Chris Lee

Welcome to my Amazon author page, and a huge welcome to any listeners of my Outside Write football history and culture podcast. I am the author of three football books:

- 'Origin Stories: The Pioneers Who Took Football to the World' (April 2021)

- 'The Defiant: A History of Football Against Fascism' (October 2022);

- 'Shades of Green: A Journey Into Irish Football' (March 2025 - it was talkSPORT's 'Book of the Month')

I started writing my football culture and history blog Outside Write in 2015 as an outlet to explore aspects of football that interested me most - travel, history and politics. All my books embrace these three interests.

Origin Stories: The Pioneers Who Took Football to the World tells the country-by-country story of the spread of Association football in rough chronological order. It focuses on the first clubs, tournaments, sponsors, and other pioneers that helped get the game started – from the very first kick right up the first FIFA World Cup in 1930.

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

My second book, 'The Defiant: A History of Football Against Fascism', taps into the confluence of football and politics. The Defiant charts a century of opposition by players, clubs, fans and authorities to fascism and the far right, from the days of Mussolini to the current day, with chapters in Italy, Spain and Portugal, Central and Western Europe, Eastern Europe and the Balkans, Latin America, and Britain.

I hope you find it informative and thought-provoking.

Shades of Green takes the reader on a tour of discovery around Irish football (soccer). I visit both the Irish League/NIFL (Northern Ireland) and the League of Ireland (Republic of Ireland) to experience the football culture and history as an outsider. The football culture on the island of Ireland is one of the oldest football cultures around. I cover my travels in the four provinces of Ireland, plus the history of the two national sides, the global impact of Irish export players and coaches, the women's game, and much more. I have had privileged access to some incredible interviewees.

And for more football history, you can also follow Outside Write on Instagram, Substack, and Bluesky.