This topical book provides unprecedented analysis of football's place in post-war and post-reunification Germany.

The expert team of German and British contributors offers wide-ranging perspectives on the significance of football in German sporting and cultural life, showing how it has emerged as a focus for an expression of German national identity and pride in the post-war era.

Some of the themes examined include:

• footballing expressions of local, regional and national identity
• ethnic dynamics, migrant populations and Europeanization
• German football’s commercial economy
• women’s football.

Key moments in the history of German football are also explored, such as the victories in 1954, 1972 and 1990, the founding of the Bundesliga, and the winning bid for the 2006 World Cup.