Search results for ""Author Mat Guy""

Following his first book, Another Bloody Saturday: A Journey to the Heart and Soul of Football, Mat Guy continues his exploration of the ‘beautiful game’ in Minnows United; an ode to the unsung heroes of football matches taking place out of the limelight, all over the world. From little known teams within the UK, to teams representing countries that, to most of the world, don’t even exist, Mat Guy travels to remote parts of the globe to experience football not only on the fringes of the pitch, but on the fringes of the world. On his travels, he watches matches in Iceland, interviews members of the Tibetan Women’s Football team, explores the impact of football in war-torn Palestine and explores the unsung heroes in the football clubs present throughout the length of the UK. What he finds is countries transcending the game itself and instead building communities, lifelines and friendship with football at the centre.

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This is a book celebrating all that is great with the game of football, as seen through the eyes of clubs and fans rarely bothered by satellite television cameras and the riches of the elite game, a vibrant world of humour, warmth and friendship worth far more than all the wealth of the Premier League. Why do people head out on windswept Saturday afternoons and wet Wednesday evenings watch lower and non-league teams play when they could watch Premier League football from the comfort of their living rooms? Does an international match between two countries that technically don’t exist have any meaning? Why do some people go to so much trouble volunteering to support clubs which run on a shoestring budget and are lucky to get even a glimpse of the limelight? Over the course of a season, Mat Guy set out to explore the less glamorous side of the beautiful game, travelling the backwaters of football across the length and breadth of the country – and beyond. He watched Bangor as they were cheerfully thrashed by Reykjavik’s UMF Stjarnan, was absolutely won over by the women’s game, and found a new team to love in Accrington Stanley. From Glasgow to Northern Cyprus, Bhutan to the Faroe Islands, Mat discovered the same hope, sense of community, and love of the game that first led him to a life in the stands at Salisbury FC’s Victoria Park, where his own passion for football was formed.

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