18th March, 7:30pm - Simon Kuper, World Cup Fever

Backstory, 71 Balham High Rd, SW12 9AP

Sports writer Simon Kuper will be joined by Head of Sport at The Times, James Restall, to talk about his new book delving into every World Cup tournament since 1990. 

About the book:

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.

Tickets Available:

Ticket only - £15 (This ticket does not include a copy of the book. You can decide to buy a copy on the night, but this will be charged in addition, at the full price of the book.)

Ticket & book  (RRP £20) - £28 (To collect on the night.)