Georgy Cherdantsev is a well-known football commentator and TV host, recipient of many professional awards. He became “infected” with football at the age of six, and over time he started working at matches of World Championships held across three different continents.
Football has been around for more than one and a half centuries, but when we watch games on TV or from the stands, we rarely think about the most basic details:
• why the goalposts are rectangular;
• why penalties are called “11 meters,” even though the actual distance to the goal line is less;
• why one half lasts 45 minutes instead of, say, 60;
• how and when football fans appeared;
• what kind of ancient “football” game was played in medieval Florence—and is played to this day—and much more.
All the answers are gathered in this “Alphabet”: each letter corresponds to a separate story about a phenomenon, object, or term related to football and its past. This isn’t a dry encyclopedia, but short, engaging stories with vivid and sometimes funny examples from real football life. Even experienced fans will find unexpected facts here—especially young supporters of the game.
The “Football Alphabet” is made interactive and is perfect for family reading: key episodes of history can be not only read, but also seen—just scan the QR codes.
This audiobook is addressed to children and adults, parents and grandparents, grandchildren. After it, you’ll be able to confidently say that you understand football from A to Z.