There is no question that Major League Soccer (MLS) has come a long way from its founding in 1993. Franchises have never been in higher demand. Attendance, TV viewership, social media metrics, and the quality of play have skyrocketed. There’s no longer a question on whether MLS will survive; it is now a matter of how much the league will grow and what new markets will become part of the MLS family. Cover Art Courtesy of Overlook Press There is also
All of us here at ISN are big fans of non-league football. We listen to The Non League Football Show every week and try to catch “the minnows” of the FA Cup on the telly anytime when we can. Cover Art Courtesy of Penguin Random House UK There’s just something unique and incredibly special about the non-league game. The same can certainly be said about Nige Tassel’s The Bottom Corner: A Season with the Dreamers of Non-League Football, an offering from
Football Manager “Launch Day” is our favorite time of year and an unofficial holiday for thousands around the globe. Yes, it is a game, but it is also a way of life. It has inspired a documentary, two books, and thousands of “careers” in football management. Trying to describe its impact and quality is often hard to put into words. It’s that good. Screenshots Courtesy of SEGA Let’s start by saying that Football Manager 2017 is the most comprehensive football game
To say Phil Atkinson is a rugby expert is quite the understatement. He is the editor of Touchlines, the magazine of the Rugby Memorabilia Society, which he formerly chaired. He is president of Welsh rugby club Rhymney, for whom he played, and whose centenary history he wrote. He is also co-author of The King’s Cup 1919: Rugby’s First World Cup. And Atkinson is a lifelong collector of rugby memorabilia. Cover Art Courtesy of Amberley Publishing Simply put, Atkinson was the perfect choice
Having read both autobiographies for Abby Wambach’s and Carli Lloyd in the same week, we can tell you that both are excellent reads. Both are truly inspiring, real motivational pieces. Both are honest discussions of great female athletes, gloabal soccer stars. These two titles are part of an incredible Cover Art Courtesy of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt We thoroughly enjoyed Lloyd’s When Nobody Was Watching: My Hard-Fought Journey to the Top of the Soccer World. It recaps the brilliant life of one of the world’s
Abby Wambach is a lot of things to a lot of people. She is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and FIFA Women’s World Cup Champion. She holds the world record for international goals for both female and male players with an otherworldly 184 goals. She is a pioneer for the women’s game, serving as a role model for many girls and women around the world. She is an advocate for a number of causes, giving a voice to the voiceless.
Trevor Ford: The Authorised Biography by Neil Palmer is an enchanting tale of arguably the greatest Welsh footballer to ever live. It is a story of hard work, perseverance, and fighting for what you believe in. Cover Art Courtesy of Amberley Publishing Ford was among the first football stars to take a stand for players’ rights and salaries. All of those millionaire players today certainly owe a debt of gratitude to Ford; he began a movement that so many have benefitted
All the all-time greats are known by a single name: Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Maradona, Eusébio, and Pelé. But the greatest to ever play the game may actually be Di Stéfano, which happens to the title of Ian Hawkey’s latest book. Hawkey is a brilliant writer, best known for being the European football correspondent for The Sunday Times until 2012 and for composing the critically acclaimed Feet of the Chameleon: The Story of African Football. Cover Art Courtesy of Ebury Press Don’t take our word for it:
Peter Chapman’s Out of Time: 1966 and the End of Old-Fashioned Britain is a brilliant coming of age story offered up by our friends at Bloomsbury. It is a story of a young man (the author) beginning his adult life, a football team finally meeting expectations, and a country becoming less of an empire. Cover Art Courtesy of Bloomsbury Publishing It’s a beautiful text, a nostalgic look back at a different world. It was a different time, a different political climate, and
