Outcasts! The Lands That FIFA Forgot [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

Totally agree with the above review. Its great to read about the lesser nations - or should that be lesser non-nations ! Well written, with a great balance of factual information alongside the authors own tales. Much better value for money than much of the dross on the shelves in your local WHSmith.

While confessing an interest - I know the author Steve Menary - I can honestly say that this is an excellent book. At a time when football is increasingly dominated by money, Steve has travelled to countries ranging from Greenland to the Channel Islands to find people excluded from the mainstream but with more passion for the game than a whole host of Premiership stars. It's an insight into the politics at the margins of the game and a series of portraits of people and places I knew nothing about. Good for pub quizzes too - do you know who won the inaugural Wild Cup in 2006?

Steve Menary's excellent `Outcasts! The Lands that FIFA Forgot' is a tour around the lands excluded by Sepp Blatter's organisation, and their attempts to try and play fixtures, create and attend tournaments, and develop the beautiful game. These attempts often threatened and thwarted by both FIFA, and international politics, are documented by Menary; but he doesn't let either Blatter's organization, or politics, obscure the varied football stories of the text. Taking in areas as diverse as Zanzibar, the Isle of Man and North Cyprus, Menary's study is both in-depth and informative, as well as being commendably unsentimental. He refuses to romanticise the grim conditions of some of the grounds he visits, and to paint everything parochial as positive; something which few books on lower-level football manage. The potted histories and social reflections of the book also provide interesting reading, from British sovereignty in Greek Cyprus, referendums in Gibraltar, and bringing together the ethnic divisions of previously war-torn Kosovo; and these reflections never take the book off the topic of football for too long. Menary has also managed to interview a number of both coaches and players in the book, meaning that we get a first-hand account of things like Sami traditions and Northern Cypriot identity, from the people who know best about it.

There are a few flaws within the text. Though Menary is a thorough and solid narrator, and rightly refuses to romantically poeticise the situations these sides are in, the book seems to lack a bit of passion, and he doesn't seem too enthralled by the football he sees (though admittedly much of it is of a relatively poor quality). Secondly, the book has a number of grammatical errors, which prove an annoyance whilst reading. Finally, Menary offers a bit too much time to a few people. Arrogant North Mariana coach Vince Stravino is a poor choice for Menary's mouthpiece on the footballing issues of the US territory, and Menary also gives too many pages to the NF Board, who do too little to warrant it. Still, these faults are outweighed by the excellent qualities of the book. Thorough, engaging and genuinely original, Menary's book is perfect for those who've ever wondered what a football cup for Clerics is like, how Greenland's national team functions (or sometimes doesn't), and who enjoy a pun-fest involving gambling company mybet, and the Tibetan national team. A truly worthwhile read.