In 2005, FC United of Manchester was founded by disaffected fans of Manchester United. They created their own club, one that will forever be fan-owned, and began playing at the bottom of the English football pyramid, about as far from the bright lights of Old Trafford as one can go. From the beginning, FCUM fan Matthew Wilkinson has been traveling far and wide in support of the club and photographing much of their adventure as it has gone on.

This was how it began:

Graphic designer Brent Diskin had long liked soccer, but grew up in a household proud of its support of Oregon State's college football team, and that was his main sporting interest until very recently. So how did Diskin end up producing the posters above, upon the Portland Timbers' elevation to Major League Soccer in 2009?

The logo of Detroit City FC does not feature a cartoon soccer ball. In fact, it doesn't say or show soccer anywhere on it: instead, in grand but subdued tones of burgundy and gold, the badge is dominated by a classy representation of the statue below, the Spirit of Detroit in the city's downtown:

This is the identity that Detroit City FC have pinned themselves to.

The Pitch Invasion podcast, presented by Peter Wilt and Tom Dunmore, is now available on iTunes, so please take a second and leave a rating there if you enjoy the show!

If you haven't listened to it, the inaugural episode was released last week, and featured Wilt discussing how to start an MLS club with Montreal Impact Jesse Marsch, along with Dunmore interviewing former Supporters Direct chief executive Dave Boyle about UK and US fan culture.

Almost five years into the existence of Pitch Invasion, you can now hear the dulcet tones of Pitch Invasion editor Tom Dunmore and regular contributor Peter Wilt on a new monthly podcast, featuring interviews with interesting people from the world of soccer.

It's available to stream or download below, and will show up on iTunes shortly.

A significant portion of the proceeds ($10 per scarf) from all pre-orders this week of the new Pitch Invasion bar scarf will be donated to benefit the Operation Pitch Invasion charity in Portland, Oregon. Here's why...

When supporters of the Portland Timbers, organized by the 107ist Trust and Timbers Army, announced in 2011 that they were launching a new charity called Operation Pitch Invasion to support the growth of the game at the grassroots level in Portland, Pitch Invasion's interest was piqued by more than just the Doppelgänger.

Castles. Hedges the size of grandstands. Corner flags that have seen better days. New York Cosmos fans. Luxury suites the size of an outdoor toilet. And real, genuine, muddy football. Pitch Invasion tours a sampling of Non-League football in England throughout 2011, courtesy of the wonderful work and dedication to the lower levels of the English game by photographer Paul Paxford.

With the Pitch Invasion book release party tonight in Chicago, today seemed a propitious time to launch the new Pitch Invasion online store.

Through the weekend, you can take 20% off all the store items by entering the coupon code "PI" at checkout. The store features The Very Best of Pitch Invasion book, stylish PI stickers and buttons, and an all new Pitch Invasion scarf an embroidered bar scarf available in very limited quantities via pre-order until January 30th.

Google and Apple may not exactly be the first names that spring to mind when looking for alternatives to challenge Sky's dominance of sports broadcasting in Britain, but it should be no surprise that two of the giants of the tech and online world are eyeing up sport as a way to lure consumers into their new offerings.

When even the Revolution are teasing swatches and releasing well-received jersey designs, it's obvious that MLS kits are seeing good days. Sales are up, sponsors are taking real estate away from awkward team names, badges are common, third kits are garish and beautiful, and little embellishments are actually adding soul to a league identity once formed from scratch by an apparel company's marketing division.

A little over a decade ago, South Melbourne FC took part in the FIFA Club World Championship as champions of Oceania, trying their luck in a group containing England's Manchester United, Brazil's Vasco da Gama and Mexico's Nexaca. South Melbourne could then claim to be Australia's most successful club, winners of four National Soccer League titles.

Bill's Sports Maps returns to Pitch Invasion, with all the details you could possibly want on Argentina's Primera División for the 2012 Clausura. Bill was assisted by our old friend Sam Kelly of Hasta El Gol Siempre, so you know the details should be spot-on. Click on the map for the full-size version!

This is how tifo is made, in this case by ultras of Fenerbahçe in Turkey, honoring their Brazilian star and captain Alex.

What do we mean by "prehistoric"? We mean before FIFA adopted co-opted, some might say women's soccer a couple of decades ago, with its history seemingly dated to the 1990s. Though there has been some coverage of the pre-war era (especially the interesting focus put on Dick, Kerr Ladies), the period between the end of the Second World War and the fall of the Berlin Wall is patchily covered, at least to our knowledge (feel free to leave links to any good books, essays, papers etc in the comments).

Pitch Invasion Press is proud to add its second title to the Pitch Invasion ebookstore, An Illustrated Guide to Soccer & Spanish by Elliott Turner.

The execution of this marvelous concept to teach a little bit of Spanish through a little bit of soccer is as good as the idea, with a series of charming illustrations by Erik Ebeling making it a breezy, informative and enjoyable read.