geschiedenis
40 Years in Football – Ivan Sharpe
Outline Keeping his chapters brief, Ivan Sharpe relates his memoirs of “40 Years in Football”, first as a player and later as a journalist. His anecdotes and stories harken back to the early days of football. Logic dictates that his reminiscences relate mostly to British football, but he also takes his 1954 readers across many […]
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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 […]
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Fluitend door de wereld – Whistling through the World – John Langenus
Outline To my knowledge, this fragile, weather-stained book (printed in WWII, so the paper is of sub-par quality) is the first set of memoirs ever written by a football referee. Belgian John Langenus’ principal claim to fame rests on his being the referee of the final of the first World Cup in 1930. In this […]
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Leo Horn and the 1974 World Cup – Leo Horn
Outline Just over 40 years ago the Orange Machine lit up the world, astounding it with “total football”. If people are wondering at the bickering, whining and extreme attention paid to football these days, especially in the run-up to a World Cup, they’d be surprised to learn it was not much different 40 years ago. […]
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How to Referee
If you’re reading this, chances are you are or at some point were an active referee. Have you ever stopped to think how easy it has been for you to become a ref? Regular courses, good instructors, mentors, plenty of books available, feedback at referees’ associations… You name it. Now imagine how that was in the […]
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In the nick of time
I got a whole shelf full of books for young boys (and girls), recounting stories of friends overcoming adversity to set up a football club or, once in a football club, become heroes where they were once zeroes. Though the stories often feature referees, these books are not of much interest to my collection but […]
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Elite Level Refereeing in Men’s Football: A Developmental Sociological Account – Sharon Colwell
Outline This dissertation earned Sharon Colwell the doctor’s title from the University of Leicester. I say ‘earned’ not without reason, for the sheer amount of work that went into this publication was huge. Wading through reams of old minutes and documents, preparing and conducting tons of interviews and sifting through endless books in stuffy libraries, […]
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