The book is concerned with the history of football and its role in Balkan society. The aim is to analyse and discuss various aspects of football as a social and political phenomenon. Collectively the authors address the following themes: football's political background over the years; the formation and development of fan culture; the importance of football for various social groups and nationalities; the cultural framework; and the impact of football on international relations. The following regions are included: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, and Hungary.


The book complements and is a thematic development of the issues raised in the volume Football in the Balkans I: Internal Views, External Perceptions (Peter Lang, 2023). Both volumes present the interplay between sport and politics and the shaping of sport policy in the Balkan countries. This is a project initiated by the Balkan History Association and carried out in cooperation with the Centre for Research on the History of German and European Sport of the Willy Brandt Centre at the University of Wrocław in Poland.