{"title":"Books by James Montague","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781472923127","title":"The Billionaires Club","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA compelling examination of football club ownership in the era of the super-rich\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOnce upon a time football was run by modest local businessmen. Today it is the plaything of billionaire oligarchs, staggeringly wealthy from oil and gas, from royalty, or from murkier sources. But who are these new masters of the universe? Where did all their money come from? And what do they want with our beautiful game? \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhile almost cloaked in secrecy, the billionaire owner has to raise his head above the bunker when it comes to football ownership – a rare Achilles heel that allows access to worlds normally off limits journalists and outsiders. In the \u003ci\u003eBillionaires Club \u003c\/i\u003eJames Montague delves deeper than anyone ever dared, to tell this story for the first time. He criss-crosses the world – from Dhaka to Doha, from China to Crewe, from St Louis to London, from Bangkok to Belgium – to profile this new elite, their network of money and their influence that defies geographic boundaries.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Billionaires Club\u003c\/i\u003e is part history of club ownership, part in-depth investigation into the money and influence that connects the super-rich around the globe, and part travel book as he follows the ever-shifting trail around the globe in an attempt to reveal the real force behind modern-day football.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAt its heart \u003ci\u003eThe Billionaires Club\u003c\/i\u003e is a football book, about some of the biggest clubs in the world. But it is also about something bigger: the world around us, the global economy, where the world is headed and how football has become an essential cog in this machine.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe book discusses the dawn European Super League, and the repercussions for the future of the game.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56301063995765,"sku":"9781472923127","price":15.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781472923127_013aaeea-bff5-4c24-b2a3-8fba7faab579.jpg?v=1786020598"},{"product_id":"9781529197167","title":"When Friday Comes","description":"\u003cb\u003e'Passionate and moving and provides further evidence of the universality of football' Jonathan Wilson, \u003ci\u003eFourFourTwo\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe definitive story of the Middle East's unstoppable rise to football superpower, and the road to the Qatar World Cup\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen James Montague first began covering football in the Middle East two decades ago, people asked him what future there could possibly be for the beautiful game in one of the most volatile regions in the world. In the years that followed, it would become one of the biggest stories in global sport, from the from revolutionary ultras of the Arab Spring and the takeover of some of the world's biggest clubs by the Emirati super rich, to Qatar's controversial journey towards hosting the 2022 World Cup finals.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe only Western journalist covering the story on the ground from the very beginning, James Montague tells the definitive tale of the region's rise to ultimate power player in the global game in a fully revised and updated edition. Travelling to every country in the Middle East and meeting fans, players, workers and campaigners, he paints an unforgettable picture of football in a controversial, vibrant and surprising new world.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56303196373365,"sku":"9781529197167","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781529197167_a1356b52-ebc3-48d3-b824-06f58bbe1dc3.jpg?v=1786022427"},{"product_id":"9781785319877","title":"The Away Leg","description":"Fed up with being stuck at home? Are you missing the excitement and fulfilment of an overseas jaunt for an away football match? The Away Leg: XI Football Stories on the Road takes your imagination on a trip around the world navigated by a skilled team of 11 football writers. From derbies in Brazil, Georgia and Israel to the momentous rise of the Iceland men's national team, from Palestine and North Korea to a UEFA Cup final overshadowed by murder, a controversial Women's World Cup meeting between England and Cameroon, the story of South America's most remarkable Copa Libertadores final and a historic triumph by Arsenal in the UEFA Women's Cup Final, The Away Leg's team takes you to the heart of the action with remarkable tales from across the globe. Until we can all hit the road again, The Away Leg fills the void with incredible football stories, with all author royalties going to the national social care charity Community Integrated Care.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56305192305013,"sku":"9781785319877","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781785319877_69bea4ec-6ea1-4bee-94b6-19c851e02722.jpg?v=1786025734"},{"product_id":"9781785121609","title":"Engulfed","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Bravura on the ground reporting' \u003c\/b\u003e- David Goldblatt, award-winning author of\u003ci\u003e The Ball is Round\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'This is an important book\u003c\/b\u003e' - Simon Kuper, bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eSoccernomics\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eChums \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eBarça\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Compelling' \u003c\/b\u003e- \u003ci\u003eThe Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A subtle examination of the complex interplay between global ambition, economic power, and ethical considerations' \u003c\/b\u003e- \u003ci\u003eMoneyWeek\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A comprehensive and shocking account' \u003c\/b\u003e- \u003ci\u003eWhen Saturday Comes\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn 2034, Saudi Arabia will host the men's FIFA World Cup and mark the culmination of Mohammed bin Salman's ambitious plan to modernise Saudi Arabia, a kingdom of unfathomable wealth at the heart of the Islamic world, which is only now emerging from nearly a century of self-isolation. How did we get here? Why would a country spend tens of billions of dollars, perhaps even hundreds of billions in the long run, to buy and control sport?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eEngulfed\u003c\/i\u003e is a story about ambition, family rivalries, extreme wealth, power, murder and disinformation. It is also the story of dictatorship, political corruption and, at its root, how sport - football, yes, but also golf, boxing and even e-sports - became a vital geopolitical tool for Saudi Arabia.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDrawing on Montague's exclusive first-hand interviews from his extensive travels across Saudi Arabia, the US, the north-east of England, Spain, Turkey and beyond, \u003ci\u003eEngulfed \u003c\/i\u003euncovers how the House of Saud zeroed in on the political power of sport, using it both as a powerful political tool of influence and as a way to rectify the PR damage caused by one of the most infamous assassinations in history: the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":57685842100597,"sku":"9781785121616","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":56305426956661,"sku":"9781785121609","price":22.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781785121616_bbe8fc78-a845-4887-b1b1-cf4d04749075.jpg?v=1792599050"},{"product_id":"9781785039188","title":"1312: Among the Ultras","description":"\u003cb\u003eYou can see them, but you don't know them.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eUltras are football fans like no others. A hugely visible and controversial part of the global game, their credo and aesthetic replicated in almost every league everywhere on earth, a global movement of extreme fandom and politics is also one of the largest youth movements in the world. Yet they remain unknown: an anti-establishment force that is transforming both football and politics. In this book, James Montague goes underground to uncover the true face of this dissident force for the first time. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e1312: Among the Ultras\u003c\/i\u003e tells the story of how the movement began and how it grew to become the global phenomenon that now dominates the stadiums from the Balkans and Buenos Aires. With unprecedented insider access, the book investigates how ultras have grown into a fiercely political movement, embracing extremes on both the left and right; fighting against the commercialisation of football and society – and against the attempts to control them by the authorities, who both covet and fear their power.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56305550557557,"sku":"9781785039188","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781785039188_56b806c9-a3c7-4743-9f89-5f82ccd8d7ad.jpg?v=1786025461"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-james-montague.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}