Our First XI
Selected by the Bookshop
With the 2026 Football World Cup underway, we've put together a squad of our favourite books on the beautiful game. There are so many great ones, we had to leave a few on the bench, but here are our first XI... classics, new releases, tactics, travel and teamwork.
From the publisher:
From the acclaimed and prize-winning author of The Damned Utd and Red or Dead comes another extraordinary novel about Britain, sport and the formative scars of our collective past.A TIMES, INDEPENDENT, FINANCIAL…
From the publisher:
Translated by Fionn Petch'A fascinating journey through the game's history [as] a vehicle of change' Shaka Hislop'Correia takes us around the world to examine how football has produced the kind of political energy that can change minds…
From the publisher:
The astonishing history of the rise, fall, and rise again of women’s football, from the late 19th century to the present day.DISCOVER THE STORY OF THE WOMEN WHO PAVED THE WAY FOR THE LIONESSES‘A truly important book; shines a…
From the publisher:
'One of the greatest football novels ever written and a comic masterpiece' DJ Taylor' DJ Taylor'But is this story believable? Ah, it all depends upon whether you want it to believe it.' J.L. CarrIn their new all-buttercup-yellow-stripe,…
From the publisher:
Remarkable Football Grounds is a collection of some of the most memorable places to watch and play football around the world. They range from the stellar stadiums of the Premier League to windswept islands in the Scottish Hebrides or the…
From the publisher:
Is Italy a united country, or a loose affiliation of warring states? Is Italian football a sport, or an ill-disguised protraction of ancient enmities?Tim Parks goes on the road to follow the fortunes of Hellas Verona football club, to pay a…
From the publisher:
For many people watching football is mere entertainment, to some it’s more like a ritual; but to others, its highs and lows provide a narrative to life itself. But, for Nick Hornby, his devotion to the game has provided one of few…
From the publisher:
Winner of the Sports Book of the Year Award 2026The football World Cup is the most watched sporting event on the planet.It has become a global obsession: 211 nations initially entered the 2022 edition. It has been running for almost a…
From the publisher:
‘Immaculately written, inspiring, sad and elegiac.’ Daily TelegraphWith a new introduction by David PeaceDuncan Edwards played his first game for Manchester United at the age of fifteen and Walter Winterbottom, then England…
From the publisher:
'Football is a pleasure that hurts'This unashamedly emotional history of football is a homage to the romance and drama, spectacle and passion of a 'great pagan mass'. Through stories of superstition, heartbreak, tragedy, luck, heroes and…
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