Sport is an important part of the lives of rural Papua New Guineans, and a significant connection to global imaginaries for economically marginal villagers. Such grassroots sport, however, is rarely studied and has never previously been the subject of an ethnographic monograph. This book represents a pioneering study of the history and effects of grassroots sport in Papua New Guinea.

We Are Playing Football explores Panapompom people’s attempts to recreate the international game, and the social and subjective effects of this effort. From a raw ethnographic starting-point, the book...