Cultured Football #236
Hidden Business. Dreaming of LaLiga. Underrated Gems. Berlin Derby Day. Mata Not Quitting.
The Hidden Business Behind Every Football Shirt
By Boardroom Ball & James Callan for Inside the Boardroom
Once, a football shirt stood for belonging. Now, it’s a billboard. What began as a symbol of loyalty has become one of football’s biggest money spinners, worth hundreds of millions each year and changing as fast as the markets behind it. Somewhere between identity and inventory lies the modern shirt with all the contradictions stitched into it.
Bonus Read: Iconic Football Shirt Sponsors: A Historical Review
A fun look at some iconic football shirt sponsors. And what the future might hold.
Burgos: Dreaming of LaLiga
By Jordan Thomas for La Liga and Beyond
Some clubs rise with noise, others with quiet persistence. Burgos CF have rebuilt themselves from the ashes of bankruptcy into one of Spain’s most resilient sides, blending pragmatism and ambition under the watch of Michu and Luis Miguel Ramis. With El Plantío a fortress, a loyal core of players, and a belief that steady progress can outlast quick fixes, the dream of LaLiga no longer feels far-fetched.
Underrated gems you should get to know from Ligue 1
By Mohamed Mohamed for The Transfer Flow
There are few leagues that are capable of constantly pushing through new talent to replace that poached by clubs from richer leagues like Ligue 1. And this makes trying to keep up with the latest batch of talent all the more interesting.
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Berlin: A derby day without a derby
By Kit Holden for Played in Germany
A quirk in the fixture list saw Hertha and Union both host home games on the same afternoon, sending 100,000 fans across the city and reigniting old tensions in unexpected ways. The capital’s tangled web of rivalries -Hertha versus Union, Union versus Dynamo Dresden, the ghosts of BFC Dynamo - revealed itself in full in a city that still hopes for a normal derby day.
Bonus Read: “You have an entire spectrum of football fans represented”
[Alex Waite x Gameday Stories]
There’s a quiet joy in discovering a game nearby and just going; no big screens, no VIP lounges, just the smell of the grass and a few dozen voices in the stands. That’s the spirit behind the Futbology app.
From Man Utd to Japan and Australia: Why Mata can’t quit soccer
By Joey Lynch for ESPN
I had no idea that Juan Mata was still playing. But I’m all for it.
Bonus Read: The footballer who conquered the English pyramid
[Артур Вакуленчик x Logos Press]
Fifty years old and still scoring: Jamie Cureton has done what no one else ever has.
Cultured Football cuts through transfer gossip and noise to share football writing worth your time. Each week, we pick five stories that inform, surprise, and remind you why the game matters.
In Case You Missed It Here’s Last Week’s Most Read: The Prehistory of Football
By Andrew Newton for Football Heritage
Names carry history, not just habit. From medieval street scrums to Victorian schoolyard codes, football splintered into kin: association, rugby, Gaelic, Australian rules, American and Canadian. The term traveled long before rulebooks, shaped by slang like rugger and soccer. Think you know why it is called football? Think again.
I had the same reaction to finding out that Mata was still playing… and in my city.
Thanks a lot for including another one of my pieces, Paul. I really appreciate it. It’s a privilege to have both my personal Substack and a Boardroom Ball piece featured on Cultured Football this month. I always enjoy seeing the range of work and writers you bring together in each edition. It has become essential weekend reading.