This special issue was planned after the twentieth anniversary of Soccer & Society in 2019. We invited contributions from our esteemed editorial board members to compile a volume that will reflect their concerns and engagement with new researches and fresh perspectives on soccer and society at global, national and local levels. We received ten valuable contributions which went through the usual process of review and editing. Since the special issue was not contemplated with any specific theme the articles do not therefore have a focal binding thread as such, and represent more of an eclectic compilation. However, the attempts of the authors have been to offer explorative analyses and nuanced understandings of some intriguing aspects of soccer in relation to society, culture and nation. The issues explored and discussed are quite diverse, albeit spatially limited, and include: early footballing subcultures (England) and codes (Australia), football diplomacy (England-Italy), migration (Israel), media and national identity (Iran), women’s soccer (Argentina), mental health and wellbeing of footballers (England) and referees, the role of epithets in footballing memories, and the story of a football museum (England). We thank our contributing editorial board members and their co-authors for their valuable contributions. It is hoped that the special issue will generate interest among the journal’s readers and encourage future forays into these or associated areas of research.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.