Documentary looking at the manipulation of the world's favourite game by Mussolini, Hitler and
Franco.
The three most powerful fascist dictators of the 20th century were brilliant manipulators of the masses and seized upon football as a potent way to win the hearts and minds of their people. They hijacked international football events to demonstrate the superiority of their nations and their ideology and to symbolise their power on the world stage.
The film explores the way Mussolini took control of the 1934 World Cup, how the Nazis intimidated and even murdered footballers who refused to bend to their will and how Franco exploited the bitter regional divisions in Spain as it emerged from bloody civil war.
Contributors include Gary Lineker and the legendary Real Madrid star player Alfredo Di Stefano.
If this subject interests you, also consider watching: Communism and Football - Footballers from Russia, Hungary and East Germany recall how the
Beautiful Game was manipulated for political ends during the Cold War.
Communism and Football
Communism and Football, a new documentary on BBC Four, tells the fascinating story of how the Soviet authorities sought to exercise control over the national
sport and use it for their own ends.
Throughout the 20th Century, the football grounds of Eastern Europe became battlegrounds as ruthless politicians tried to use football to lend legitimacy
to communist rule.
In this film, footballers from Russia, Hungary and East Germany recall how the beautiful game was manipulated by ruthless communist leaders.
They reveal how the careers of several great footballers from behind the Iron Curtain were destroyed simply because they refused to co-operate with the Eastern Bloc's most brutal totalitarian regimes. "The Mozart of football" Austrian centre-forward Matthias Sindelar murdered by the Nazis
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