Football is not only played, but also bought, sold, and consumed. Indeed, without private ownership and large-scale sponsoring, the landscape of football as we know it today would be inconceivable. As part of an ever-expanding global entertainment industry, its production of surplus value relies on the logics and logistics of extraction, dispossession, and abjection. However, there are other stories, other dreams to be told: from fan-owned clubs to the Ultra scenes, throughout its history football has been entangled with emancipatory political movements that aim to resist and dismantle the protocols of capitalist and colonial regimes of subjection. This conversation brings together stories and practices of protest, among them the Arab Spring uprising, the Green Revolution in Iran, and the protests against Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s regime in Türkiye. At a time when neoliberalism transforms every affect into profit and most criticism of football centres reformist demands for improved governance, football still holds the promise for radically reimagining the sociopolitical sphere. How can these histories of political struggle be read against the backdrop of football’s increasing commercialization?