States of Play
How Sportswashing Took Over Football
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Narrated by:
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Miguel Delaney
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Patrick Moy
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By:
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Miguel Delaney
About this listen
A TIMES SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR
A TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEAR
AN IRISH TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR
A SECOND CAPTAINS BOOK OF THE YEAR
'Important, perfectly timed and hugely necessary.' The Guardian
'Magnificent. Some of the details are eye-popping.' Irish Independent
'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
'This book tackles the major issue 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 weeks of 11th & 18th November 2024.©2024 Miguel Delaney (P)2024 Orion Publishing Group Limited
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The Trillion Dollar Conman
- The Astonishing True Story of the Most Audacious Fraud in Sport
- By: Ben Robinson
- Narrated by: Alan Turton
- Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In 2009, Notts County FC were on the brink of bankruptcy when they were taken over by a mysterious company supposedly backed by the Bahraini royal family. The club was promised millions of pounds worth of investment and a list of marquee players, including Sol Campbell and Kasper Schmeichel were signed, in a recruitment drive led by former England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson, who was appointed to take the club all the way to the Premier League.
By: Ben Robinson
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The Club
- How the English Premier League Became the Wildest, Richest, Most Disruptive Force in Sports
- By: Joshua Robinson, Jonathan Clegg
- Narrated by: Shaun Grindell
- Length: 13 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
No one knew it when their experiment began, but without any particular genius or acumen, the motley cast of billionaires and hucksters behind the modern Premier League struck gold. Pretty soon, everyone wanted to try their luck, from Russian oligarchs to Emirati sheikhs, American tycoons, and Asian Tiger titans. Some succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. Some lost everything. Today, players are sold for tens of millions, clubs are valued in the billions, and games are beamed out to nearly 200 countries, all while the league struggles to preserve its English soul.
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Read don't listen
- By JR3 on 01-23-19
By: Joshua Robinson, and others
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Transformer
- Klopp, the Revolution of a Club and Culture
- By: Neil Atkinson
- Narrated by: Neil Atkinson
- Length: 7 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Neil Atkinson explores how Klopp, heralded as one of the most charismatic and successful managers in the history of football, has taken Liverpool FC to great heights over the past nine years. As Klopp's departure nears, Atkinson looks back on the trailblazing manager's time in Liverpool, the legacy he leaves behind and what it means for Liverpool: the club and the city.
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Up the Reds
- By Mary M on 10-17-24
By: Neil Atkinson
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Bring on United
- Ferguson’s Golden Generation in their Own Words
- By: Andy Mitten, Ruud van Nistelrooy
- Narrated by: Matthew McNulty
- Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
This is the story of one of the greatest eras in the history of England's greatest club through the eyes of the players who made it happen. Not just the big wins, the cup finals and the trophy parades, but the half-time rows, the mad pranks, the boozy nights out and the training ground bust-ups. Andy Mitten has tracked down eleven of the stars from those Premier League and Champions League winning teams to open the door to both the dressing room and boardroom at Old Trafford as the club emerged as the dominant force in English football.
By: Andy Mitten, and others
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Inverting the Pyramid
- The History of Soccer Tactics
- By: Jonathan Wilson
- Narrated by: Damian Lynch
- Length: 18 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
This pioneering soccer book chronicles the evolution of the sport and how it has affected the lives of players, coaches, and fans–perfect for those who adore the timeless game.
By: Jonathan Wilson
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Who Owns Football?
- The Changing Face of Club Ownership
- By: Nick Miller
- Narrated by: Homer Todiwala
- Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Fascinating for supporters looking to understand their club’s and its rivals’ strategy and methods, and those curious about finance and power in football, Who Owns Football? reveals how the game's custodians operate. Football club owners can take teams to the heights of the Champions League or financial oblivion. Still, in a world of super leagues, rapidly escalating wages, transfer fees, Financial Fair Play and an increasingly profitable women’s game, they tread a precarious tightrope.
By: Nick Miller
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The Trillion Dollar Conman
- The Astonishing True Story of the Most Audacious Fraud in Sport
- By: Ben Robinson
- Narrated by: Alan Turton
- Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 2009, Notts County FC were on the brink of bankruptcy when they were taken over by a mysterious company supposedly backed by the Bahraini royal family. The club was promised millions of pounds worth of investment and a list of marquee players, including Sol Campbell and Kasper Schmeichel were signed, in a recruitment drive led by former England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson, who was appointed to take the club all the way to the Premier League.
By: Ben Robinson
-
The Club
- How the English Premier League Became the Wildest, Richest, Most Disruptive Force in Sports
- By: Joshua Robinson, Jonathan Clegg
- Narrated by: Shaun Grindell
- Length: 13 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
No one knew it when their experiment began, but without any particular genius or acumen, the motley cast of billionaires and hucksters behind the modern Premier League struck gold. Pretty soon, everyone wanted to try their luck, from Russian oligarchs to Emirati sheikhs, American tycoons, and Asian Tiger titans. Some succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. Some lost everything. Today, players are sold for tens of millions, clubs are valued in the billions, and games are beamed out to nearly 200 countries, all while the league struggles to preserve its English soul.
