A History of Football in 100 Objects Main Edition

What does a turnip have in common with a pair of £500 sunglasses? They’ve both played a pivotal role in football history. Following on from Neil MacGregor’s groundbreaking The History of the World in 100 Objects, Gavin Mortimer provides a quirky and unique take on the beautiful game told through its defining objects.

A History of Football in 100 Objects Main Edition begins on the momentous day in October 1863 when several men in frock coats formed the Football Association. Ever since, the sport has continually evolved – and created new ways to thrill and infuriate its billions of followers along the way. If you’ve ever wanted to know when footballers started to feign injury, why an old sock helped Pelé become a global legend or how a draper’s letter changed football, you’ll find the answer in this fascinating history of invention, ingenuity, indiscipline – and sometimes inebriation.

From the inaugural red card to a Buddhist shrine, each of the objects selected gives us an intimate glimpse of an unexpected truth behind footie mythology – and together they relate the larger history of the world’s biggest and most-loved sport.