World Cup Animation Featuring Our Book

Our book "Foundations of Managing Sporting Events: Organising the 1966 FIFA World Cup" is featured in a new animation available on Youtube entitled "How North Korea and Middlesbrough Became Unlikely Football Friends".

The animation, which lasts around 8 minutes long, tells the story of Middlesbrough and North Korea's unlikely friendship, which begins at Ayresome Park in 1966.

The video was produced by Tifo football, and the script was written by Dr Tosh Warwick of Manchester Metropolitan University. It draws from Dr Warwick's own excellent research on the 1966 World Cup, and a comprehensive review of literature relating to the tournament, including our book, which the film describes as "groundbreaking".

Pak Doo Ik's winning goal secured the Asian minnows a place in the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup. There, a curiosity developed in the Middlesbrough locals, after initial disinterest in the team, and the lowest recorded match attendance in the tournament. What evolved over the games, however, was a connection that warmed the hearts of many and one that has continued into the 21st Century.


Check it out by following this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5M7Xf3HwAs

Kevin at FootyCon 2019

Delegates pose in football shirts at the conference dinner

Kevin: I enjoyed attending FootyCon 2019 at Manchester City's Ethiad Campus where I presented our paper comparing the 1966 and 1994 FIFA World Cups. The Ethiad Campus, with its many nursery pitches, was worth visiting in itself as an example of modern practice in the football industry.  The conference was excellently hosted and organized by Dr Gary James of De Montfort University and featured keynotes by practitioners and academics alike.  The academic keynote by Marion Stell, of the University of Queensland was especially interesting for its focus on the comparative merits of documentary versus oral history in researching the development of the women's game in Australia.  Stell found that some player's reminiscences of matches played nearly forty years ago did not line up with the reality as reported in newspapers, some of which came from scrapbooks kept by the players themselves.  The practitioner keynote was provided by former Sunderland, Man City and New York Cosmos star Dennis Tueart who focussed on lessons for business practice from his football career.

This is the abstract of our paper:

We provide a comparison of the 1966 and 1994 FIFA football World Cup finals tournaments, examining how the marketing strategies for these events aimed at the whole people - and the populist elements of such strategies. The two cases provide interesting comparison and contrast: - Firstly, both were relatively rare examples of financially successful World Cup tournaments, although there are geographic and temporal dimensions to consider: In both cases the economic benefits were not experienced equally by all stakeholders or uniformly across the entire duration of the tournaments, as ‘world cup fever’ and the anticipated tourist bonanzas were not realised by all host cities. - Secondly, both tournaments were notable for mass-marketing innovations, i.e. the introduction and popularity of the first mascot and serious licensing/product marketing efforts in 1966, and then the increasingly sophisticated targeted branding and merchandising strategies of 1994. - Thirdly, both tournaments contributed to the popularising of 'soccer' and the FIFA World Cup in their respective countries, for example soccer becoming more accepted by the 'mainstream' mass-media. In turn this further enhanced the sport and the World Cup tournament as spectacle and as a platform for advertising, and ultimately to the commercial and economic growth of FIFA (which today has more members than the UN). - Fourthly, linked to this popularizing of the sport, both tournaments evidence ways in which Heads of State as well as other politicians and municipal leaders identified opportunities to associate themselves with soccer and its world cup, and how these efforts can be considered against the back-drop of 'populism'.

Reflections on the 2018 Soccer Mad Boffins Conference Tour

What a summer! Amazing weather, a fantastic World Cup, and a veritable plethora of Soccer Mad Boffins public talks and academic lectures to fill in the time we weren't watching England progress to the semi-finals.  Here is a recap and reflection as we remember it...




June 1st 'England 1966, USA 1994 and the World Cup: Thoughts on populism, the popular and public indifference' 

Populism and the Leisure Spectacle: A BSA Leisure & Recreation Study Group Workshop 

Venue: University of Bath

This British Sociological Association workshop combined contemporary history with event management, cultural studies and theory with studies of national cases, the binding theme being the whys and wherefores of the populist profile of particular sport and leisure practices and cultural formations.

The event included presentations and panels discussion with experts also including Professor Alan Tomlinson, author/academic/broadcaster David Goldblatt, Michael Willams, and Brian Clift.

