Austro-Hungarian Army WW1 (Photo: IWM Q 88200)

Football Stories

Football gives as an opportunity to explore the 20th and early 21st century history – full of migration, conflict and change – in new and meaningful ways.

Gijsbert Oonk (Historian at Erasmus University Rotterdam)

History

Some would say history is just one damned thing after the other, that it should be put to rest in the past and that bygones should be bygones.

These people are not necessarily wrong, but in an ever-complex world of globalised societies and rising exclusivist identity-politics, the stories we tell ourselves about the past help us define ourselves in the present and orient toward an unpredictable future.

Football

Some would say football is nothing more than 22 people chasing a ball around a pitch for 90 minutes.

Also those people are not necessarily wrong, but history is made up of whatever people have come to value, and certainly football – a game played and watched by billions for over 100 years – seems highly valued.

Top Reader Rating Scores

Let's rate our football stories!

All

Natalie Portman, one of the founders of Angel City FC.

Angel City FC: An in-vitro football sensation

Angel City FC, the brand new women-majority owned and run club in Los Angeles.

100+ life stories (FMH Photo collage). Credits: Ebru Köksal; John Blankenstein (Photo: Bart Molendijk / Dutch National Archives); Otto “Tull” Harder (Photo: Dutch National Archive); Petra Landers (Photo: Heinz Reinders / Wikimedia Commons).

Learning history in 100 football life stories

Over 100 life stories have been collected. Together they present a story of the people of Europe in the last 150 years. Time to connect the dots.

Local, revolutionary and social; three must-reads (books cover mockup).

Local, revolutionary and social

Here are three books which offer inspiration and context on the deep roots of football.

Trending

Last 30-Days Engaging Stories on Football Makes History

A group of soccer players standing around a man on the ground (Photo: Luis Quintero on Unsplash).

Football Injury Crisis: Why are Players Getting Injured so Often?

Football history through the lens of injuries.

Footballers of Hajduk Split and Red Star Belgrade after the match was stopped (Photo: MN Press).

The Match when Tito Died

When there is more on the line than a game

AEK flag

AEK Athens fans and their deep anti fascist identity

An immigrant team and its long-history antiracism

Featured Stories

Latest Tips

University of Pretoria, South Africa.

Teaching History with the World Cup

Teaching pre-service history teachers via the FIFA World Cup football 2026, reflections from Pretoria, South-Africa.

Hamburg, Landungsbrücken (Photo: Dietmar Rabich, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

The Gateway to the World

History and society of a city through the lens of a club.

Standing are Marrigje Rikken,Anja Schouten, Jurryt van de Voorden. Sitting are Nel Rentenaar and Ineke Boom.

Alkmaar 1961

This ultimately led to the KNVB’s national board officially recognising female referees on 3 November 1962.

Norway’s national team poses as Vikings ahead of the 2026 World Cup. Photo: David Yarrow (The Athletic / Norwegian Football Federation).

Of all these peoples, the Belgians are the strongest

Sometimes football is not a tidy metaphor. Sometimes football is simply mad.

All

Random

Stories

Members of the football team of the 42th Macedonian division of the Yugoslav national-liberation army, pictured in football uniforms during the final operations for the liberation of Yugoslavia, May 1945 (Source: https://izlozba.mk/na-srem/).

When Football was mobilised

Football's history can be traced along troops stations and frontlines.

Glentoran's The Oval.

The Blitz and the Oval

During WWII Nazi Germany attacked the harbors of Belfast, destroying with them most of the stadium of Glentoran F.C.

St Pauli (Photo: 2014, Wiki Commons).

Can clubs face their hidden histories?

An alternative Look into Football's Hidden Histories with educational value.

The Stadio Olimpico, the largest stadium in Italy, 2011 (Photo: Wikimedia Commons).

Olympic Stadium in Rome: a pitch of contradictions

On this day, Rome would have been full of European football fans, as one of the hosts of the Euro2020. This gives us a chance to go into the history of the European Nations Cup, which is full of remarkable stories and people. This is the story of the Olympic Stadium. It is a story about football innovation and bridging countries.

Cover of the book & Israel flags at Ajax-Feyenoord Game 1983.

The Making of ‘Jew Clubs’

Book review of "The Making of 'Jew Clubs': Performing Jewishness and Antisemitism in European Football and Fan Cultures" (2025).

Examples of NFTs.

Football and Crypto: the new frontiers

Crypto companies want to increase their visibility and the world of sport, especially that of soccer, is the perfect way.

Northern Ireland women's football team before a defeat in Sweden (Photo: Anders Henrikson).

A long journey

Retelling the history of the women’s football in Northern Ireland offers us a view on how the game came, went and is here to stay.

Cover of "What You Think You Know About Football is Wrong" (Bloomsbury).

What you think you know about football is wrong

Enter a journey along known, and less well-known stories in football history. Dr. Kevin Moore’s work will be good with students too!

Primo Levi, circa 1960 (Center for Contemporary Jewish Documentation, Milan).

Football in Primo Levi’s Work

On this day, 31 July, in 1919, Primo Levi was born in Turin, Italy. In his works about his experiences in the Shoah and afterwards, Levi recalls football on two occasions.

Womens World Cup Final in 1971 with 110.000 (!) paying fans.

“We played for 95.000 people but came home to a ban”

While FIFA now touts progress, this article unveils the remarkable achievements of forgotten female footballers who played against all odds.

Champions of the AIF cup in 1931, Sprint from Moss.

Class war on the football pitch

The story of how the working class fought for their right to play football in Norway.

Torpedo Moscow Winning USSR CUp 1949 (Photo origin unknown. Source: Fotboltrotters).

Basque in the USSR

A story of a Spanish footballer turned Communist leader, where football and history intertwine across borders.

Load More

Erasmus University Rotterdam

Reinwardt Academy - Amsterdam University of the Arts

EuroClio - Inspiring History and Citizenship Educators

Eintracht Frankfurt Museum

Zespół Szkół Technicznych i Ogólnokształcących Nr 2