Fascism and Football 1/5 Video

How has the Beautiful Game played into fascist ideology? BBC Four explores how the 20th century's three most prominent fascist dictators, Mussolini, Hitler and Franco, seized upon football's massive popular appeal and ruthlessly exploited it as a vehicle for propaganda.

We explore allegations that Mussolini fixed the 1934 World Cup final; how Hitler saw the 1936 Olympics and 1938 World Cup as the defining moments of the superiority of his fascist regime and how General Franco used Real Madrid to cement himself in power, inspire national pride and win popular consent for his autocratic rule.

The documentary uses rare archive footage, eminent historians and trenchant contributions and testimonies from world-class players, past and present.