Abstract
Football has had a long and rich history as a liberating force. It has been an important agent of social integration and a major arena in which ethnic and religious identities – local, national and regional – and conceptions and practices of gender and class are played out. It has created a culture where fraternity and cooperation are common and has served as a vehicle for independence and dignity. This essay pays homage to some of the football players, teams, fans, projects and dreams that have been in the front lines of struggles for social justice, community and a better world. It focuses on men and women who have understood the game's connection to larger social and political transformations and, in word and deed, helped further its equalitarian and inclusive nature, thus also helping to transform society.
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Alon K. Raab
Alon K. Raab teaches in the department of Religious Studies at UC, Davis, and his true religions are football and bicycles. Co-editor of The Global Game: Writers on Soccer (University of Nebraska Press, 2008) and Soccer in the Middle East (Routledge, 2014) and author of articles, essays, and encyclopedia entries about sport and society, he is a right-winger but only on the playing fields.