Stories
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.
Our Latest Stories
Formation for Human Rights
A class of high school history students in Oslo was asked to create an ideal starting XI line-up based on Human Rights. Find out why and how it went.
Formation for Human Rights
A class of high school history students in Oslo was asked to create an ideal starting XI line-up based on Human Rights. Find out why and how it went.
Pass, Shoot, Goal! Football in the Jazz Age – a review
A loving fan and musician put together his two passions and created this compilation of tunes from the Jazz Age.
Mo Salah’s Song to Integration
Prayer days on stadiums, faith rooms and inclusive chants: here is how English football is adapting to a changing world.
Engage young people with football history
Engage young people through Football Makes History’s own Guidebook and Toolkit for promoting social inclusion in formal education or Non-formal settings
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Trending Stories
Refugees
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.
FC Union Berlin: A rebellious football club in a rebellious city
BBC Sport’s Football Focus visits Bundesliga side FC Union Berlin, a “rebellious” football club from East Berlin with a special set of fans, playing their first season in Germany’s top flight 30 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
More Football Stories
21 short stories of football in Amsterdam
Telling the history of a city through football stories: a celebration of Amsterdam.
FOOTBALL HIGHLIGHTS Read more
May in Football
What moments in football history have we highlighted in the last month? How do they provide us with historical mirrors to the present?
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April in Football
What moments in football history have we highlighted in the last month? How do they provide us with historical mirrors to the present?
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March in Football
What moments in football history have we highlighted in the last month? How do they provide us with historical mirrors to the present?
...
February in Football
What moments in football history have we highlighted in the last month? How do they provide us with historical mirrors to the present?
...
December in Football
Waiting for UEFA2020, we provided you with a 365-day #onthisday series of posts. Here is what you enjoyed reading in December!
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November in Football
Waiting for UEFA2020, we provided you with a 365-day #onthisday series of posts. Here is what you enjoyed reading in November!
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October in Football
As the UEFA 2020 European Championships got pushed ahead one year, we provide you with a 365-day #onthisday series of posts to help all fans out there to go back in time, think, and reflect.
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September in Football
As the UEFA 2020 European Championships got pushed ahead one year, we provide you with a 365-day #onthisday series of posts to help all fans out there to go back in time, think, and reflect.
...
August in Football
As the UEFA 2020 European Championships got pushed ahead one year, the team of Football Makes History will provide you with a 365-day #onthisday series of posts to help all fans out there to go back in time, think, and reflect.
...
July in football history
As the UEFA 2020 European Championships got pushed ahead one year, the team of Football Makes History will provide you with a 365-day #onthisday series of posts to help all fans out there to go back in time, think, and reflect.
...
Angel City FC: An in-vitro football sensation
Angel City FC, the brand new women-majority owned and run club in Los Angeles
Priceless footage of football in tragic times
Get to know these colour videos of Jewish footballers in 1936 and 1944. Incredible primary sources of football in tragic times.
Historians at Football Clubs 2: Derby County
Derby County historian Andy Ellis shares how football and history and heritage come together in his work.
Time Travel to the European Championship of 1454
Italian history teacher adapted a lesson plan made in Iceland and took it several centuries back.
Big statements on a small piece of cloth
Activism on the pitch has many faces. Here are some team captains who wear their colours on their armbands.
The rise and fall of a club as community drama
An opera about community, collective action, local stories and football.
Football Players in Focus
A review of educational material which covers exclusion, persecution and annihilation through real-life examples from the past
Rethinking the football museum
Heritage studies has not engaged much with the world of football, but some football museums are quickly becoming places for social work and education.
The Dutch East Indies, a colonial team at a World Cup
At the 1938 football World Cup in France, the team representing the Dutch East Indies played Hungary.
Far away and/or forgotten? Learning history through the Conference League
Several football clubs have to play away from their home because of war and conflict. This article will look at some of those clubs.
When Football was mobilised
Football’s history can be traced along troops stations and frontlines.
Archive
When God was Bulgarian
Today in 1993, one football match connected a rooster, Bulgaria and God.
FC United serves as a mirror
FC United is a documentary about racism in Belgium and gives much needed voice to the affected.
A plea for inclusion
From the example of Goalball, we look at some broader issues with inclusion and equality in sport.
Social layers in a Netflix drama ‘Club de Cuervos’
Review of a drama show to help students discuss societal issues.
Animals of Football
The German Football Club 1. FC Köln has a goat as a mascot. Here is a short story on why that is.
Giovinette, a forgotten story
A review of a recent novel which may open a window on the early days of women’s football in Italy.
Football as a post-disaster charity
Today in 1964, a football match was organised between Yugoslavia and a UEFA team “Rest of Europe”.
Only girl on the field
This article is the result of a webinar series from EuroClio which tackled football and social issues to explore how football history and society intertwine.
Researching Football’s “Us and Them”
The online racism following the European Championship finals, after a year of unprecedented activism against it, shows how much work remains.
Match of Inhumanity
Today in 1944 football was played in the concentration camp Tezerin. What does this propaganda footage tell us about the Holocaust?
Unleash the potential of football museums
This article is the result of a webinar series from EuroClio which tackled football and social issues to explore how football history and society intertwine.
Is Football a “Power Play”?
Interview with researchers Valerio Mancini, Narcís Pallarès-Domènech and Alessio Postiglione on football and Geopolitics.
What’s in a name
Palmeiras is now one of the most victorious teams of Brazil and South America. Its “immigrant” name gives us a window in the past.
US Soccer in Scandinavia
Today in 1916, the US Soccer team played their first international football match. In the Olympic Stadium of Stockholm they beat their Swedish hosts 3 – 2.
Saga of a Death Match
Today in 1942, one of the most infamous matches in football history took place, in Nazi occupied Kiev.