This paper falls into\u00a0three parts. The first involves a general conceptual-theoretical discussion of globalisation and some examples from the realm of global sport; the second involves a discussion of the development and global spread of \u2018soccer\u2019; and the third involves a discussion of some sporting and\/or sport-associated pathologies. Throughout, the discussion uses the figurational\/process-sociological approach developed by Norbert Elias. Expressed simply, the essay is fundamentally an exercise in process- and relational sociology. \u2018Soccer\u2019 \u2013 \u2018Association Football\u2019 to give the game its proper name \u2013 has become the world\u2019s most popular team-sport. It emerged in the middle and latter parts of the 19th century in Britain and Ireland and spread from thence\u00a0rapidly throughout the world. The paper analyses this process and finishes with a discussion of: the anomie experienced by many top-level sportspersons; the sports-related sex scandals reported mainly in the tabloid press; and finally, the continuing world-wide scourge of \u2018soccer hooliganism\u2019.<\/p>\n\n