World Cup Fever

A Sports Book of the Year in the Irish Times, the FT and the Mail on Sunday 'Kuper is one of the best sportswriters in the English language today' New Yorker 'Unmissable ... The ultimate book for anyone who loves football' Mail on Sunday 'A brilliant evocation of the joy of the football carnival and the absurdities of the global spectacle... an essential companion' David Goldblatt It's the biggest competition on Earth. A four-yearly chance for the world's greatest footballers to realise their ultimate dream. A month-long media spectacle that's watched by billions. The World Cup has changed beyond recognition since the early days, when the players were semi-pros and the trophy went missing. Today, it's a corporate-led bonanza of dark money and dubious ethics. Simon Kuper, bestselling author of Barça, reflects on every tournament since Italia 90 to reveal a captivating portrait of sport in a globalised world. Entertaining and compelling, World Cup Fever is the definitive story of football's greatest drama, and of how the tournament can touch - and even change - our lives.

A Sports Book of the Year in the Irish Times, the FT and the Mail on Sunday 'Kuper is one of the best sportswriters in the English language today' New Yorker 'Unmissable ... The ultimate book for anyone who loves football' Mail on Sunday 'A brilliant evocation of the joy of the football carnival and the absurdities of the global spectacle... an essential companion' David Goldblatt It's the biggest competition on Earth. A four-yearly chance for the world's greatest footballers to realise their ultimate dream. A month-long media spectacle that's watched by billions. The World Cup has changed beyond recognition since the early days, when the players were semi-pros and the trophy went missing. Today, it's a corporate-led bonanza of dark money and dubious ethics. Simon Kuper, bestselling author of Barça, reflects on every tournament since Italia 90 to reveal a captivating portrait of sport in a globalised world. Entertaining and compelling, World Cup Fever is the definitive story of football's greatest drama, and of how the tournament can touch - and even change - our lives.

A Sports Book of the Year in the Irish Times, the FT and the Mail on Sunday 'The ultimate book for anyone who loves football, and plenty who don't ... Unmissable' Mail on Sunday 'Kuper is a wry and sharp-eyed guide' New Statesman 'A brilliant evocation of the joy of the football carnival and the absurdities of the global spectacle... an essential companion' David Goldblatt It's the biggest sporting competition on Earth. A four-yearly chance for our greatest footballers to realise their ultimate dream. A month-long spectacle that's watched by billions. But the inaugural World Cup, held in Uruguay in 1930, was semi-professional, poorly attended and haphazardly organised - so how did it become a bonanza of multinational sponsorship, dubious ethics and shadowy characters, and the ultimate stage for football's greatest drama? Simon Kuper is one of very few people to have attended every World Cup since 1990. In World Cup Fever he looks back at each tournament he's experienced - from half-empty stands at Italia 90 to the French triumph as hosts in 1998, South Africa's national dream in 2010 and the troubling legacy of 2022 - to reveal a captivating portrait of sport in a globalised world. World Cup Fever is the story of how the tournament touches and sometimes even changes our lives, by one of the best writers on the beautiful game.

A Sports Book of the Year in the Irish Times, the FT and the Mail on Sunday 'The ultimate book for anyone who loves football, and plenty who don't ... Unmissable' Mail on Sunday 'Kuper is a wry and sharp-eyed guide' New Statesman 'A brilliant evocation of the joy of the football carnival and the absurdities of the global spectacle... an essential companion' David Goldblatt It's the biggest sporting competition on Earth. A four-yearly chance for our greatest footballers to realise their ultimate dream. A month-long spectacle that's watched by billions. But the inaugural World Cup, held in Uruguay in 1930, was semi-professional, poorly attended and haphazardly organised - so how did it become a bonanza of multinational sponsorship, dubious ethics and shadowy characters, and the ultimate stage for football's greatest drama? Simon Kuper is one of very few people to have attended every World Cup since 1990. In World Cup Fever he looks back at each tournament he's experienced - from half-empty stands at Italia 90 to the French triumph as hosts in 1998, South Africa's national dream in 2010 and the troubling legacy of 2022 - to reveal a captivating portrait of sport in a globalised world. World Cup Fever is the story of how the tournament touches and sometimes even changes our lives, by one of the best writers on the beautiful game.

A Sports Book of the Year in the Irish Times, the FT and the Mail on Sunday 'The ultimate book for anyone who loves football, and plenty who don't ... Unmissable' Mail on Sunday 'Kuper is a wry and sharp-eyed guide' New Statesman 'A brilliant evocation of the joy of the football carnival and the absurdities of the global spectacle... an essential companion' David Goldblatt It's the biggest sporting competition on Earth. A four-yearly chance for our greatest footballers to realise their ultimate dream. A month-long spectacle that's watched by billions. But the inaugural World Cup, held in Uruguay in 1930, was semi-professional, poorly attended and haphazardly organised - so how did it become a bonanza of multinational sponsorship, dubious ethics and shadowy characters, and the ultimate stage for football's greatest drama? Simon Kuper is one of very few people to have attended every World Cup since 1990. In World Cup Fever he looks back at each tournament he's experienced - from half-empty stands at Italia 90 to the French triumph as hosts in 1998, South Africa's national dream in 2010 and the troubling legacy of 2022 - to reveal a captivating portrait of sport in a globalised world. World Cup Fever is the story of how the tournament touches and sometimes even changes our lives, by one of the best writers on the beautiful game.

A Sports Book of the Year in the Irish Times, the FT and the Mail on Sunday 'The ultimate book for anyone who loves football, and plenty who don't ... Unmissable' Mail on Sunday 'Kuper is a wry and sharp-eyed guide' New Statesman 'A brilliant evocation of the joy of the football carnival and the absurdities of the global spectacle... an essential companion' David Goldblatt It's the biggest sporting competition on Earth. A four-yearly chance for our greatest footballers to realise their ultimate dream. A month-long spectacle that's watched by billions. But the inaugural World Cup, held in Uruguay in 1930, was semi-professional, poorly attended and haphazardly organised - so how did it become a bonanza of multinational sponsorship, dubious ethics and shadowy characters, and the ultimate stage for football's greatest drama? Simon Kuper is one of very few people to have attended every World Cup since 1990. In World Cup Fever he looks back at each tournament he's experienced - from half-empty stands at Italia 90 to the French triumph as hosts in 1998, South Africa's national dream in 2010 and the troubling legacy of 2022 - to reveal a captivating portrait of sport in a globalised world. World Cup Fever is the story of how the tournament touches and sometimes even changes our lives, by one of the best writers on the beautiful game.