Associating with Football: Social Identity in England 1863–1998

Abstract

‘If your work interferes with your football, give it up’ ran a pre-war Lancashire saying. While its exhortation to mass absenteeism should not be taken too literally, it captures effectively the central role that Association Football has played in many people’s lives for the past century and a quarter. The English game has passed through several distinct phases and this chapter can only explore some elements of its rich and complex history. At the very least, however, it will demonstrate the essential wisdom underlying that most hackneyed of clichés informing us that football is ‘more than a game’: it truly has been a major site for the reflection, reinforcement and construction of key social and political identities.

I am grateful to Tony Mason and Gary Armstrong for helpful criticism of an earlier draft.