Product Details

Publishers Weekly

More Than Just a Game tells the little-known story of how soccer transformed the lives of political prisoners on Robben Island, an isolated hell-on-earth off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa that housed black inmates during the apartheid era. Beginning in 1964, prisoners subjected to routine beatings and starvation united in an extreme act of courage, demanding the right to play soccer during exercise periods. The prisoners were eventually allowed to form a multi-tiered, pro-level league that operated for more than two decades. Academic historian Korr and scriptwriter Close resurrect this overlooked history with a vivid narrative no doubt aided by the 2007 docudrama of the same name. Brutal depictions of prison life make for compelling, at times uncomfortable reading, and the challenges faced by the players’ association are presented in great detail, thanks to meticulous records kept by prisoners (Robben Island’s most famous inmate, Nelson Mandela, barely plays a role). Akin to a DVD’s bonus feature, a final chapter titled “The Story Behind More Than Just A Game” explains how Korr came upon what he rightly calls “the most important soccer story ever told.” Photos. (May)

Library Journal

As the world of soccer prepares to descend on South Africa [see "Sporty South Africa," LJ 3/1/10], Korr (history, emeritus, Univ. of Missouri, St. Louis) and British scriptwriter Close remind us of what the nation represented not so long ago. Set at the height of South Africa's apartheid system of legalized racism, this is the remarkable story of how soccer unified prisoners on Robben Island, a two-square-mile island just seven miles from Cape Town, which after 1960 was home to thousands of political and criminal prisoners, including, most famously, Nelson Mandela. In a truly inspiring story, the Robben Island prisoners struggled against all odds, and in spite of a prison administration more determined to humiliate and dehumanize than rehabilitate inmates, to organize an eight-club football (soccer) league that followed FIFA rules, with over 1000 prisoners playing. Through interviews and use of prisoners' own sources, the authors make a unique contribution to soccer and the history of a nation's abuse of an entire ethnic group. Korr was historical consultant and coproducer of a docudrama of the same title in 2007 (not yet seen in the States). VERDICT Highly recommended for all readers, whether they are soccer fans or not, and all public and academic libraries.—Boyd Childress, Auburn Univ. Lib., AL