– An Educational Project funded by the EU Erasmus+ Programme –
Football Makes History brings together history educators and youth workers from all over Europe to develop new educational resources that can help young people explore European history and heritage through the lens of football, as well as use football to tackle social exclusion.
Stories
Browse our collection of stories about football history and inclusion. With the history of football being made up of millions of stories, of individuals and communities, of movements and processes, we offer stories that can inspire our cultural conversations today.
Videos
Get to know untold stories where individuals are making history with football. When faced with insurmountable challenges, individuals past and present can use football as a cultural force to foster positive change in society. We honour these individuals and tell their ‘untold’ stories in short videos.
Educational Resources
Explore our innovative educational resources that use football’s history, heritage and legacy to engage young people. The resources include ready-made lesson plans and historical source collections for school history education as well as toolkit with activities for non-formal settings.
Latest video
Let’s talk football history
Welcome to Football Makes History: let’s talk football history
A new platform to talk about our two favorite subjects combined: football and history. Some of us work in formal (school) education (as teachers or developers of educational resources), others are working outside the school with youngsters. Some of us are football organisations. Most of us are working in, with, around, through football. We initiated a project, and with support of Erasmus+, are working closely together.
French Footballers and the May 1968 protests
In May of 1968 students and the working class in France took to the street. Strikes and other forms of protests spread through France. The events didn’t leave Football untouched, on 30 May 1968 a charity match was played between Nantes and Rennes in sympathy with the protests
Today in 1990: a match to teach the collapse of Yugoslavia
Taking the myths around the football game that is said to have “started the wars in former Yugoslavia” as an opportunity to teach critical thinking.
Wales move towards a more inclusive society with Football History
In this article Football Makes History speaks to two teachers from Wales, Gareth Thomas and Ben Jones about their experience using football history in their lessons
Football fights Alzheimer with Memories
In Football Memories, elderly people living with Alzheimer get an opportunity to meet one other and engage with their shared heritage in a positive way.
SPECIAL Lockdown Football Stories
Football Lockdowns: Smallpox outbreak in 1972
Football Makes History Developer and history teacher Igor Jovanovic wrote for us about other times when Football was stopped like it currently is. This time it is the Smallpox outbreak in Yugoslavia.
Football Lockdowns: Oil Crises 1956 and 1973
Dutch sport historian Jurryt van de Vooren wrote of other times when Football was stopped, like it currently is. This time it’s oil shortages!
Football Lockdowns: Tilburg (NL) 1951
Dutch sport historian Jurryt van de Vooren wrote a historical overview of other times when Football was stopped, like it currently is. Small story of a local epidemic.
Football Lockdowns: World War Two
Dutch sports historian Jurryt van de Vooren wrote a historical overview of other times when Football was stopped like it currently is. The Second World War is our second short piece.
Football Lockdowns: The Spanish Flu of 1918
Dutch sports historian Jurryt van de Vooren wrote for us about other times when Football was stopped like it currently is. Spanish flu of 1918 is the first story.
Educational game about dealing with discrimination
An educational game about dealing with discrimination and confronts young people with their own choices. The players get to react to discrimination and have the choice to either let it happen or do something about it. The game developed by the Anne Frank House is available in several languages.
Refugees
The Fare Network – partner in Football Makes History – believes that sport can play a role in helping to meet some of the challenges faced by newly arriving migrants into Europe and ensure the safe integration of individuals into communities. In the wake of the 2015 migration peak, activists and volunteers across Europe have been involved in supporting refugees, sometimes with the simple act of offering space and friendship to participate in football through grassroots clubs to help newcomers integrate.
Have World Cup Team become more diverse over time?
Researchers of the Sport and Nation Programme at Erasmus University Rotterdam conducted an analysis on 4.761 footballers, derived from the fifteen national teams that competed in at least ten editions of the World Cup between 1930 and 2018, which comprises of 301 foreign-born football players.
Europeana’s Vintage World Cup Photographs
Want to get a visual idea of the history of international football competition? Have a look at this impressive collective from the vaults of European national archives, brought together here by Europeana.
Explore Europeana’s Football Heritage Mini-Exhibition
Are you looking for historical football-related sources – in particular stunning visuals from the collected European archival record – this is the place to go. Find out more by visiting the mini-exhibition on the Europeana’s website and browse away!
