Collection: Blog

Our farewell and tribute to goalkeeper Ron Lord who died aged 94 on 8th April 2024, and who played 13 internationals between 1951 and 1964.

Earlier this month on International Women's Day we released three books which further demonstrate our commitment to women: women in sport, women in football, women in business and, of course, women in literature and publishing.

George Best Down Under delves into the four tours to Australia by the iconic George Best, one of world football’s greatest legends, chronicling Best’s trips to Australia starting with the tour by Manchester United in 1967, one year before United won the European Cup and Best the Ballon d’Or.

Turning the Tide by Michelle Ford Eriksson with Craig Lord is an incredible story of Olympic boycotts, death threats, the world's biggest state-sanctioned doping system, and misogyny.

Featuring more than 80 authors, writers and session hosts across more than 40 conversations, the festival is an opportunity for readers and thinkers to attend a literary festival that is intimate, accessible, and gives a platform to local and emerging authors, as well as high profile and established literary names.

This is what we did this year.

We're delighted to announce that the up-to-date Encyclopedia of Matildas Beyond the World Cup 2023 has arrived on to our shelves, and on to those of really good bookstores around the country, just in time for Christmas. 

Forget Sgt Pepper! 50 years ago today the indomitable Rale Rasic guided a bunch of part-timers to the 1974 World Cup in West Germany when Jimmy Mackay scored the goal, against South Korea in Hong Kong, that was enough to get Australia to its first World Cup finals. 

Join us for the launch of Noddy: The Untold Story of Adrian Alston by Philip Micallef on Thursday 9th November 2023 at Gleebooks.

For the first time in the history of the A-League Mens, a new book takes a look inside a championship winning season. The Vibe Manager – Inside the Central Coast Mariners 2023 A-League Championship, by former Socceroo Andy Bernal, is part-memoir, part insider account of the Central Coast Mariners run to, and ultimate success, in the A-League Men’s grand final earlier this year.

Beyond the beach and the ferry, a literary festival for Manly. Introducing the Manly Writers' Festival, 15-16 March 2024.

Fair Play Publishing is proud to be one of many Australian publishers to support The Voice to Parliament and a YES vote at the referendum on Saturday 14th October.

Now that the World Cup is over (and what a five weeks that was!), we  turn to the Socceroos and a wonderful two-volume set from Emeritus Professor John Maynard outlining the Socceroos World Cup Odyssey from 1965 to 2002 (Volume 1) and 2006 to 2022 (Volume 2). 

While everyone loves their national team, and we revel in the Matildas as they make their way through the World Cup, most of us usually start our passion for football with a club. Our latest book Football fans in their own write explores the concept of fandom. 

The Australian women's football team, who are ranked #10 in the world heading into the tournament, kick-off their campaign to win the 2023 World Cup by taking on the much-less fancied Republic of Ireland (#22).

What more can we say to convince you that the 2023 Football Writers' Festival has the best line-up of writing talent you'd ever hope to see, hear from, or meet in once place?

"I am woman, Hear me roar" is the inspiration for Hear Us Roar - an anthology of emerging women football writers which comprises 17 stories from women in 11 countries with contributions that relate to player interviews, the business of football, women’s football development, fiction, and personal stories.

Green and Golden Boots - Australia's overseas golden boot winners profiles the eleven men and one woman (Sam, of course) who have topped leagues as Golden Boot winners in overseas competitions. 

The Encyclopedia of Matildas - World Cup Edition is the only A-Z guide in the world of a national women's football team.

Our latest release is Sally Freedman’s "Get Your Tits Out for the Lads" which takes readers on an extraordinary journey through the masculine and enigmatic world of football.

EOFY savings with 40% off selected titles from now until 23rd June (or while stocks last).

Sometimes you can judge a book by its cover.

That's certainly the case with our two latest releases: Lucy Zeezou's Goal and Lucy Zeezou's Glamour Game by Liz Deep-Jones.

It's 5 years today since we published our first book, the First Edition Encyclopedia of Socceroos by Andrew Howe. In those five years, we have published 40 books, and given new and previously published authors a voice.

Let's talk about facts. It's for the curious, the truth-seekers, the fact-finders and knowledge-hunters. From award-winning international journalists to biographers, football historians to stats nerds—enjoy learning from, and debating with, the best in the business. #FWF23, July 15-17.