More Than A Shirt

LONGLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD

A GUARDIAN SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2025
A WATERSTONES SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2025

'A marvellous football book, although it is much more than that' The Times
'More Than A Shirt shows why geopolitics keeps invading the pitch' The Economist
'Extensively researched and wonderfully written' Martin O'Neill
'D'Urso's simple conceit offers a sparklingly fresh snapshot' The Guardian

Compelling and eye-opening, More Than A Shirt  will change the way you think about the beautiful game's most universal symbol. Football shirts are the sport's greatest means of cultural expression, but a seemingly innocuous combination of colours, sponsor logos and materials can all reflect the social values, financial struggles and political ideologies of the day, as geopolitical issues increasingly seep into every aspect of the game.

Investigative journalist Joey D'Urso has travelled across the globe, combining on-the-ground reporting with unparalleled analysis to collate a list of the twenty-two football shirts that best explain the modern world.  More Than A Shirt will take fans on a journey from Birmingham to Belgrade and onto Medellin and Mumbai, outlining how we can see the war in Ukraine in the shirt of Schalke in Germany, China's foreign policy in West Bromwich Albion's and why the French national kit embodies worldwide migration patterns.