The British, Soccer and Identity in the Caribbean (Routledge Soccer Histories)

Book info: The British, Soccer and Identity in the Caribbean (Routledge Soccer Histories) (Hardcover, 288 pages) – Routledge, 2024. Language: English.

This book examines the role of the British in the diffusion and development of soccer on the Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Tobago, in the light of issues of race, ethnicity, colour, class and national identity, in the period 1908–1973.

This role was expressed in the activities of understudied organizations like the English Football Association and the British Council, as well as oil companies like Shell and British Petroleum; through the recruitment of coaches such as Jimmy Hill and Michael Laing; the staging of tours involving teams such as Chelsea, Coventry City, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Arsenal in the 1960s; the formation of clubs, leagues and the construction of sporting facilities. Relatedly, it examines the role of the local middle classes in facilitating the commercialization of the game through professionalization and the operations of betting pools. The volume will help to give readers a better understanding of how the game served as a “double agent” of British hegemony and segregation, as well as integration and socio-political change in colonial and post-colonial society.

The book will be of value to sport scholars, students, footballers and fans of the game who have an interest in its history across the world.

"We owe a debt of gratitude, therefore, to Roy McCree for giving us a glimpse into the development in the Caribbean of football, his primary focus being on the diffusion of the sport in his native Trinidad and Tobago...McCree’s painstakingly researched and insightful book tells the story of how a group of imperialists used soccer in an attempt to consolidate their rule and also how once colonized people were able to commandeer the same sport to help to change their world." - Alan Bairner, Loughborough University, UK, Soccer and Society

“A major strength of McCree’s study is the way in which it fills the gap in the existing literature regarding the role played in the diffusion process by institutions, especially British multinational corporations, what McCree depicts as BMNCs (e.g., United British Oilfields, Shell), the British Council, and England’s Football Association” - Peter J. Beck, Kingston University, Sociology of Sport Journal

“The depth of research, the bold methodologies, the conceptual analysis, and the convincing argument of Roy McCree ensure that this book is without doubt a major contribution to our understanding of the historical and sociological significance of football culture(s) in the Caribbean.” – Alan Tomlinson, Brighton University, Sport in History

Roy McCree is a sociologist and Senior Fellow attached to the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES) of the University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus in Trinidad and Tobago. He received his PhD in sociology from Leicester University and has a special interest in the study of sport development, sport for development and sport policy. He is a co-editor of the Routledge Companion to Applied Qualitative Research in the Caribbean.