About
Football is not complicated. The trouble is that almost everyone who loves it learned it young, absorbed it sideways from a parent or a playground, and has no memory of ever being taught. That makes them hopeless at explaining it — so the people who arrive later get told to just watch and work it out, and most of them quietly give up.
Understanding Football is the explanation nobody bothered to write down.
Who these books are for
- People who arrived late. A World Cup, a streaming subscription, a friend who would not stop talking about it. You are not behind — you were simply not there when everyone else learned it.
- Partners and family. You would like to be in the conversation rather than beside it. That takes far less than you think.
- Parents on the touchline. Your child has joined a club and you would like to be genuinely useful, both on a Saturday morning and in the car home.
- People who already watch. You follow it but do not fully follow it. The tactics, the transfer window and the competition structures were never explained either.
How they are written
No jargon left undefined. No assumption that you already know. No pretending the women's game is a footnote. And no talking down to anybody — the reader is treated as intelligent and simply uninformed, which is the entire difference.
A way into reading
We believe learning through football can open doors far beyond it. We hope a love of football can be a way into books for readers of any age. We hope that, for some readers, a love of football becomes a way into reading: short chapters, plain English, and a subject they already care about.
Where the facts come from
Facts are checked against published sources, such as the competitions' own regulations, before they go into a book, and corrected when the game changes. In an educational series a single wrong statistic damages trust across every book, so we would rather check twice.
The series
Understanding Football is a planned six-book series written by Kelsey Douglas. Book 1 is the place to start.
- Football Fundamentals: Your Essential Guide to the Beautiful Game. Coming Sun 1 Nov 2026 as an ebook. What the game is, the rules that matter, where the eleven players stand, how leagues and cups fit together, and a glossary of key terms.
- English Football Unlocked. Planned. The Premier League and the pyramid beneath it.
- The Rise of Women's Football: From Banned to Unstoppable. Planned. From the FA's 1921 ban, lifted in 1971, to the global game today.
- European Football Explained. Planned. The Champions League, the big five leagues, and the tactics and economics behind them.
- International Football & The World Game. Planned. World Cups, confederations and the international calendar.
- Modern Football & The Future. Planned. VAR, analytics, ownership and money, and where the game is heading.
From Sun 1 Nov 2026, Book 1 is sold here as an ebook. Your download link is sent by email from BookFunnel after your order.