Football & Beyond Collection

Minnows United: Adventures at the Fringes of the Beautiful Game by Mat Guy, paperback, 9781912147069

Home Game: A Ball Can Change the World - The Story of the Homeless World Cup by Mel Young & Peter Barr, hardback, ISBN: 9781912147199

About Minnows United:

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.

About the Author:

MAT GUY has travelled far and wide in the name of football, and spent most of his childhood sat by his grandfather's side at the long gone Victoria Park, one time home of Salisbury FC. Former season ticket holder at Southampton FC Mat works at a cinema in Ocean Village, Southampton. He has written about football for a number of magazines, including Box to Box, The Goalden Times, Thin White Line and Late Tackle. Luath Press published Another Bloody Saturday: A Journey to the Heart and Soul of Football in 2015 and Minnows United in 2017. 

About Home Game:

An estimated 100 million people worldwide are homeless.

1.6 billion live in sub-standard housing.

But how can such a simple game like football tackle such a complex problem? Mel Young and Peter Barr tell the story of the 1.2 million homeless people in 70 countries who have taken part in the Homeless World Cup since it was founded in 2003 and the positive impact it has on the players – and everyone else involved, including spectators. From refugees to drug addicts, orphans and the ‘poorest of the poor,’ to homeless people from the world’s richest countries, we read about the moving human drama behind the event and find out how ‘a ball can change the world.’

Home Game provides an insight into the birth of the Homeless World Cup and how it has become such a global phenomenon, by looking at more than just facts. It shows how the power of sport can help excluded people transform their own lives – and how the event has transformed attitudes to homelessness.

About the Author:

MEL YOUNG is a writer, blogger, speaker and social entrepeneur, who is Chairman of Sports Scotland and President and co-founder of the Homeless World Cup. Previously, he was a journalist and editor who co-founded multiple publications including the Big Issue Scotland.

He has been the President and Honorary President of The International Network of Street Papers, the co-founder of Senscot (Social Entrepeneurs Network Scotland), and a member of the World Economic Forum Sports Agenda Council.

Since 2001 he has been a Schwab Fellow of the World Economic Forum and was named a Senior Fellow by Ashoka in 2014.

Mel has five honorary degrees from Scottish universities, and was awarded the Jackie Robinson Humanitarian Award from the United States Sports Academy in 2016. In 2017, he was awarded an M.B.E.

PETER BARR is a writer and journalist living in the Highlands of Scotland.

He is a Trustee of the Homeless World Cup Foundation. His connection with the organisation goes back to 2005 and his time as the Communications Director in Mexico City.

Barr has also worked as the editor of multiple magazines, such as the Open Scotland Online Magazine, along with writing reports for the Scottish Government. Additionally, Barr has experience working with television documentaries for the BBC.