Tobias Jones shortlisted for The Telegraph Sports Book Awards 2020

ULTRA by Tobias Jones, published on 19th September 2019 by Head of Zeus, was shorlisted in the category ‘Football Book of the Year 2020’.

The Sports Book Awards, now in its 18th year, is the major annual promotion for sports writing and publishing. The awards exist to highlight the most outstanding sports books of the previous calendar year, to showcase their merits and to enhance their reputation and profile.

In ULTRA, Jones crafts a compelling investigation into Italian society and its favourite sport. He writes about not just the ultras of some of Italy’s biggest clubs – Juventus, Torino, Lazio, Roma and Genoa – but also about its lesser-known ones from Cosenza and Catania. He examines the sinister side of football fandom, with its violence and political extremism, but also admires the passion, wit, solidarity and style of a fascinating and contradictory subculture.

‘Colourful first-hand accounts … Jones is too smart a writer … ULTRA does speak direly to wider issues’ – Financial Times

‘A serious, detailed and entertaining exploration of a fascinating subject … While Jones’s analysis of the rise of the ultras is interesting, it is the anecdotes that truly hook the reader’ – Catholic Herald