Britons may not always be the best at playing sports. But, as David Horspool tells Spencer Mizen, when it comes to inventing, codifying and becoming utterly obsessed by them, they are bona fide world beaters. From the brutality of medieval jousts to the mega-bucks of the Premier League, David reveals how sport has embedded itself in the fabric of British life over the centuries.

(Ad) David Horspool is the author of // More Than a Game: A History of How Sport Made Britain // (John Murray Press, 2023). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/More-Than-Game-History-Britain/dp/1529363276/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty

The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
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