'Beer and the Boro - A Perfect Match!'

Alex Gillett and Kevin Tennent with Fred Hutchinson (Teesside University) have a chapter in a new book:

Brewing, Beer and Pubs: A Global Perspective
Edited by Iganzio Cabras, David Higgins, and David Preece
Palgrave Macmillan - http://www.palgrave.com/gb/book/9781137466174


'The last chapter, by Alex Gillett, Kevin Tennent and Fred Hutchinson, addresses the famous - or infamous - association between beer and football.  The authors present a case study of Middlesbrough Football and Athletic Company Limited (MFAC) to illustrate the relationships that developed and changed over time between MFAC and Camerons and Scottish & Newcastle breweries in the Northeast of England.'

New Book by the Soccer Mad Boffins all about the 1966 FIFA World Cup

2016 marks the 50th anniversary of the 1966 FIFA World Cup, hosted in England. Unlike previous literature, which has tended to focus activities on the field, this book brings an institutional level approach to organizing the 1966 FIFA World Cup and examines the management process in the buildup and execution of the event. 

This intriguing new volume looks at the first significant UK government intervention in football and how this created a significant legacy as the government started to take a real interest in leisure facilities and stadium safety as policy areas after this competition. Foundations of Managing Sporting Events will be of considerable interest to research academics working on aspects of post war British, Imperial, and World history including sport, social, business, economic, and political history.

 https://www.routledge.com/products/9781138645202

Come and see the Soccer Mad Boffins in Middlesbrough

We are pleased to announce that we will be presenting our research on Middlesbrough Football Club at the Urban Leisure Conference organized by the British Society of Sports History's North East and Yorkshire Network on Saturday November 14th, at Teesside University.  Our paper reports on the relationship between Middlesbrough FC and its local authorities in the 1980s and draws on previously unpublished archival sources as well as our forthcoming book chapter and world cup book. Registration will be at 10am and at 10.30am there will be a keynote by the esteemed football writer Harry Pearson.  Our presentation will be at 11.45am. The event is free to attend and you can book here - http://www.tees.ac.uk/sections/whats_on/events_details.cfm?event_id=7824 - We look forward to seeing you there!

Soccer Mad Boffins in successful Swiss research visit!

Soccer Mad Boffins (Alex and Kevin) recently visited the International Olympic Committee, FIFA and the International Centre for Sports Studies (at the University of Neuchâtel) in Switzerland.  This was a very successful visit and findings will be used to inform our forthcoming book on the 1966 FIFA World Cup, to be published by Routledge in 2016.  It will be released 29th July, on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the famous final in which England lifted the Jules Rimet Trophy. Kevin noted that 'we were able to access an unparalleled selection of resources' on this trip while Alex commented that 'our book promises to be the most deeply researched business/management history of the 1966 FIFA World Cup published to date. We hope that it will be received enthusiastically by historians, business management, and sports academics aliike. Back of the net!.'

Contribution to the website of Montrose FC

Soccer Mad Boffin Dr Alex Gillett has contributed an article about his Grandfather, footballer Giles 'Gil' Gillett, to the website of Scottish club Montrose FC.

After national service with the BAOR (British Army of the Rhine) Giles played professionally in the late 1940s/early 1950s, initially with English team Middlesbrough before transferring back to his native Scotland where he spent two seasons with Leith Athletic before signing for Montrose.

Included on the website are digitized archival documents including a copy of Giles' Montrose contract and player registration, as well as a match programme (Montrose vs Heart of Midlothian FC) and photographs, all of which may be of interest to people researching Scottish or post- WW2 football

The article can be found by clicking here.

Introducing The New Signings: Soccer Mad Boffins

Alex (left) and Kevin (right) signing their publishing contracts.  Photo taken by: Chris Purdham 

We are very pleased to announce that we have now signed publishing contracts to have our paper 'Beer and the Boro - a Perfect Match!' included in the forthcoming book 'Brewing, Beer and Pubs: A Global Perspective'.

Our chapter is co-authored with Fred Hutchinson (Teesside University) and the book will be published by Palgrave Macmillan in March 2016. It will include contributions from many great writers and it will be edited by a great team - Ignazio Cabras (Northumbria University, UK), Prof David Higgins (Newcastle University, UK) and Prof David Preece (Prof Emeritus, Teesside University). 

Our paper, as you might gather from the rather punning title, is about Middlesbrough Football Club and its relationship with breweries as sponsors and suppliers to its stadium.  In the paper, we place particular focus on the 1980s - and what happened before and since that time.

You can read all about the book here.

Stay tuned for more exciting news regarding publication plans for even more of our research - in particular the work we have been doing on the 1966 FIFA World Cup.

YORNIGHT

SOCCERMADBOFFINS are proud to announce that we will be presenting a public lecture at this year's YORNIGHT event on Friday 25th September.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the event which makes it that extra bit special.

Yornight is part of European Researchers' Night -  a mega event which takes place every year simultaneously in more than 300 cities all over Europe and beyond. It aims to show that research is fun and influences daily life for all of us.  YorNight is York’s contribution to this event, hosted by the University of York in partnership with the York Museums Trust.

European Researcher's Night is a European Commission initiative funded by the European Commission's Research and Innovation Framework Programme H2020 (2014-2020) by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions. Directorate-General for Education and Culture. European Commission under Grant Agreement No. 633344.

We will be found in:

• The Researchers' Cafe
• http://yornight.com/2015/activities/kings-manor/refectory-researchers-cafe/ 

And we shall be doing a public lecture:

•  'FIFA World Cup 1966: Planning for Success' 
• King's Manor Room K/159 
• 7.40pm - 8.00pm
• http://yornight.com/2015/activities/talks/#tab-2

See you there!