Creating a United Europe of Football

"Vonnard's publication on UEFA is both in empirical and conceptual terms a pioneering work for the research on European football. It is the first comprehensive source-based study on UEFA and offers new insights into the working methods and self-images of a key player in European cooperation. At the same time, the book provides a wealth of information for the historical analysis of international sports organisations." - Jürgen Mittag, Jean Monnet Chair of Political Science and Sport, German Sport University Cologne, Germany "While it may not presently be possible to get inside the walls of UEFA's world, we do have this granular account of the organization's early days and origins. Vonnard has gone beyond the obvious to find sources in all sorts of places and retell the story with great professionalism and meticulousness. It is a history about one of the very few examples of detente years before there was detente." -Robert Edelman, Professor ofHistory at the University of California San Diego, USA "Vonnard demonstrates the vital role that football played in integrating Europeans and European society in the turbulent post-war era of decolonisation and the Cold War, helping to bridge the gap between the Western and Eastern blocs, and lay the basis for decades of European cooperation in sport and beyond." - Matthew Taylor, Professor of History, De Montfort University, UK

Philippe Vonnard is SNSF Senior Researcher at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland.

Auteur

Philippe Vonnard is SNSF Senior Researcher at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland.

Résumé

This book provides a historical study of the beginnings of the UEFA, demonstrating how the formation of the organisation was linked to the decentralisation experienced by FIFA, the world governing body of football. Vonnard examines why administrators created an association that transcended the barriers of the Cold War, and focused on the development of a network that promoted football outside the constraints of international politics. Finally, he emphasises the role UEFA played in the Europeanisation of the people's game, and in the early years of the European integration process.

The research is based on a rich body of new archival material from the UEFA and FIFA Documentation Centres, and various European football federations, as well as reports from a number of leading newspapers of the era, and interviews with football personalities of the 1950s. It will be of interest to students and scholars across the history of sport, international relations, and European studies

Contenu

1. Introduction.- Part 1. The Road to Creating a Governing Body for European Football Governing Body (1949-1953).- 2. Reorganizing European Football.- 3. Between Internationalism and Cold War.- 4. Following the South American model.- Part 2. Unifying European Football (1954-1961).- 5. Energizing European football.- 6. A New Actor for European Football.- 7. Becoming a Leading Continental Confederation.- 8. Conclusion.