What was football like during WW2?

Name: What was football like during WW2?
Uploaded: 2025-11-24T07:00:27.000Z
Duration: 5 min 9 s

Nov 24, 20255:0968.1K views

Try The Athletic for FREE for 30 days: theathletic.com/tifofootball
📗 Tifo's new book, "How to Watch Football" is now available internationally: linktr.ee/tifobook

In World War II, most of daily life suddenly came to a halt. You would be forgiven for thinking that football did too.

However, remarkably, as the fighting raged, football mostly found a way to continue.

This is the story of how the war effort needed football, and how the future president of FIFA protected the World Cup from the Nazis.

This is the eighth in a series, written by Jonathan Wilson, exploring the entire history of football.

Illustrated by Philippe Fenner.

Watch more Tifo:
Tifo Football Podcast: youtube.com/@tifo-podcast
Tifo Sports by The Athletic: youtube.com/@TifoSports

About Tifo Football by The Athletic:
Tifo loves football. We create In-depth tactical, historical and geopolitical breakdowns of the beautiful game.

We know there’s an appetite for thoughtful, intelligent content. For stuff that makes the complicated simple.

We provide analysis on the Premier League, Champions League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, World Cup and more.

Our podcasts interview some of the game’s leading figures. And our editorial covers football with depth and insight.

Founded in 2017 and became a part of The Athletic in 2020. For business inquiries, reach out to tifo@theathletic.com.

Additional footage sourced from freestockfootagearchive.com
Music provided by APM Music