TRACING THE BEAUTIFUL GAME’S HISTORY
HT’s editors offer a book recommendation every Saturday, which provides history, context, and helps understand recent news events
The 2022 football World Cup opens on November 20 with a match between the host Qatar and Ecuador. The run-up to what is the world’s most prestigious tournament for national football teams has been marred by a raft of controversies, ranging from the treatment of migrant workers who built the stadia and the host nation’s policies on women and LGBTQ+ people and a push for a ban on alcoholic beverages in the stadium.
This week, we recommend The Story of the
World Cup by Brian Glanville, considered the most authoritative account of the tournament that began in Uruguay in 1930. The classic account follows legendary players and matches that have enlivened the tournament and lit up “the beautiful game” and some of the controversies and underhanded practices that have threatened to stain its reputation.