Soccer Mad Boffins' Alex Gillett opened the day with a consideration of the 1966 football World Cup finals tournament, hosted and won by England. Drawing upon his work with co-author Kevin Tennant he presented data on the almost serendipitous way in which the British government lent financial support to the event, the disappointment of those English regions beyond London for whom the anticipated tourist bonanza was a washout if not disaster, and the small scale of commercialisation of the product that nevertheless hinted at the later, media-generated and sponsor-based global commodity that the World Cup has become. The broader context was informed by Flyvbjerg’s four sublimes of the mega-project, to which Alex and Kevin’s research has brought an ethnographic and qualitative dimension as applied to the study of event history and business history. These themes and approaches stimulated lively discussion on just how we understand contemporary history and the lived meanings of iconic cultural moments in our past. He also looked at how the 1994 World Cup in the United States sought, through targeted marketing strategies aimed at both established and potential audiences, to popularize the game in the crowded US market dominated by the Big 4 (American Football, basketball, baseball and ice hockey).

June 12th 'The Business of World Cup Football'

co-presented with Greg Dyke (former Chairman of the Football Association)

Venue: York Festival of Ideas, The King's Manor, York

It was our great honour to co-present this event with Greg Dyke, which was attended by a large enthusiastic audience on a warm summer's evening.  We began by presenting from our research of the 1966 and 1994 FIFA World Cups contextualising it with information about more recent and future events, such as Brazil, Russia, Qatar and USA 2026.  Then followed a round table discussion chaired by Greg, who then reflected on his own experiences of being FA Chairman and Director General of the BBC.  The audience posed some excellent questions which we were delighted to answer and everyone enjoyed hearing Greg's views on football and its broader social impact as well as the business side. There were some predictions of England's likely performance in the World Cup which were superseded by Gareth Southgate and his team's performance in Russia!   Two days after the presentation, the 2018 World Cup kicked off. To tie-in with the event our podcast on the story of football was released and we hope to participate in the Festival of Ideas in 2019 - watch this space!  


June 20th 'Project Managing and Marketing the Soccer World Cup: 1966 and 1994'

Aston Organizational History Workshop

Venue: Aston Business School 

A few days after the World Cup kicked off we contributed to this workshop organized by Professor Stephanie Decker, Head of Research at Aston Business School.  This was a great venue because of its links to the 1966 World Cup and the event included several presentations covering a range of organizational history topics from manufacturing to finance.  We must add the catering was excellent - the samosas and cake were particularly enjoyable.  Over the course of one hour we presented findings from our paper accepted for the International Journal of the History of Sport as well as findings from our Project Management Journal paper and book Foundations of Managing Sporting Events.  Our research was very well received and we look forward to returning to Aston at the BAM2019 Conference where we will further develop the theme of our Special Interest Group, Management and Business History.



June 22nd Poster Presentation: 'Using Archival Research in University Teaching'

Venue: University of York Teaching and Learning Conference 

We made our first ever poster presentation on home turf at the University of York Teaching and Learning Conference.  Our poster was about archival research in teaching and served as an excellent warm-up for our appearance at the BAM 2018 annual conference.  See below!



July 9th - 13th Critical Acclaim for Soccer Mad Boffins!

With the World Cup well under way we were able to compare our predictions to reality which created some fun on this blog with several articles which went viral and even caught the attention of Soccernomics author Stefan Szymanski who described it as 'a teachable moment'.

This blog was also considered worthy of archiving by the British Library in the  UK Web Archive, which preserves specially selected websites that represent different aspects of UK heritage on the web, as well as important global events.



July 12th - 13th Management History Research Group workshop 

Venue: Riddle's Court, 322 Lawnmarket in Edinburgh

Arriving in Edinburgh we had the pleasure of watching England crash out of the World Cup in the semi-final in a pub full of Scotland supporters! A traditional Scottish deep fried supper helped ease the pain. The MHRG was a major success and the venue was fantastic as this photo depicts.  Our paper developed the poster presentation about using archives and was well received by a prestigious panel of professors.




