ABSTRACT
Association football is a game that is won or lost on whether a ball crosses a line and not how it happens: a goal from a defensive ricochet and mistake is worth the same as a skillfully executed half-volley in to the top corner. On this basis, the moniker ‘the beautiful game’ could be far from accurate, since every instance of the game could be far from beautiful. This chapter investigates the nature of beauty in sport and its relationship to the game of football, and asks what criteria should be used to judge sport’s aesthetic value. In doing so, it recognizes the relationship between skill and beauty in sport, as well the way in which drama and narrative in sport add to the value we place upon it as part of a meaningful life.
