Commerce, Spectacle and Identities
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Shaw and McDougall explore how ten dramatic football matches shaped the epic global struggle between capitalism and communism.
Introduction;
1. The fog of war: Arsenal vs. Dynamo Moscow, London,
November 1945;
2. A miracle and a revolution: West Germany vs. Hungary, Bern,
July 1954;
3. Football beats god: Ireland vs. Yugoslavia, Dublin, October
1955;
4. Settling old scores: Spain vs. Soviet Union, Madrid, June 1964;
5.
Eusébio and the 'mystery men of the East': North Korea vs. Portugal,
Liverpool, July 1966;
6. The game of shame: Chile vs. Soviet Union, Santiago,
November 1973;
7. Us against us, or us against them? West Germany vs. East
Germany, Hamburg, June 1974;
8. Leopards on trial: Zaire vs. Yugoslavia,
Gelsenkirchen, June 1974;
9. 'A crazy day, a show of power': Steaua Bucharest
vs. Dinamo Bucharest, Bucharest, June 1988;
10. A new era: China vs. Norway,
Guangzhou, November 1991; Epilogue; Notes; List of figures; Acknowledgements;
Works cited; Index.
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).