September 4th-6th 'Management and Business History Track' of the British Academy of Management Annual Conference

Venue: University of the West of England, Bristol

The start of September took us to the historic port town home of Triphop, Banksy and the British aircraft industry. We opened the conference with a dinner in the former Bristol Stock Exchange, now an Indian restaurant. The ornate surroundings complimented the excellent meal. On the first day of activities we delivered a Professional Development Workshop on publishing academic books, drawing on our experience and expertise as editors of the Emerald series Frontiers of Management History. We met many impressive and creative new authors and hope to work with at least some of them soon. On Day 2 we presented a full paper version of our work previously presented at the MHRG and University of York poster session (see above).  By now we had used the constructive feedback to craft a developed paper which we hoped to publish.  Our thanks to the esteemed audience for all their comments and suggestions.  In our roles as Special Interest Group committee members we were also involved in chairing sessions and mentoring early career academics and we thoroughly enjoy contributing to the development of our academic field.  The main conference dinner was held at Aerospace Bristol where we got to walk through Concorde and enjoy the Concorde museum then enjoy a selection of wines and food courses at a table situated underneath the aircraft, whilst listening to Jonathan Dimbleby perform an on-the-couch interview with Micheal Eavis the promoter of Glastonbury Festival.  We were pleased that BAM brought a bit of aeronautic and creative industry business histories to the heart of its conference!

Songs for the world: World Cup anthems through the ages, 1962 - 2018

The 2018 FIFA World Cup is now clearly on the horizon.  Bags are packed. Television schedules memorized. The air is thick with anticipation.  But.....this year the FA has done the unthinkable and packed off the England team WITHOUT AN OFFICIAL SONG!

But do not despair.  At soccermadboffins we have decided to look back at some classics from World Cup history and also bring you news of a brand new unofficial 'anthem' which provides a call-to-arms for the nation at this important time in lieu of any official England World Cup single.


Blasts From the Past (avoiding the usual suspects...)


'El Rock del Mundial' by Los Ramblers (1962)

Not only the first ever world cup song, but also one of the best. This upbeat rockabilly barnstormer got the world cup anthem genre off to a rockin' start despite arguably catching only the tail-end of the original rockabilly movement.  At just two minutes fourty-seven seconds long, and incorprating referees whistles, a singing crowd, and the word 'goooooaaaal' a lot, plus obligatory twangy guitar solo, hand-claps and thumping bass line, this track was custom built for radio airplay.  Whether it achieved that is another matter entirely. An unfortunate fate for many more world cup songs to come.

'World Cup Willie' by Lonnie Donegan (1966)
Our first choice was not so much an England team song, so much as a song for the entire World Cup Finals, albeit hosted (and won) by England.

'World Cup Willie', performed by the by then somewhat over the hill skiffle superstar Lonnie Donegan of 'my old man's a dustman' fame, missed the zeitgeist of the British beat boom like an England semi-penalty.  But it did score in the earworm stakes, Donegan's classic rhyming couplets doing much to raise public awareness as to the tournament and the first ever world cup mascot.

We are not sure if 'World Cup Willie' ever reached the UK charts, although it is remembered fondly as a nostalgia piece.  The track was played before each fixture over the stadium public address systems, although that does not seem to have boosted sales.

Interestingly by 1976 Donegan's hits were drying up and he released the less well known 'I've Lost My Little Willie' although a cursory listen reveals the song is not as good and seems to be an attempt to emulate Chuck Berry's 'My Ding A Ling', a hit for Berry two years earlier.



'Back Home' by The England Squad (1970)

'Back Home' was significant as it was the first in a series of England team songs actually sang by the team themselves.  Released by Pye Records (who were also Lonnie Donegan's record company) in a period when records were usually promoted by getting the whole team on Top of the Pops, the record was a no 1 in the UK. Factoid: The England team also performed a B side, the long forgotten 'Cinnamon Stick' which we've never heard of either.

The tune for 'Back Home' had a legacy in that it was adopted as the theme tune for Fantasy Football League in the 1990s.

'Easy Easy' by the Scotland Squad (1974) and 'Ole Ola' / 'Que Sera Sera' by Rod Stewart + The Scotland Squad (1978)

Released for the 1974 edition of the FIFA World Cup, 'Easy, Easy' was a glam-rock foot stomper notable for its Bay City Rollers influence, clearly a cash-in on the Edinburgh based tartan-clad boy band's appeal at that time.

Denis Law might have looked a bit like Rod Stewart but he certainly didn't have the same singing voice, and it is possible to imagine Rod's reaction to not being asked to perform the song himself, something that the Scottish FA remedied in 1978 when Rod sang with the Scotland World Cup songs 'Ole Ola' and 'Que Sera Sera' for the Argentina 1978 World Cup.

The single qualified for the UK Top 10 before exiting quite quickly - much like the team itself.



