Scholars’ Circle – Author Interview on “Cold War Football: A History in Ten Matches” and 1973 Coup D’État in Chile – July 26, 2026
About this episode
The episode features an interview discussing the role of soccer in Cold War politics and revisits the 1973 coup in Chile.
The 2026 World Cup has finished and the final two teams, Spain and Argentina, have stirred up old notions of what we call soft power. Sports play a large role in how countries display their soft power, but it can often be confused for cooperation. Indeed all power is contested and soft power is no exception, and the contest is clear when two national teams meet in a sports contest. Examples of soft power interactions in sports include the US beating the USSR in hockey in the 1980 Winter Games or the Soviets defeating the US in basketball at the 1972 Olympics during the height of the Cold War. No sport, however, garners more international interest than soccer (or what the rest of the world calls football). Our guests have written a new book that defines the Cold War rivalry through the lens of ten historic soccer matches. The book is called Cold War Football: A history in Ten matches . [ dur: 33mins. ] Tony Shaw is Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Hertfordshire. He is the co-author of The American and Soviet Struggle for Hearts and Minds and Hollywood and Israel: a History . Alan McDougall is Professor of History at the University of Guelph. He is the author…
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