Football ground historian and amateur photographer Leon Gladwell offers a bucket list of places to watch football in Europe. This first-of-its-kind book introduces the reader to a diverse and often breathtaking range of venues.

Gladwell made 71 journeys across Europe, from Armenia to the Arctic Circle, clocking up more than 130,000 miles by public transport.

This unique project tells both the visual and written stories of the stadiums and the people who made them, painting a vivid picture of European football in the 21st century and the history it has managed to hold on to.

From iconic World Cup stadiums to forgotten communist super bowls, simple football pitches at the edge of civilisation to the downright eccentric, Gladwell takes us on a compelling journey to uncover the diverse character of the homes of European football.

Part guide, part love letter to the history, people and places that showcase the best of Europe's football landscape, this book is sure to leave you planning a future football trip.

**SHORTLISTED FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES SPORTS BOOK AWARDS 2023**

The Roger Federer Effect tells the story of the world's most famous tennis player in a fresh, innovative way--through the eyes of his friends, rivals, coaches, fans, and many others who have been drawn to him as he blazed a trail and transcended the sport.

In a glorious career spanning more than two decades, Federer won 20 Grand Slam titles--including eight at Wimbledon--and more than 100 tournaments worldwide, taking the game to a new level and becoming the most popular player the sport has ever seen. As he enters retirement, more than 40 personalities from inside and outside tennis reveal the special place Federer holds in their lives. Through exclusive interviews, they explain the Roger Federer phenomenon. As much as his deeds are important, it is also the intimate details that really make a person who they are. The Roger Federer Effect reveals them in fascinating and often previously untold anecdotes

Data Game: The Story of Liverpool FC's Analytics Revolution explores the lesser-known story of how Liverpool rose to greatness in the 21st century with the help of big data.

The Anfield institution is an industry leader in the field of data science, but little is known about how Liverpool's relationship with numbers began, and how the marriage of data and football helped to deliver wins on the pitch by impacting tactics and recruitment.

Upon their takeover, Fenway Sports Group set out to transform Liverpool into a data-driven organisation, but there is a story behind why that vision took around a decade to become a reality.

From errors in the transfer market, to suboptimal playing styles, to conflicting egos, Liverpool jumped many hurdles before achieving their ambitions under Jürgen Klopp, with the German surrounded by unsung heroes who shunned the limelight. This is the tale of how Liverpool gained an edge over their wealthier rivals by getting smart.

In December 1943, as London faced a fifth Christmas of blackouts and no sign of World War Two ending, a chance encounter at an English pub between a Canadian and an American officer led to the staging of a football game: the Tea Bowl. A few weeks later, 30,000 Canadian and American troops, as well as some confused British spectators, were gifted respite from the devastation.

The game involved players who had paused their football careers back home to serve their country in foreign lands. The Canadians won, so a rematch was arranged in front of 50,000 at London's White City Stadium. They called it the Coffee Bowl. A few ringers were even drafted from the NFL, including Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Tommy Thompson.

With first-hand accounts and detailed reports of the games, this is the first time the fascinating tales of the Tea and Coffee Bowls have been shared in one place

Culture of Kits: The Definitive Guide to Classic Football Shirt Collecting is a fascinating exploration of the booming business behind the growing culture and community surrounding vintage football shirts.

The intersection between fashion and football has never been more pronounced, resulting in the market for classic football shirts growing into a multi-million-pound business in the past ten years.

Culture of Kits captures the story of the people and companies behind the growth in global collecting who have turned a once-niche pastime into mainstream fashion. Charting the milestones in the community's rise to societal prominence, it explores the key questions surrounding this growth story. What makes a shirt a classic? What motivates collectors? Is shirt-collecting here to stay or a cyclical fashion trend?

Drawing on intel from experts and global collectors, this book lifts the lid on the cultural phenomenon of football shirt fashion and provides the ultimate guide to classic football shirt collecting.

Inside the Hermit Kingdom charts the history of Albanian football from 1945 to 1991, when the country was ruled by modern Europe's most brutal and oppressive regime.

The book features a chronology of Albanian football history interspersed with iconic games that shaped the nation's favourite sport. It details the matchday experience in Stalinist Albania, tells the story of a league footballer during the regime years and charts the growth of street football in Hoxhaist Tirana.

You'll read about the demise of 'The Party' and Stalinism in Albania and the effects their disintegration had on football, peering beyond 1991 into a future riddled with conflict, uncertainty and, oddly, hope.

The era is brought to life by the accounts of Albanians who lived through it, which capture the importance of football to a populace starved of any other source of communal enjoyment. The otherworldliness and innate cruelty of the Stalinist regime provide a terrifying backdrop to their tales.

What role did footballers play in World War Two? How did a Portuguese Cup Final help bring down Western Europe's longest-running dictatorship? What impact did the football community have in bringing the atrocities of Latin America's cruelest dictators to global attention?

