The politics of football

A recent Guardian article entitled Anyone want to play on the left?, asked whether footballing socialists are becoming an almost extinct breed in the UK and beyond? Sport and politics don't always have to go together of course, as the article admits: 'This is only football, after all. It doesn't have to mean anything. But it's usually much more fun when it tries.' In particular, it argues that 'Historically, football's politics, such as they are, have tended to loiter on the left wing', but the modern marketised model has meant that 'the working man's ballet' may be turning into 'the middle-class man's ballet'. [See more below]