RWDM: Ketjes know why

The following is my translation of an article that earlier appeared in Dutch football culture magazine Staantribune. It is reproduced here with permission. The original Dutch article was written by Raoul de Groote. Photography: Marco Magielse.  RWDM: Ketjes know why “I’ve got a Johan Boskamp poster hanging in my loo” RWDM ceased to exist in 2002, […]

Read more >>

The Football Association 1863-1883: A Source Book – Tony Brown

Outline As the title suggests, the author of this book has consulted a variety of old sources to commit to paper the earliest history of the Football Association. That history does not, incidentally, start in 1863, the year the FA was established, but way earlier. Long before 1863 there were many sets of rules and […]

Read more >>

Africa in the Dutch Polders

This article was first published, in Dutch, in the Dutch football culture magazine Staantribune. It is reproduced here with the publisher’s permission. Eritrean National Football Team Playing in Dutch Town By Herman Joustra Photography: Thijs Brouwers A chilly autumn evening in Gorinchem, a picturesque Dutch city about 30 km east of Rotterdam. The last rays […]

Read more >>

I’ll have a ref, thank you – by: Jan Vorstenbosch

This essay was published over two years ago (early 2013) in Dutch daily Trouw. The author is Jan Vorstenbosch, a philosopher and football expert. A researcher at the University of Utrecht, he also teaches ethics there. In 2010 he published “Voetbalgek”, his philosophical reflections on all things football. Jan reacted with great enthusiasm to my request […]

Read more >>

Interview: Fox 40

This interview first appeared in a Dutch local referees’ magazine. It is reprinted here with permission.   How long have you been making whistles? Who are the founders? Ron Foxcroft, Founder & C.E.O., Fox 40 International Inc. Ron Foxcroft, the man behind the first pealess whistle, was recently named by Referee Magazine as one of […]

Read more >>

Interview: Simon Topman

This is the English translation of an interview which first appeared in a Dutch local referees’ magazine, which explains references to other articles. It is reprinted here with permission.   As recounted in the article about the history of the referee whistle, the first one ever to be used in an official football match, was […]

Read more >>

More new books

I’ve received a few more books over the past few days. Here they are: You Are The Ref: The Ultimate Illustrated Guide to the Laws of Football by Paul Trevillion and Keith Hackett (2010) Diary of a New Referee by Fez Barnard (2012) and the 1942 Dutch version of the Laws of the Game: De […]

Read more >>

Latest acquisitions

Here are the latest acquisitions I got in the mail recently: You Are The Ref 3 by Paul Trevillion (artwork) and Keith Hackett (text) The Referee’s a W*nker by Chris Turner Referees’ Chart and Players’ Guide to the Laws of Association Football 1974-1975 And last but not least: Added Time by Mark Halsey I’ve just started reading Mark […]

Read more >>