Episode 62 with Andrew McFarland

Spanish football (soccer) teams like FC Barcelona and Real Madrid have become household names around the world.But how did Spanish sport become a global phenomenon? In this episode, Andrew McFarland, a professor of history at Indiana University Kokomo, explores the origins of sport as mass entertainment in Spain, from the influence of English footballers to the question of bullfighting as a modern sport. He also links these developments to political and intellectual trends of the time like regenerationism. Finally, we look at the origins of a few of Spain’s most popular football clubs, and even hear about a couple of McFarland’s own favorites.

The Episode

The Guest

Andrew McFarland is Professor of History and Associate Dean for the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Indiana University Kokomo, and Faculty Directory of the systemwide, collaborative History degrees across the 7 campuses of Indiana University. He earned his Ph.D. in History from the University of Texas Austin. His current book, Regeneration through Sport: Football, Sport, and Cultural Modernization, 1890-1920 (Routledge Press, 2023), strives to explain why sport in general, and football in particular, entered the country and developed successfully, while placing that growth within the context of Spain’s larger historical experience. Beyond this, he has published over a dozen articles, on different aspects of Spanish sport including its early growth, role in local and regional identities, core institutions, and pelota.

Suggested Readings

• Bahamonde Magro, Ángel. El Real Madrid en la historia de España. Madrid: Taurus, 2002.
• Boyd, Carolyn P. Historia Patria: Politics, History, and National Identity in Spain, 1875-1975. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1997.
• Bunk, Brian D., “Sport in an Authoritarian Regime: The Primo de Rivera Era in Spain, 1923-30,” Bulletin for Spanish and Portuguese Historical Studies 42, no. 2 (2017): 84-102.
• Guttmann, Allen. From Ritual to Record: The Nature of Modern Sports. New York: Columbia University Press, 1978.
• Pujadas, Xavier, ed. Catalunya i l’olimpisme: Esport, identitat i Jocs Olímpics (1896-2006). Barcelona: Comitè Olímpic de Catalunya, 2006.
• Santacana, Carles ed. La Mancomunitat de Catalunya i la política esportiva. Barcelona: Consell Català de l’Esport, Textos de cultura i esport, 2004.
• Shubert, Adrian, Death and Money in the Afternoon: A History of the Spanish Bullfight. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.
• Simón Juan Antonio. Construyendo una pasión: El fútbol en España, 1900-1936. Logroño: UNIR Editorial, 2015.
• Stout, James. The Popular Front and the Barcelona 1936 Popular Olympics: Playing as if the World Was Watching. London: Palgrave McMillen, 2019.
• Torrebadella Flix, Xavier and Antoni Nomdedeu-Rull. “Foot-ball, futbol, balompié…Los inicios de la adaptación de volcabulario deportivo de origen anglesajón.” International Journal of Sports Science 9, no. 31 (January 2013): 5-22.