Sport

Thursday, 08 October 2020 08:02

Capitalists in football shirts

Written by Alan Dent

in Sport

CAPITALISTS IN FOOTBALL SHIRTS: Alan Dent argues that football has become a game which legitimises the radical inequalities of capitalist Britain One of Britain’s most highly regarded footballers is Tom Finney. Born into the working-class town of Preston in 1922, he spent his playing years at his home club, Preston…

Preston North End PFA Matt Busby Bill Shankly Cultural democracy

Wednesday, 02 September 2020 09:17

Of Empires and Umpires: Cricket and Politics in Pakistan

Written by Sean Ledwith

in Sport

Sean Ledwith writes about how colonialism and racism has conditioned the history of Test cricket between Pakistan and England This summer’s Test series between England and Pakistan was marked by high quality cricket from both sides, with the emergence of a new generation of fast bowlers being the factor that…

Peter Oborne Ian Botham Imran Khan Osman Samiuddin

K2_PUBLISHED_ON Friday, 24 July 2020 10:58

Black Cricketers Matter: Racism, Resistance and the West Indies

in Sport

Written by Sean Ledwith

Sean Ledwith shows how cricket can be a site and a symbol of political liberation as well as of racist, imperialist oppression The First Test between England and West Indies this summer was memorable for a number of reasons. It was the first Test match played in the post-lockdown, new…

Test match George Headley Learie Constantine Gary Sobers Michael Holding Ebony RainfordBrent Jofra Archer

K2_PUBLISHED_ON Monday, 13 July 2020 13:40

Changing the rules of the people’s game

in Sport

Written by Martin Cloake

Martin Cloake, in the latest in the joint Morning Star/ Culture Matters series on the Covid-19 pandemic and cultural activities, considers its effects on football and what's needed to improve the game During the COVID-19 pandemic the football business has probably experienced one of the biggest jolts of any business.…

K2_PUBLISHED_ON Friday, 03 April 2020 09:12

Null and void: tackling the commercialisation of sport

in Sport

Written by Mark Perryman

Mark Perryman argues that the coronavirus crisis has exposed the commercialisation and corruption of sport; that the current football season should be declared 'null and void'; and that radical change is needed when we emerge from the crisis, involving the revaluation of our public services When we're not even at…

Covid19 Premier League

K2_PUBLISHED_ON Wednesday, 04 September 2019 18:52

Don't just spectate, agitate! Bury, Bolton, and the capitalist takeover of football

in Sport

Written by Doc Ritchie

Doc Ritchie tells us to resist capitalist accumulation in football by tightening regulation and changing the ownership and management of football clubs. Images courtesy of fan-owned Clapton FC Football is a game owned by billionaires, played by millionaires, and paid for by you. Premier League players have no real relationship…

Wednesday, 17 July 2019 13:44

What do they know of cricket, that only cricket know?

Written by Mark Perryman

in Sport

Mark Perryman criticises the exclusive way some sports are managed, and suggests some progressive policies to bring out all the benefits of sport – for the many, not the few. Cricket’s version of the ‘years of hurt’ – 44 in this case – came to a spectacular end early last…

World Cup CLR James

Thursday, 04 July 2019 09:37

Liberté, Egalité, Velocité: the Bicyclists' Road to Socialism

Written by Mark Perryman

in Sport

As Le Tour begins, Mark Perryman offers up a 5-point transitional programme for a cycling revolution It's July – the month when since 2012 first Wiggins, then Froome, and last year Thomas, turn Le Maillot Jaune into Le Maillot Britannique. Or in Thomas’ case Le Maillot Gallois. And on the…

Thursday, 09 May 2019 10:36

Spring into Sport

Written by Mark Perryman

in Sport

In the run-up to several of one sport’s major prizes, Philosophy Football’s Mark Perryman reviews Spring books on sport and the perennial struggle against commercialising, capitalist pressures. April. The Carabao, or those of us a tad old skool, League Cup Final is long gone. The FA Cup staggering its past-the-sold-by-date…

Wednesday, 17 April 2019 17:16

Culture Punch: reforming the videogames industry

Written by Paul Victor Tims

in Sport

Paul V. Tims looks at the games industry from a socialist perspective It probably won’t surprise my regular readers to learn that I love videogames. What better way to escape the turgid, late-capitalist nightmare-world we all inhabit than by stepping into an entire other life where you’re an infinitely-customisable mass…