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A whirlwind history of soccer’s improbable rise—from ancient traditions to worldwide cultural focus
How did a simple kicking game conquer the world? In this concise yet comprehensive history, sports historian Brian D. Bunk traces soccer’s unlikely, meteoric rise, showing how a pastime humbly rooted in English schoolyard contests grew to become the planet’s most popular sport. Today, soccer is a cultural and economic juggernaut: The World Cup, the sport’s crown jewel, is now our most-watched sporting event, and one of soccer’s biggest stars, Cristiano Ronaldo, is the world’s most-followed person on social media. Soccer even has the power, as Bunk’s surprising history recounts, to sway elections and topple governments. Drawing on key historical and contemporary events both on and off the field, from famous victories to the dark money and backroom deals that now power the game at its highest levels, Bunk shows us the many ways that a single soccer goal today may not only electrify a sold-out stadium but reverberate around the world.
The Shortest History books deliver thousands of years of history in one riveting, fast-paced read.
“Barnes & Noble Best Paperbacks of June 2026
“Lively, thematic, and sharply written. Brian Bunk’s latest is a match winner!”—Tom McCabe, cohost of An American Game
“Praise for From Football to Soccer
“As soccer grows in popularity today, Brian Bunk shows that it has been part of the sporting scene for many centuries. This book is essential reading for historians of sport, and an absorbing read for the casual soccer/football fan.”—Stefan Szymanski, coauthor of Soccernomics
“From Football to Soccer is the best kind of sport history. It effectively places soccer’s story into larger social contexts while meticulously documenting source material.”—American Historical Review
“An excellent addition. . . From Football to Soccer undoubtedly adds much to the historiography of soccer in the United States.”—Journal of Popular Culture
“An impressive volume which does not claim to be the final word on US soccer history, and gives historians potential new avenues and approaches towards the subject matter.”—Idrottsforum
“An important addition to the publisher's Sport and Society series. . . . Recommended.”—Choice
