English Football: A Social History guides us through the origins of football's popularity and the important role it plays in today's society.

Football, or 'the most important of the unimportant things in the world,' as former coach Arrigo Sachi once described it, is indeed the most popular sport on a global scale.

This is not a coincidence – from its early days, football was a very popular pastime for people from a broad range of upbringings. It was never considered an elite sport.

Neil Carter is a research fellow at the International Centre for Sports History at De Monfort University.

John Williams is a sociologist and researcher who's dedicated his career to writing about sports.

Together in A Social History of English Football, Carter and Williams deliver an impactful retelling of the history of the sport and give us an important perspective on the role it plays in society.