- Home
- Sports & Recreation
- Soccer
- States of Play (How Sportswashing Took Over Football | The International Bestseller & Winner of the Football Book of the Year Award)
States of Play (How Sportswashing Took Over Football | The International Bestseller & Winner of the Football Book of the Year Award)
- Availability: Confirm prior to ordering
- Branding: minimum 50 pieces (add’l costs below)
- Check Freight Rates (branded products only)
Branding Options (v), Availability & Lead Times
- 1-Color Imprint: $2.00 ea.
- Promo-Page Insert: $2.50 ea. (full-color printed, single-sided page)
- Belly-Band Wrap: $2.50 ea. (full-color printed)
- Set-Up Charge: $45 per decoration
- Availability: Product availability changes daily, so please confirm your quantity is available prior to placing an order.
- Branded Products: allow 10 business days from proof approval for production. Branding options may be limited or unavailable based on product design or cover artwork.
- Unbranded Products: allow 3-5 business days for shipping. All Unbranded items receive FREE ground shipping in the US. Inquire for international shipping.
- RETURNS/CANCELLATIONS: All orders, branded or unbranded, are NON-CANCELLABLE and NON-RETURNABLE once a purchase order has been received.
Product Details
Overview
THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
SHORTLISTED FOR FOOTBALL BOOK OF THE YEAR & BEST SPORTS WRITING AWARD AT THE 2025 SPORTS BOOK AWARDS
A TIMES SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR
A TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEAR
AN IRISH TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR
AN IRISH INDEPENDENT BOOK OF THE YEAR
Fully updated to cover Saudi Arabia's 2034 World Cup bid, the Manchester City charges case and the events of the 2024/25 season.
'Important, perfectly timed and hugely necessary.' The Guardian
'Football needs this book. A monumental piece of investigative journalism.' Irish Times
'A must-read on how modern football works.' Ian Wright
'Brave, forensic and utterly gripping.' Tom Holland
______________________________
The definitive account of how capitalism and the world's elite corrupted modern football.
As the 2022 World Cup in Qatar drew to a close, there was a bitter undercurrent to Argentina's triumph. Throughout the tournament, numerous allegations of sportswashing and financial misconduct had been made against the state of Qatar, moving what had previously been a smaller conversation into the worldwide spotlight.
The question had been asked, who really owns and runs football?
Journeying from Abu Dhabi to Newcastle, and onto London, Paris, Moscow and New York, journalist Miguel Delaney investigates the allegations of sportswashing and misconduct in the beautiful game. The result is a gripping account of how football has been taken over by the world's wealthiest businessmen, state-backed corporations, media tycoons and oil-rich oligarchs.
From Neymar's £198 million transfer to Paris Saint-Germain and Abu Dhabi's construction empire in Manchester to failed Financial Fair Play constraints and the dawn of the European Super League, Miguel draws on exclusive interviews and unprecedented access to key stakeholders to produce an all-encompassing exposé of modern footballs highest echelons.
Authoritative, riveting and eye-opening, States of Play reveals how football has become a tool for the world's elite.
______________________________
'The moral compass that the game needs.'Andy Brassell
'In this excellent investigation, Delaney reveals the ugly side of the beautiful game.'Oliver Bullough
'The most important football book of its generation.'Jack Pitt-Brooke
'Tackles the major issues affecting football today with fearlessness and forensic scrutiny. An important investigation for our times.'Laurie Whitwell
'A majestic book. The essential guide to how the people's game has become the plaything of the very rich and powerful.'Jonathan Wilson
Miguel Delaney's STATES OF PLAY was ranked in the Irish Times bestsellers list the weeks of 11th-18th November & 9th December 2024.
