Description: A New Yorker Best Book of 2026
"Highly engaging. Kuper is one of the best sportswriters in the English language today."--The New Yorker The story of how soccer has transformed the world--as seen through nine World Cups--by one of our most talented writers on the sport. The World Cup is the biggest sporting spectacle on Earth--a chance every four years for the greatest players to win international glory, and a month-long media event that's watched by an audience of billions. But the tournament has changed beyond recognition since the inaugural event in Montevideo, Uruguay, in July 1930. What was once a semi-professional meeting beset by haphazard play has evolved to become a game of multinational buyouts, dubious ethics, and questionable aims--and the new era of soccer has much to tell us about the globalized world. Simon Kuper is among the vanishingly small number of writers who have attended every World Cup since 1990. World Cup Fever is his journey to find the heart of soccer, through the nine tournaments he's experienced first-hand--from watching matches in half-empty stands during Italia 1990 (a tournament that at times felt like a village fete) to witnessing the French triumph at home in 1998; South Africa's national dream in 2010; and the troubling legacy of Qatar in 2022. Told on the pitch, in the stands, in the pubs, and on the streets, this is the story of how soccer has changed the worldBrief description: Simon Kuper is the author of The New York Times bestseller Soccernomics. He was born in Uganda to South African parents and moved to the Netherlands as a child. He studied history and German at Oxford University and attended Harvard University as a Kennedy Scholar. He is a journalist for the Financial Times and has written for The Observer, The Times (London), and The Guardian, and he also writes regularly for Dutch newspapers. Simon lives in Paris with his family.
Review Quotes: "Highly engaging. Kuper, as a man who has lived in many different countries, writes well about the cultures and foibles of soccer teams and their fans. A journalist for the Financial Times, he is one of the best sportswriters in the English language today. But he does more than analyze the skills of different squads and players (though he does this superbly); he uses his expertise to explain cultural differences, too."--The New Yorker