'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.
