Jonathan Wilson: The Power and the Glory: A New History of the World Cup

Friday 22 May 7:30pm, QUAD DE1 3AS

This event will be filmed and made available as a digital recording after the Festival. Available for purchase here.

The football World Cup is the most watched sporting event on the planet. It has become a global obsession: 209 nations initially entered the 2022 edition. It has been running for almost a century. 

Yet there has never been a comprehensive history of the World Cup that has considered not only the matches and goals, the players and coaches, the tales of scandal and genius, the haggling and skulduggery of the bidding process, but has also placed the tournaments within a socio-political framework. 

Sports journalist Jonathan Wilson is best known for his writing for The Guardian. He last joined us in 2024 to talk about the Charlton Brothers.  

Jonathan will be in conversation with former BBC East Midlands correspondent, Simon Hare.

'A master at telling football's greatest ever stories... Breathtaking. Wilson's eye for detail and his elegant writing brings the World Cup to life like no other book on the topic I have ever read' ELIS JAMES

'Epic in scope, awesomely rich in detail, and compulsively entertaining' TOM HOLLAND

'So much of what we know of football's history we know thanks to Wilson' SIMON KUPER

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