Author(s): Gavin Mortimer

Technology & Transport

The remarkable stories of 100 football artefacts that have shaped the game as we know it. What does a grapefruit have in common with a pair of GBP500 sunglasses? They've both played a pivotal role in football history. Following on from Neil MacGregor's groundbreaking The History of the World in 100 Objects, Bill Mann provides a quirky and unique take on the beautiful game told through its defining objects. A History of Football in 100 Objects begins on the momentous day in October 1863 when several men in frock coats formed the Football Association. Ever since, the sport has continually evolved - and created new ways to thrill and infuriate its billions of followers along the way. If you've ever wanted to know when footballers started to feign injury, why an old sock helped Pele become a global legend or how a draper's letter changed football, you'll find the answer in this fascinating history of invention, ingenuity, indiscipline - and sometimes inebriation. From the inaugural red card to the ubiquitous mock Tudor mansion, each of the objects selected gives us an intimate glimpse of an unexpected truth behind footie mythology - and together they relate the larger history of the world's biggest and most-loved sport.