
Football Presidents: Towards a Typology of Political Cultures (Sport in the Global Society – Contemporary Perspectives)
Author(s): Luiz Guilherme Burlamaqui (Editor), Jean Michel de Waele (Editor)
- Publisher: Routledge
- Publication Date: March 4, 2026
- Edition: 1st
- Language: English
- Print length: 190 pages
- ISBN-10: 1041228139
- ISBN-13: 9781041228134
Book Description
Football Presidents: Towards a Typology of Political Cultures sheds light on an often-overlooked dimension of football culture: club presidents. This book explores the political cultures of club presidents across countries and contexts, offering fresh insights into the leaders behind the beautiful game.
Bringing together studies from a wide range of geographical, historical, and political contexts― from Italy to Turkey, from Brazil to Ecuador―this volume develops a typology of political cultures in football leadership. The contributions address central themes such as local power and football, populism, gender, capitalism, tradition, and innovation. By assembling a range of perspectives and case studies, this volume represents a first attempt to systematically address this underexplored dimension of the game.
This volume spans multiple disciplines including Sports Sociology, Political Science, Cultural Studies, Football History, Organizational Leadership, and Comparative Politics, making it valuable for interdisciplinary research and teaching. It is a vital resource for researchers, practitioners, and anyone seeking to comprehend the complex power dynamics behind the world's most beloved sport.
The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Soccer & Society.
About the Author
Luiz Guilherme Burlamaqui is Assistant Professor of History (on leave) at the Federal Institute of Brasilia. His dissertation on the political history of FIFA has been published in both Portuguese (A dança das cadeiras: a eleição de João Havelange à presidência da FIFA, 2020) and English (The Making of a Global FIFA, 2023). His research has garnered international recognition, including a FIFA Scholarship (2015) and a Fulbright Fellowship for Junior Faculty (2024, declined).
Jean-Michel de Waele is Full Professor of Political Science at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium and he co-edited The Palgrave International Handbook of Football and Politics (2018) and various special issues of Soccer and Society.
Wow! eBook