'Yer Man' by Dana & The Northern Ireland Squad (1982)

Northern Ireland's campaign in the 1982 World Cup is best known for their 1-0 victory over Spain following Gerry Armstrong's iconic goal to get out of the group stages.  But Eurovision winner Dana (who had actually represented the Republic of Ireland) also got in on the action, teaming up with Northern Ireland's squad to riff on the traditional riff of rain in Spain in this amusing little song characterised by its 'viva Northern Ireland refrain'.

'Put 'em Under Pressure' (We're All Part of Jackie's Army) - Produced by Larry Mullen

Dynamic Celtic Rock in the style of Horslips or Thin Lizzy, interspersed with sampled quotes from manager 'Big Jack' Charlton, himself a former world cup winner from the 1966 England team.  The song seems to be a patchwork quilt of Irish rock music and terrace chant singing with the Jack Charlton quotes laid over the top of the whole glorious racket.

Superior to the England effort from the same year (an overly earnest collaboration between the England squad and synth-poppers New Order with a John Barnes middle-eight rap), but unfortunately not as well remembered.


'If I Can Dream' - Terry Venables

El Tel is almost as famous for his entrepreneurship as for his football career.  In 2010, the former England coach released a single, a cover version of Elvis' 'If I Can Dream' despite having retired from management several years before.

The song is a bit dreary but the audacity of a former England coach, whose relationship with the English FA had reportedly been somewhat strained, releasing a World Cup single when England  were competing in the tournament is quite amusing.

‘Football (world cup version)’ by Bermondsey Joyriders (2010)

A fast-paced punk rock n’ roll tune released as an ‘unofficial’ England anthem to coincide with the South Africa 2010 World Cup.   Power chords rain down as a London accent barks lyrics about English working life in offices, markets, factories and docks, and England footballers of the day.  It’s slightly reminiscent of the Anti-Nowhere League’s infamous punk classic ‘So What’, however, the main hook and best bit of the songs is a ‘tannoy’ announcement paraphrasing Corporal Jones from Dad’s Army: ‘will the English supporters please note that the Germans do not like it up ‘em!’. Worth a listen for that alone! An instant classic. That should have topped the charts for the entire summer, but of course didn’t get anywhere near the charts because the British public has no taste.

'Red, White & Blue' by Alexi Lalas (2014)

After rising to fame at the 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 'grunge footballer' from the USA, Alexi Lalas then cashed in - firstly with a transfer to Italian giants AC Milan, then more recently with a tongue-in-cheek country song 'red, white and blue' with all-American lyrics such as "in ‘98 we lost to Iran, I nearly drove my truck off the Hoo-ver dam".


An anthem for 2018?

‘Charge of the Light Brigade’ by The Tallywags (2018)

There might not be an official England squad single for the 2018 World Cup, but in this day and age of social media there is no end of unofficial attempts at creating a new football national anthem.  One of the most memorable videos we’ve seen from the current crop is for ‘Charge of the Light Brigade’ by The Tallywags, a sort of punk rock supergroup comprising Paul Cook (the drummer from the Sex Pistols and The Professionals), Tom Spencer (The YoYos, The Professionals, The Men They Couldn’t Hang, The Loyalties) Chris McCormack (The Professionals, Three Colours Red), his brother Danny McCormack (The Wildhearts, The YoYos) and Olga (Toy Dolls).

The video begins with an old man in red and white football scarf sat in his garden shed, opening a box containing a newspaper from 1966 reporting the theft of the Jules Rimet Trophy.

Without giving away the entire plot, we can tell you that he’s transported to a ‘local’ football facility where The Tallywags are performing.

A book of world cup memories is opened and flicks through headlines of England’s ‘near misses’ in the competition over the decades.

Then the fun really begins: An actor made-up to look like a comedic Diego Maradona re-enacts the infamous ‘hand of God’ incident, followed by more actors in a variety of low budget disguises re-enacting other incidents, only with the outcome changed: So Gazza crying at Italia 90 has his yellow card torn up, David Seaman doesn’t get lobbed from the halfway line in 2002, Chris Waddle (resplendent with brilliant nylon mullet wig) puts his penalty in the back of the net, and history is re-written each time, with newspaper headlines declaring ‘England wins its 14^th consecutive World Cup’.

Its self-depricating English humour and terrace-chant choruses in the tradition of previous unofficial England World Cup singles ‘Three Lions’ and ‘Vindaloo’.  Given their use of all things historic/nostalgic in the video, we decided to contact the Tallywags Tom Spencer to find out more.


