The new 'Rugby Reloaded' talks to Professor Gavin Kitching about Sunderland, Sunderland Albion, and how soccer overtook rugby in the North East of England in the 1870s and 1880s.
Gavin's new book A Fateful Love: Essays on Football in the North-East of England 1880-1930 is a detailed investigation of the myths and realities of football's rise, and also deeply thoughtful exploration about the nature of football, its appeal and what is perhaps its fateful contradiction.
You can get a 30% discount on the book by using the form below. For a flavour of the book, download Gavin’s 2015 article, The Origins of Football: History, Ideology and the Making of ‘The People's Game.
