In the twenty-first century, soccer commands the allegiance, interest, and engagement of more people in more places than any other phenomenon in the world. David Goldblatt charts the sport's global cultural ascent, economic transformation, and deep politicization. With breathtaking scope and unparalleled knowledge of the game, The Age of Football explores soccer's vital role in our social, political, and economic lives: its connections to social discord in the Middle East and political division in Europe; the reasons behind its surprising surge in popularity in China, India, and the United States; and its use (and misuse) in the global advance of equality and human rights.

Introduction: Football is first -- The living and the dead : Afro football fever -- Regime vs street vs mosque : three-sided football in the Middle East -- From the left wing : South American fútbol and the pink tide -- This storm is what we call progress : football and the European project -- Continental drift : the fragmented worlds of Asian football -- Trouble in paradise : football in the Americas -- The game beyond the game : the fall of the house of Blatter -- Back in the USSR? Football in Putin's Russia -- Conclusion: The global Potemkin village : World Cup.