{"product_id":"world-cup-fever-a-footballing-journey-in-nine-tournaments-9781805224129","title":"World Cup Fever: A Footballing Journey in Nine Tournaments","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe story of how football transformed the world, told through nine World Cups - by one of our most talented football writers\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eA Sports Book of the Year in the Irish Times, the FT and the Mail on Sunday \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Kuper is one of the best sportswriters in the English language today' New Yorker \u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe ultimate book for anyone who loves football, and plenty who don't ... Unmissable -- 'Sports Books of the Year' ― Mail on Sunday\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt's the biggest competition on Earth.  \u003cbr\u003eA four-yearly chance for the world's greatest footballers to realise their ultimate dream.  \u003cbr\u003eA month-long media spectacle that's watched by billions.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe 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.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSimon Kuper, bestselling author of Barça, reflects on every tournament since Italia 90 to reveal a captivating portrait of sport in a globalised world.  \u003cbr\u003eEntertaining 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.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eKuper is an excellent guide... his book is filled with memorable vignettes ― Spectator\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A brilliant evocation of the joy of the football carnival and the absurdities of the global spectacle... an essential companion' David Goldblatt \u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCharming and amusing ― Literary Review\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eKuper keeps the pages turning ... shines a light on the geopolitical happenings around each tournament ― Irish Times\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn essential warm-up for making sense of the extraordinary World Cup to come ... [Kuper] is a wry and sharp-eyed guide to the high-camp theatre of Fifa politics and the everyday carnival of fans on city streets ― New Statesman\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ch4\u003eDetails\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cp\u003eISBN13: 9781805224129\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFormat: Paperback \/ softback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNumber of Pages: 352\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEdition: Main\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication Date: 01 Sep 2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublisher: Profile Books Ltd\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication City, Country: London, United Kingdom\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDimensions (cm): 19.6(H)x12.8(L)x2.4(W)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWeight (gm): \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch4\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h4\u003eSimon Kuper is an author and \u003ci\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/i\u003e journalist, born in Uganda and raised around the world. An Oxford graduate, he later attended Harvard as a Kennedy Scholar. He has written for the\u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eObserver\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Times\u003c\/i\u003e and is also the author of \u003ci\u003eChums\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Happy Traitor, Football Against the Enemy\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eBarça\u003c\/i\u003e. He lives in Paris with his family.\u003ch4\u003eReviews\u003c\/h4\u003eThe ultimate book for anyone who loves football, and plenty who don't ... Unmissable -- 'Sports Books of the Year' * Mail on Sunday *\u003cbr\u003eDelightful * Economist *\u003cbr\u003eKuper is one of the best sportswriters in the English language today * New Yorker *\u003cbr\u003eKuper is an excellent guide... his book is filled with memorable vignettes * Spectator *\u003cbr\u003eCharming and amusing * Literary Review *\u003cbr\u003eKuper keeps the pages turning ... shines a light on the geopolitical happenings around each tournament * Irish Times *\u003cbr\u003eAn essential warm-up for making sense of the extraordinary World Cup to come ... [Kuper] is a wry and sharp-eyed guide to the high-camp theatre of Fifa politics and the everyday carnival of fans on city streets * New Statesman *\u003cbr\u003e[Kuper] is one of the great soccer authors of the past few decades -- Malachy Clerkin * Irish Times *\u003cbr\u003eI love this book. An extraordinary work of nonfiction; it's personal, global - a remarkable book -- John Green * The Away End Podcast *\u003cbr\u003eA zippy history of football's biggest tournament * YOU Magazine *\u003cbr\u003eA delightful memoir, travelogue, and journal, Simon Kuper's World Cup Fever is a wry and sharp-eyed account of the world's now biggest public ritual. A brilliant evocation of the joy of the football carnival and the absurdities of the global spectacle, it remains alert to the game's ever closer pact with money and power. It is an essential companion to the tournament, for it allows us to look at the sun and not be blinded -- David Goldblatt, author * The Ball is Round *\u003cbr\u003eA series of wise, wry and revealing reflections on football's greatest tournament and what it tells us about the world. Football Against the Enemy was one the three books that effectively invented modern football writing, and Kuper continues to lead the genre. -- Jonathan Wilson, author * Inverting the Pyramid *\u003cbr\u003ePraise for Barça: A masterfully written history of the world's greatest football club -- Gary Lineker\u003cbr\u003eAn instant classic -- Bill Buford\u003cbr\u003eSimply unmissable -- Amy Raphael\u003cbr\u003eA masterclass on football -- John Carlin\u003cbr\u003ePraise for Soccernomics: Magnificent * Guardian *\u003cbr\u003eAn Arsène Wenger of a book - more thoughtful than most of its rivals and, by football standards, positively intellectual. * The Times *","brand":"Simon Kuper","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49241064407257,"sku":"9781805224129","price":27.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/www.arielbooks.com.au\/products\/world-cup-fever-a-footballing-journey-in-nine-tournaments-9781805224129","provider":"Ariel","version":"1.0","type":"link"}