Financial Times columnist, and author of books including Chums, Good Chaps, Impossible City: Paris in the Twenty-First Century, Soccernomics and out in late 2025, World Cup Fever. British and now French too, lives in Paris with wife and kids.
Simon Kuper
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Cas, have to say very similar ahead of Qatar World Cup, especially in Germany
On Thursday, when the World Cup finally kicks off, I'm doing an Ask Me Anything for my paper, @financialtimes.com. This will be my 10th World Cup. The first, in 1990, I went to as a fan. All the others I covered for the FT. Join the 'AMA' here: www.ft.com/content/9dd3...
Who will win the World Cup? Nobody knows anything. Me starting my @financialtimes.com coverage by explaining why this tournament is much harder to predict than a league or, say, Wimbledon - and which historical patterns give us some sort of guide. My dark horse: Norway. as.ft.com/r/64f7aa71-0...
Simon Kuper
Simon Kuper
How Infantino and Trump fit into the history of the World Cup and FIFA, going right back to Jules Rimet and Mussolini. And why people should watch and love the tournament regardless. Me rolling out the history and politics just before setting off to my 10th World Cup @FT as.ft.com/r/f960df4e-e...
How Infantino and Trump fit into the history of the World Cup and FIFA, going right back to Jules Rimet and Mussolini. And why people should watch and love the tournament regardless. Me rolling out the history and politics just before setting off to my 10th World Cup @FT as.ft.com/r/f960df4e-e...
I've spent most of my life in Paris and London, began watching Arsenal 40 years ago, and PSG nearly 25. Before tomorrow's Champions League final, I recount how both cities climbed the football ladder, and what the game means in each place. Free new link: as.ft.com/r/adf86e6c-0...
'Will this really be the "Trump Cup" – or could it jump up and bite him? Is this tournament a shocking new departure, or does it fit neatly into the World Cup's political history?'
Don't miss this entertaining piece from #WorldCupFever author @simonkuper.bsky.social in the @financialtimes.com ⚽🏆
“World Cups don’t change the world,” according to journalist Simon Kuper, “but they do illuminate it.”
Enjoying this podcast that takes insights from the book "Soccernomics," updates them, & uses them to make sense of the 2026 World Cup. Host Ashish Malhotra guides the ship alongside @simonkuper.bsky.social & @sszy.bsky.social
⚽ The World Cup is more than a tournament - it’s a mirror to modern history. "World Cup Fever" author @simonkuper.bsky.social joins to discuss how soccer’s biggest stage has grown to intersect with politics, money & global power; 🎧 NOW wherever you pod, YouTube or https://tinyurl.com/yfna9jh6
Take part in a live Ask an Expert Q&A with the FT’s sports columnist on Thursday 11 June, at 1pm BST
www.ft.com
Simon Kuper
Profile Books
I have now been in three countries that will compete in next mo th’s World Cup — Austria, Czechia & Germany — and I have never seen so little attention being paid to a World Cup… no enthusiasm, little media attention, not even much advertising.
