Critical Research in Football Politics, Social Issues and the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup

This book presents a series of important and fascinating cases - including campaigns for equal pay for players; governance, ethics and women’s rights in Spanish football; the legacies of the Australian Matildas; and the impact of fan spaces – that together form a multi-layered picture of a signature event in the history of women’s sport. This book takes a close look at politics and social issues in the context of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, one of the most attended women’s sporting events in history. Featuring the work of leading researchers from around the world, the book is arranged into two thematic sections, with the first examining power structures and inequalities and the second exploring nationalism, identities, and experiencing the women’s game. The book presents a series of important and fascinating cases - including campaigns for equal pay for players; governance, ethics and women’s rights in Spanish football; the legacies of the Australian Matildas; and the impact of fan spaces – that together form a multi-layered picture of a signature event in the history of women’s sport. This book is vital reading for anybody with an interest in women’s sport, gender and sport, the sociology of sport, the politics of sport, event studies or sport business and management.