More Than A Shirt

This is a marvellous football book, although it is much more than that. – Roger Alton * The Times *
There’s more to every aspect of football than meets the eye, and that’s brilliantly captured here. * Adrian Chiles, Writer and Television and Radio Presenter *
Joey D’Urso is a fresh voice and a tireless reporter, who takes the reader from China to Colombia via Nottingham. He’s the first person to use football shirts to explain the world, and does it convincingly. Kudos and respect. * Simon Kuper, Award-Winning Author of Soccernomics and Football Against The Enemy *
Extensively researched and wonderfully written, Joey’s book deserves to be read by all. * Martin O’Neill, Football Manager & Former Professional Footballer *
Without question, Joey is one of the most intelligent and thoughtful journalists I’ve ever worked with. This book encapsulates Joey’s brilliance as a journalist: big thinking and relatable - local, global, political, sporting. What does a rectangle-ish of colourful, sweaty polyester tell you about the contemporary world? One heck of a lot, it turns out - about belonging and identity yes, but geopolitics and economics too. This book is a brilliant idea, brilliantly researched and brilliantly written. * Chris Mason, Political Editor of BBC News *
Smart, warm and original… it will make politics nerds think differently about football, and football fans think differently about the world. * Matt Chorley, Broadcaster at BBC Radio 5 Live *
One of the most original and innovative football books in some time, a “Parts Unknown” for the game, as well as football business and football culture. Joey’s unique writing is perfect for that Bourdain role. You might be familiar with some of the shirts, but some of the stories from the brilliant on-the-ground reporting within will astound you. A book that will both enthral and seriously educate. * Miguel Delaney, Bestselling Author of States of Play: How Sportswashing Took Over Football & Chief Football Writer at The Independent *
Oligarchs, petro-states, narcotrafficantes, are just a few of the characters running football these days. Starting with football kits, Joey D’Urso brilliantly maps the political and economic interest that have come to colonise their iconography and the game as a whole. After you have read this book, “playing for the shirt” will never sound the same again. * David Goldblatt, the award-winning author of The Ball is Round *
A day at the football is usually an escape from politics - but Joey D’Urso’s revealing reporting reminds us that it’s never quite so simple. This colourful book is a treat for anyone interested in both… or neither. * Patrick Maguire, Bestselling co-Author of Get In: The Inside Story of Labour Under Starmer & Chief Political Commentator at The Times *
After reading this thoroughly resourceful and revealing book, you will never look at football shirts in the same way again. – Jon Spurling * FourFourTwo *
A meticulously researched book that reveals plenty about football and even more about the modern world. * Adam Crafton, Football Writer at The Athletic *
One of the best books on football I have ever read. * Dame Tracey Crouch, Former Sports Minister and MP *
Whether you binge it or snack on it, if you like football, football shirts, history or politics, you’ll find lots to love in this eye-opening and insightful book, and you’ll feel smarter for having read it. Fascinatingly detailed and painstakingly researched, with a real passion for the beautiful game - especially watching matches of all levels at stadia across the globe - that shines through. * David Arrowsmith, author of Narcoball: Love, Death and Football in Escobar’s Colombia *
An engaging, original, insightful and introspective examination of football’s relationship with politics and power. Joey helps us understand how football and the world operate. * Colin Millar, The Athletic *
Every page brings the reader at least a few ‘well, I never knew that’ bits … scrupulously researched – Darragh McManus * Irish Independent *
More Than a Shirt reframes the narrative about football’s place in the modern world by scrutinizing part of its literal fabric – Jude Horspool * Times Literary Supplement *
More Than A Shirt shows why geopolitics keeps invading the pitch * THE ECONOMIST *
Engaging and original, D’Urso’s blend of sport and geopolitics reveals the messages and subtexts of twenty-two modern football shirts from West Bromwich Albion to Schalke and beyond. * Mark Skinner, Waterstones’ Best Entertainment & Sports Books of 2025 *
D’Urso has chosen 22 kits that tell a compelling story about the tangled, complicated relationship they and football itself has with an increasingly fraught geopolitical landscape… The result is an outstanding book… This is an ambitious book and its scope is enormous, but the talented D’Urso takes each chapter in his stride. * When Saturday Comes *
Once a cultural heirloom and piece of shared heritage, the football shirt is now a commercial opportunity, a political platform, a place for crypto sponsors and state actors to run riot. Football and politics is a genre that has been done to death in recent years, but there D’Urso’s simple conceit - examining the soiled modern game through the prism of the shirt - offers a sparklingly fresh snapshot as well as a powerful reminder of the incredible global scope of the sport – Jonathan Liew * The Guardian ‘Best Sports Books of 2025’ *

Joey D’Urso is the senior data journalist for The Times and Sunday Times. He was previously investigations writer for The Athletic, and before that he reported on politics for BBC News. He was nominated for Football Journalist of the Year in 2022 by the Football Supporters Association and has been twice nominated in the sports journalism category at the British Journalism Awards.

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