-
-
Read don't listen
- By JR3 on 01-23-19
By: Joshua Robinson, and others
-
Transformer
- Klopp, the Revolution of a Club and Culture
- By: Neil Atkinson
- Narrated by: Neil Atkinson
- Length: 7 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Neil Atkinson explores how Klopp, heralded as one of the most charismatic and successful managers in the history of football, has taken Liverpool FC to great heights over the past nine years. As Klopp's departure nears, Atkinson looks back on the trailblazing manager's time in Liverpool, the legacy he leaves behind and what it means for Liverpool: the club and the city.
-
-
Up the Reds
- By Mary M on 10-17-24
By: Neil Atkinson
-
Bring on United
- Ferguson’s Golden Generation in their Own Words
- By: Andy Mitten, Ruud van Nistelrooy
- Narrated by: Matthew McNulty
- Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is the story of one of the greatest eras in the history of England's greatest club through the eyes of the players who made it happen. Not just the big wins, the cup finals and the trophy parades, but the half-time rows, the mad pranks, the boozy nights out and the training ground bust-ups. Andy Mitten has tracked down eleven of the stars from those Premier League and Champions League winning teams to open the door to both the dressing room and boardroom at Old Trafford as the club emerged as the dominant force in English football.
By: Andy Mitten, and others
-
Inverting the Pyramid
- The History of Soccer Tactics
- By: Jonathan Wilson
- Narrated by: Damian Lynch
- Length: 18 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This pioneering soccer book chronicles the evolution of the sport and how it has affected the lives of players, coaches, and fans–perfect for those who adore the timeless game.
By: Jonathan Wilson
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How to Win the Premier League
- The Inside Story of Football’s Data Revolution
- By: Ian Graham
- Narrated by: Daniel Hawksford
- Length: 9 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Between 2012 and 2023, Ian Graham worked as Liverpool FC's Director of Research. His tenure coincided with the club’s greatest period of success since the 1980s, including winning the Premier League in 2020 – Liverpool’s first league title after an agonising 29 years. Here for the first time, Graham reveals the fascinating data that informed some of the club’s most pivotal moments of the past decade, from the appointment of Jurgen Klopp as manager in 2015 to the signing of Mohamed Salah in 2017.
By: Ian Graham
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Pep Guardiola
- The Evolution
- By: Marti Perarnau
- Narrated by: Thomas Judd
- Length: 11 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
For three extraordinary seasons at Bayern Munich, Marti Perarnau was given total access around the German super club - to its players, its backroom staff, its board members and, above all, its manager, Pep Guardiola. In the follow-up to his critically acclaimed account of Guardiola's first full season at Bayern, Pep Confidential, Perarnau now lifts the lid on the Catalan's whole tenure in Bavaria.
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Total story. Total football. Total Pep.
- By Michal Kuczek on 08-01-17
By: Marti Perarnau
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Zonal Marking
- From Ajax to Zidane, the Making of Modern Soccer
- By: Michael W. Cox
- Narrated by: Colin Mace
- Length: 14 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
A mazy dribble through the recent history of European soccer, showing how shifting styles and influence have shaped the game. In the early 1990s, the Dutch footballing philosophy was worshiped across the continent. Then the baton passed to the Italians, who clearly boasted Europe's strongest league. But when France started winning everything at international level its national academy became the template for others, until suddenly, almost out of nowhere, Europe's most revered player and manager both hailed from Portugal.
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Historical perspective not tactical
- By Jon on 02-11-20
By: Michael W. Cox
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Net Gains
- Inside the Beautiful Game's Analytics Revolution
- By: Ryan O'Hanlon
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
This in-depth examination of soccer takes listeners on a tour across the world and throughout history, introducing the many people who have attempted to shine a light onto and innovate a sport that, in many ways, is still stuck in the Dark Ages. This deep dive into the rise of analytics in soccer—a sport where tradition reigns supreme—shows how revolutionary tactics and underexplored metrics are breaking the beautiful game wide open.
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Must read!
- By Kathleen V Fahey on 01-26-23
By: Ryan O'Hanlon
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Black Arsenal
- By: Clive Chijioke Nwonka - editor, Matthew Harle - editor
- Narrated by: Bayo Gbadamosi, Genesis Lynea
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
From the earliest hints in the late 1960s that something remarkable was happening, up to Arsenal's ascendance as a global organisation, Black Arsenal is the first dedicated exploration of the club's relationship to contemporary Black identity and culture. It sees the club's affinity with Black identity transcend football and spread across cultures: in the media, music, fashion, politics and everyday social experiences.
By: Clive Chijioke Nwonka - editor, and others
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The Why Is Everything
- A Story of Football, Rivalry, and Revolution
- By: Michael Silver
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 16 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
When Kyle Shanahan became the NFL's youngest offensive coordinator in 2008, he had one prevailing rule: Tell me the why. If a colleague couldn't justify his position by providing the unassailable reasoning behind it, he was told to get the hell out of Shanahan's office. Shanahan and the members of his coaching tree—including Sean McVay, Mike McDaniel, Raheem Morris, and Matt LaFleur—came up in a sport where innovation was the exception, not the rule. There had been brilliant football minds before, from Paul Brown to Bill Walsh to Bill Belichick.
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Keep fighting
- By Kindle Customer on 12-23-24
By: Michael Silver