Interview with World Cup Songwriter Tom Spencer

Alex: Hello Tom, how’s things? Tell us about how this new project The Tallywags came into being. It seems to be a bit of an amalgamation of several bands you’ve been involved with.  You even have a Sex Pistol in the band?

Tom: I’m playing in ‘The Professionals’ now with Paul Cook (ex-Sex Pistols drummer), there’s the first obvious connection. The others may be from my past musically, but I still see them regularly out and about – for example Chis McCormack is now in the Professionals too.

Alex: I’m familiar with some of your back catalogue and listening to the melody and the lyrics of this World Cup song I’m guessing you were one of the songwriters? How did the song come about?

Tom: Yes, I came up with the original draft of the song.  I read a lot of historical fiction. I love the Flashman books. The obvious parody of the charge of the light brigade hit me - England charging towards inevitable doom. But also that there’s always hope. I mean there are people out there from Panama and Iran that are dreaming of winning. It’s only 7 games to win it. Outsiders do come in - occasionally.


Alex: I used to go and watch your old band The YoYos play almost every week in and around London.  I even got to play a gig with you guys once when my own band was invited by a local promoter to be the support act.   Those were great days, but the YoYos didn’t quite get the success that you should have had, and the band seemed to split in negative circumstances. However, I hear that this new Tallywags project sees you reunited with your old YoYos pal Danny McCormack (brother of the aforementioned Chris)?

Tom: We needed a bass player. As I said we’re in regular contact, especially since his recent leg related troubles. He jumped (well hopped) at the chance to be on it. I believe it’s also the first time him and his brother Chris have been on the same recording - an exclusive!!


Alex: Back to football –  which teams do you support?

Tom: I support QPR. They last won something in 1967, England obviously in 1966. It’s about time I tasted football glory. I’ve learnt to party when we avoid relegation.

Alex: For this new Tallywags single ‘Charge of the Light Brigade’ were you influenced by any previous World Cup singles from previous tournaments?

Tom: There’s been so many crap football songs.  I’m more influenced by Chas n’ Dave’s Tottenham songs - even though I’m a QPR fan - or ‘Swords of A Thousand Men’  by Ten Pole Tudor.

 

Alex: Who do you think will win the World Cup this time around? Does England have much chance to progress beyond the Group Stage?

Tom: I think England will progress. Then it’s 4 games to win the World Cup - anything can happen. Maybe this time we’ll get lucky. Bad luck has been at the heart of our previous failures. As well as overconfidence - this time we’re going in with less expectation - Charge of the Light Brigade, into the breach!
Then again Brazil are still smarting and have a point to prove. I can see them winning.

Alex: Will the Tallywags be touring at all so we can hear the song played live?

Tom: No the Tallywags won’t ever tour.  I guess if England do well the whole line up are playing rebellion festival this August. We could take to the stage for a one song performance. Or maybe the Profs will play it? Just once....and only if we win the World Cup!!

Charge of the Light Brigade by The Tallywags is available now via Spotify, iTunes, or buy it here as a limited edition CD single. The video is available on Youtube.

Soccer Mad Boffins 2018 Summer Tour!

Soccer Mad Boffins are pleased to announce the following appearances over the next few months - more being added all the time - watch this space!

June 1st 'England 1966, USA 1994 and the World Cup: Thoughts on populism, the popular and public indifference' 

Populism and the Leisure Spectacle: A BSA Leisure & Recreation Study Group Workshop 

Venue: University of Bath

https://www.britsoc.co.uk/events/key-bsa-events/populism-and-the-leisure-spectacle/

 

June 12th 'The Business of World Cup Football'

co-presented with Greg Dyke (former Chairman of the Football Association)

Venue: York Festival of Ideas (tickets available from the below link)

http://yorkfestivalofideas.com/2018/talks/business-world-cup-football/



June 20th 'Project Managing and Marketing the Soccer World Cup: 1966 and 1994'

Venue: Aston Business School 



June 22nd Poster Presentation: 'Using Archival Research in University Teaching'

Venue: University of York Teaching and Learning Conference 

https://www.york.ac.uk/staff/teaching/community/events/annual-conference/2018/



September 4th-6th 'Management and Business History Track'

Venue: University of the West of England, Bristol

Soccer Mad Boffins will be helping to run the track as well as presenting a paper - come and say hello!

https://www.bam.ac.uk/civicrm/event/info?id=3337


We are hoping to give more talks and media appearances to tie in with the 2018 FIFA World Cup - please get in touch if you would like to book us!

