World Cup Fever

A Soccer Journey in Nine Tournaments

Simon Kuper

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 world

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.

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Endorsements & Reviews

Praise for Simon Kuper’s Soccernomics:

"Fascinating.” - Vanity Fair

"Soccernomics is the most intelligent book ever written about soccer." San Francisco Chronicle

“Does for soccer what Moneyball did for baseball—put the game under an analytical microscope using statistics, economics, psychology, and intuition to try to transform a dogmatic sport.” The New York Times

“A wonderful book." Pro Soccer Talk (NBC Sports blog)

“A sharply written and provocative examination of the world's game seen through the prism of economics and statistical data. It demolishes almost everything that most soccer fans believe about the game and how professional soccer teams should operate.” The Globe and Mail

"We're reading this very interesting book about football, you know Soccernomics." - Lorrie Moore, author of A Gate at the Stairs

“Entertainingly demolish(es) soccer shibboleths. Well argued and clear-headed." Financial Times, Best Books of the Year

"Using data analysis, history and psychology, [Soccernomics] punctures dozens of clichés about what it takes to win, and who makes money in soccer—and in sports in general.” The Associated Press

"Since the publication of the first edition of Soccernomics there have been several attempts to copy its content. Yet few authors in the world of soccer writing can tell a human story like Simon Kuper. I highly recommend you pick it up for yourself, even if you have already read the first edition. You will not be disappointed.” Forbes

"Soccernomics remains essential reading for anyone seeking an analytical take on the game." Keeping Score (TIME Soccer Blog)

"With Soccernomics, the FT's indispensable Simon Kuper brings scrupulous economic analysis and statistical rigor to a sport long dependent on hoary—and, it seems, unfounded—assumptions. Gripping and essential." - Slate.com, Best Books of the Year

“A sporting tale in the Freakonomics mode of inquiry . . . with fascinating conclusions.” The Independent (London), Best Books of the Year