Outcasts! The Lands That FIFA Forgot: Read the first Chapter of GB United

Saturday, 4 December 2010

Read the first Chapter of GB United

The first chapter of my new book, GB United? British Olympic football and the end of the amateur dream, has been published exclusively by Play The Game.

Anyone interested can read it here.

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I'm a freelance journalist and regular contributor to World Soccer, PlayTheGame.org, the World Football show on BBC World Service, and sportingintelligence.com.

This blog is about those footballing nations not recognised by FIFA. I've written about them in my book, "Outcasts! The Lands That FIFA Forgot", which was shortlisted for NSC football book of the year award in the 2008 and is published by Know The Score Books.

NEW EDITION OF OUTCASTS NOW AVAILABLE ON KINDLE. NEW PHOTOS AND EPILOGUE - FOR MORE DETAILS CLICK HERE.

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Blog traffic: More than 315,000 page views on this blog since July 2007

With forewords by Adrian Chiles and David Conn."Outcasts! The Lands That FIFA Forgot" examines the much tarnished reputation of FIFA, the governing body of world football, and just how they justify the exclusion of some 'nations' while welcoming others - either for reasons of political expediency, or because FIFA just believed they could not compete with the likes of Montserrat on the world stage.

REVIEWS FOR OUTCASTS
Outcasts! is a must-read for all football fans - Sporting Life

Excellent - Scotland on Sunday

Menary is an enthusiast with a talent for getting the best out of his interviewees and a keen eye for the encapsulating episode - Daily Telegraph

As good as it gets - Birmingham Post

Buy this - The Times

Lively, informative - The Independent on Sunday

Thought provoking questions about the nature of national identity - Four Four Two

One book that might intrigue the discerning reader - Sunday Telegraph

Menary is an admirably sure-footed guide ... he never loses sight of the human stories ... a gentle meditation not merely on the power of football, but also on what it means to be a country - Jonathan Wilson

BY THE SAME AUTHOR
GB United? British Olympic Football and the end of the amateur dream (Pitch 2010)

Get a free sample electronic sample of this book here

REVIEWS
A fine book! -The Guardian

Menary does an outstanding job. GB United? is a historical tome telling a story that has been forgotten and overlooked elsewhere. This story is as much about a class struggle in twentieth century Britain as anything else, but in this case it was a struggle that the ruling class were always going to lose.
Those that ran the game at the start of the twentieth century may well look at modern football and wonder what on earth it has become, but GB United? tells a part of the story that is seldom looked at elsewhere with a keen eye for historical detail, a dry sense of humour and a mixture of disdain and respect for those that ended up shaping many of the paths that modern football would end up taking - Twohundredpercent

Excellent - Keir Radnedge

A fascinating insight into the trials and tribulations into what was, for many years, a murky world of under the counter payments - Bob Bevan, the Non League Paper

Delightful chronicle... an excellent addition to Olympic lore - Journal of Olympic History

Inspiring tales of those who considered the Games to be the ultimate make this a worthy read - Four Four Two

Well informed and lively ... a quality work - Soccer History

Exemplary research, grasp of his material and eye for a quirky fact keep up the interest - Independent on Sunday

Menary carefully explains how amateurism or 'shamateurism' gradually became unacceptable in this country, with everyone being declared just 'players' in 1974.
He recounts not only the sad decline of Vivian Woodward, a superb centre-forward and a member of the British team in 1908 and 1912, but also the exploits of Pegasus, who galvanised the amateur game in the early 1950s. It is a valuable contribution to football literature - The Olympian

Below are links to electronic versions of some of my World Soccer pieces. Most but not all are about Non-FIFA teams.

Web 2013 - Gibraltar rocks the boat for UEFA

July 2011 - The Faroes

May 2010 - Guyana

April 2010 - Belize

March 2010 - Guadeloupe

February 2010 - Abkhazia & South Ossetia

January 2010 - Catalonia

December 2009 - Pacific Islands

October 2009 - Guam

September 2009 - 2009 Island Games in Aland

August 2009 - Monaco

July 2009 - Kosovo

June 2009 - San Marino

March 2008 - Zanzibar at CECAFA Cup

below are links to Non-FIFA-related stories in When Saturday Comes

WSC May 2013 - Inconsistent membership rules frustrate Gibraltar

WSC June 2011 - The Football Archipelago

WSC June 2010 - Kosovo left in footballing limbo

WSC April 2010 - Jersey hope for an international debut

WSC January 2009 - Changing your colours (Kosovo)

WSC August 2005 - The Outsiders

WSC April 2005 - Guernsey vs England?