For press and media enquiries please contact the University of York Press Office at pressoffice@york.ac.uk or call 01904 322029 or 01904 322153.

Soccer Mad Boffins Participate in Charity Soccer Tournament

Here at Soccer Mad Boffins we enjoy researching football, but just as much we also enjoy to play the game.  We were therefore delighted to be invited by students of the University of York's 'Business, Accounting and Management Society' (BAMSOC) to be part of their 7 a-side team for a charity fixture with York Law Society, as part of the University of York's student union's RAG (Raise and Give) Week fundraising activities.

The big game took place at the 3G pitches at York Sport Village - also used by our local professional team, York City FC, who were no doubt scouting our skills.

The students seemed happy that two of their lecturers were participating in the event and went as far as announcing it on their Instagram page, with a photo of us celebrating a goal. In keeping with our recent research project, we both wore replica 1966 World Cup Final England red 'away' shirts, at risk of being mistaken for Jack Charlton and Nobby Stiles!

After going 0-4 down in the first fifteen minutes to a very organised Law Society team, the BAMSOC spirit and squad rotation strategy began to yield results as we got a few goals back and the game became more balanced. The second half was end-to-end stuff, Soccer Mad Boffin Kevin blocking much of Law's attack and Alex making some important clearences and deflections.  With a few minutes remaining BAMSOC scored twice to take the lead and by the final whistle BAMSOC had won 8-7.

 The event was a great success and was played in the right spirit.  Both teams applauded each other off the pitch and celebrated doing their bit for this important fundraiser.  A photograph was taken of alll involved inorganising and playing the event.

BAMSOC's next event will be their Winter Ball. Tickets still available but likely to sell out: https://www.yusu.org/groups/business-accounting-and-management-society/events/bamsoc-winter-wonderland-ball

'Foundations of Managing Sporting Events' Named as 'Book of the Month'!

Our book about the 1966 FIFA World Cup 'Foundations of Managing Sporting Events' has been awarded the prestigious title 'Book of the Month' by University of Lincoln for their Sports Business Management degree programme.  There were in fact two 'books of the month' this time around and we share the  accolade with highly regarded edited volume 'The Routledge Book of Sports Event Management'. 

Thanks to all at University of Lincoln and their library for this great honour!

University of Lincoln offers a Sports Business Management degree as well as an Event Management degree. We are pleased to see that our book is useful to students on these courses.

Launch of the 1966 World Cup Exhibition

A recent and exciting project for The Soccer Mad Boffins team has been to collaborate with our friends at the National Football Museum (NFM) in Manchester, England, on an exhibition celebrating the 1966 FIFA World Cup which was hosted and won by England.


"With stories from the people who made the games, played the games and watched the games that made the 1966 World Cup such an iconic tournament, the 1966 World Cup Exhibition celebrates England’s success and looks at the legacy of that win."

On Friday 24th June, Dr Alex Gillett attended the launch event which was also the launch for the new International Football Walk of Fame, and included speeches and Q&A from the NFM, Greg Dyke (English Football Association and former Chancellor of University of York), former England stars Sir Bobby Charlton, Roger Hunt, Jimmy Armfield, Mike Summerbee, and the families of others such as Nobby Stiles.  Also in attendance were the Head of the German Football Association (Deutsche Fussball Bund, or DFB), 'You are the Ref' artist Paul Trevillion who gave an impromptu and passionate speech, David Courtney (songwriter, producer and President/CEO of the Football Walk of Fame) and referee Keith Hackett, amongst others.

In particular, Alex was very fortunate for a photo opportunity and conversation with two stars from Women's Football, Lesley Lloyd (ex-captain of the great Southampton Ladies team which dominated the women's FA Cup through the 1970s and early 1980s) and Sue Lopez (former star of England, Southampton, and Italian 'Serie A' team Roma).

Sue Lopez, Lesley Lloyd, Dr Alex Gillett

An inteteresting factiod for us here Soccer Mad Boffins is that Sue Lopez played for the England Ladies team during the time that it was coached by the great Martin Reagan, who during his own playing career enjoyed a spell at Middlesbrough FC at the same time as Alex's Grandad Giles Gillett.