Football historian and author Chris Lee shines a spotlight on the roles of players, fans, coaches and officials in the fight against the dictatorships of Mussolini, Hitler, Franco, Salazar and authoritarian states in Latin America, bringing us an intriguing cast of rebels, partisans, spies and activists. Featuring interviews with leading authors and academics, fans and progressive football clubs, The Defiant shows that football and politics cannot be separated and asks what the future holds.

The hilarious and endearing story of how an academic flop with a prodigious talent for getting into embarrassing situations somehow succeeds in the glamorous world of Formula One.

The author, a TV producer and occasional cameraman, gives a distinctive perspective on F1's Flying Circus, up close and personal with motorsport legends, A-list celebrities and the super-rich. He tells of his encounters with its greatest drivers and most intriguing behind-the-scenes personalities, and recalls the sport's rivalries, tragedies and scandals.

He charts his own comedic career path from rough sleeper on a rubbish tip in Hong Kong to the paddock in Monte Carlo where his first words to Michael Schumacher caused the racing legend to inflate with rage. But a few traumatic days later he is sipping champagne high above the track on race day.

If you love Formula One and have a sense of humor, you will want to read this book.

The fascinating story of cricket's world governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), and how it grew into a multi-billion-dollar business.

From cricket journalist, historian and academic Rod Lyall.

This meticulously researched and authoritative history reveals how:

• Privileged aristocrats and mining magnates turned cricket into a 'civilizing' force of empire, promoting the politics and prejudices of their class
• Cricket's world governing body evolved - from its early days in St John's Wood, London as the Imperial Cricket Conference into the International Cricket Council, a multi-billion-dollar sporting business, based in Dubai and increasingly dominated by a financially and politically ambitious Indian elite
• The ICC failed to deal effectively with such challenges as the Bodyline controversy, apartheid in South Africa and Kerry Packer's commercialization of the game
• Media rights deals and global events sponsorship have created new problems: match-fixing, administrative corruption and the threat from franchise leagues

This is the first full account of the ICC's origins and its roots in imperialist ideology, charting its rise from a talking-shop into a multi-billion-dollar global business driven by massive worldwide TV audiences.

Join acclaimed football writer Chris Lee on a journey of discovery around Ireland to learn about one of the world's oldest soccer cultures.

• How did Association football - denounced as a 'foreign game' by some - fair after the traumatic split of 1921?
• Who were the pioneering Irish players and coaches that helped spread the game around the world?
• What is the matchday experience like for groundhoppers?
• What's happening in Irish women's football today?

Eager for answers, Chris travels around the island in search of historical stadiums, lost clubs, vibrant fan cultures, symbolic murals and more. From the tifos of Dublin's oldest derby to George Best's living room, Chris talks to fans, historians and academics to get the inside track on the Irish football story.

Along the way, Chris uncovers a complex tale of politics, identity and division, but also one of hope, reconciliation and glory.

The story begins with a wealth of captivating stories which emerged through the qualifying stage: dramatic tales of success, failure and controversy which all combine to add to the allure of this greatest of tournaments.

The finals played out in France, at a time when the European Championship was still in its infancy as an eight-team tournament. It proved a watershed for the competition, as great games in wonderful stadiums captured the imagination across the continent; at a time when idealism still prevailed over pragmatism, when adventurous football was rewarded.

Euro 1984 relives the magical moments of a previously undervalued international competition: the stunning exploits of Michel Platini and eventual winners France, the emergence of the Danish Dynamite, the largely unexpected excellence of the Portuguese, and in the eyes of the author, the greatest European Championship there has ever been.

Rinascimento tells the tale of Napoli's first Serie A title in 33 years, an achievement that saw the football-mad city celebrate like never before.

Before the 2022/23 season, SSC Napoli and Luciano Spalletti were considered two of Italy's great underachievers. The club had not won a league title since Diego Maradona led them to glory in 1990. Spalletti had won respect across a three-decade managerial career but did not have a Serie A winner's medal to his name. These perennial bridesmaids came together in 2021, and two years later changed the narrative with a campaign that will live long in the memory.

Napoli's first Maradona-less Serie A triumph came out of the blue, having experienced near-misses and significant squad turnover in the years beforehand. A largely unknown and unfancied group of players adopted Spalletti's tactical blueprint and delivered beautiful, winning football - the kind of football that its passionate fanbase could attach itself to.

From inception to Diego Maradona, from bankruptcy to a third Scudetto and the players who achieved it - this is Napoli's story.

Despite spending his whole career with the club, the Argentine genius had to adapt and improve his game to become the foundation of Barca's modern success. This book explores his journey - from emerging as a talented prodigy to becoming the best player on the planet - through an enthralling narrative, in-depth tactics and key statistics. A great deal has been written already about the famous boy from Rosario, as his story has been told time and again by journalists and renowned authors. Anatomy of a Genius digs deeper to uncover things we don't already know, delving into stats and tactics to reveal the how and why behind one of the world's greatest athletes and his phenomenal career.