All in all the event was a great success and we highly recommend that you visit the exhibition whilst it runs (25th June 2016 - 23 April 2017). There will be another version of the exhibition held at Wembley Stadium, London launching in July 2016 and we'll report back on that too when we've had chance to visit it.

Senate House Symposium: Some Highlights

The 'More than Just a Game: The legacy of the 1966 Football World Cup' symposium, held at Senate House on Friday 3rd June proved an enjoyable day with many interesting new insights into the 1966 tournament and its longer term impacts emerging.  The day was well attended by sports historians and other interested parties, and organised by Leslie Crang, a student on the MSc Sport Management & the Business of Football programme at Birkbeck College, London, together with Emily Stidston, Senate House's Engagement Support Officer.

Before Kevin's presentation the day was kicked off by Prof John Hughson from UCLAN, in Preston, who showcased the research from his new book7 on the cultural aspects of the 1966 World Cup.  In an intriguing talk Hughson commented on portrayals of the competition on film, from an episode of the Rank Organization's Look at Life documentary series, to FIFA's official film of the tournament, Goal!, and also Alf Garnett and his son in law Mike attending the 1966 Final in the film version of the BBC sitcom Til Death us do Part.  In the afternoon Dr Christoph Wagner of De Montfort University presented his research on the impact of the World Cup on Anglo-German relations, with particular interest in German reactions to 'Das Wembley-Tor' and how the 1966 final was seen as something of a moral victory for both sides.  This was followed by Dr Stacey Pope of Durham University who has studied memories of the 1966 tournament of female football fans of Leicester, some of whom were already seasoned followers of Leicester City FC, but
for others the tournament, which reached record TV audiences, was their first experience of soccer.  Not surprisingly England's victory remained an important memory for many.  The final session saw Kevin join a panel discussion with the football historian and Guardian writer David Goldblatt, and Prof Kath Woodward of the Open University, in which the long term implications of the tournament for English identity were discussed; a major contention being that the English have lacked any real outlet for their patriotism apart from football, as perceptions of Englishness have drifted away from Britishness in the years following 1966.  After all, the Union Jack would never be seen as a representative emblem of the England football team today, as it is on the front cover of the Radio Times prior to the 1966 tournament as seen in our picture.

The symposium was very enjoyable and useful for us and we thank the organizers as well as the other speakers and the attendees for their feedback on our book, Foundations of Managing Sporting Events: Organizing the 1966 FIFA World Cup and contributions to the discussion.

Kevin to Appear at Senate House Symposium!

Kevin will be representing us at an academic symposium at the University of London's central library, Senate House, which is said to have inspired George Orwell's Ministry of Truth in the novel 1984, on Friday June 3rd.  The symposium focuses on the political, social, economic and cultural impact and legacy of the 1966 FIFA World Cup. Kevin will be talking about the financial and organisational findings from our forthcoming book; in particular how government support for the tournament had been crucial for the provincial venues, but also how the hoped for boost for Britain's tourist industries did not materialise as envisaged.

The symposium is free to attend and open to the public, starting at 9.30am.  Other attractions during the day will include a keynote by Professor John Ewing Hudson, Professor of Sport and Cultural Studies and Director of the International Football Institute at the University of Central Lancashire, a discussion on the impact of England's victory on Anglo-German relations by Dr Christoph Wagner of De Montfort University, a paper on women's experiences of the 1966 Finals by Dr Stacey Pope of Durham University, and a roundtable discussion with Dr Kath Woodward from the Open University and the football historian and Guardian journalist David Goldblatt, who will also be making the closing remarks.

It should be a very engaging and thought provoking day - further details and registration is here!

Foundations of Managing Sporting Events - Organizing the 1966 FIFA World Cup

Soccer Mad Boffins are very pleased to announce that our new book 'Foundations of Managing Sporting Events - Organizing the 1966 FIFA World Cup' will be published this summer by Routledge as part of their International Studies in Business History series.

The table of contents will be:

1. What, Why, and How?
2. Origins and Background: A Brief History of English Football and the FIFA World Cup
3. Political Capital and International Diplomacy: North Korea and Beyond
4. The FA, FIFA, and the 1966 FIFA World Cup
5. The World Cup as a Temporary Show?
6. The World Cup, Minister?
7. The World Cup and the Provinces: A Tourism Boom that Never Came
8. Legacy and Impact of the Tournament
9. Discussion and Conclusions 

In addition to all that there will also be a forword by the Prof Jim Walvin. 

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