The Power and the Glory - by Jonathan Wilson (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A definitive new history of the world's most watched sporting event--just in time for the 2026 tournament​

"Wilson is the game's pre-eminent popular historian."--Observer (UK)

An Irish Times Best Sports Book of the Year

Since 1930, the World Cup has become a truly global obsession. It is the most watched sporting event on the planet, and 211 teams competed to make it into the 2022 tournament. From its inception, it has also been a vehicle for far more than soccer. A tool for self-mythologizing and influence-peddling, The World Cup has played a crucial role in nation-building, and continues to, as countries negotiate their positions in a globalized world.

The Power and the Glory is a comprehensive history of the matches and goals, the tales of scandal and triumph, the haggling and skulduggery of the bidding process, and the political and cultural tides behind every tournament. Jonathan Wilson details not merely what happened but why, based on fresh interviews and meticulous research. The book is as much about the legends of the sport, from Pelé to Messi, as it is about the nations that made them, from Mussolini's Italy to partitioned Germany to controversy-ridden Qatar.

Brimming with politics, heart, and drama, on and off the pitch, The Power and the Glory is the definitive story of the greatest cultural event of our time.

Review Quotes

"Jonathan Wilson's The Power and The Glory is a masterful chronicle of the World Cup that blends tactical insight, geopolitical context, and vivid storytelling....Wilson's scope is vast yet precise, weaving together human stories, historical detail, and on-the-ground reportage with remarkable fluency. The result is a rich, compelling tapestry of triumph and controversy, a rekindling of the excitement and anticipation that the World Cup continues to inspire."--Aspects of History

"[A] sumptuous history of the World Cup, as much a social and political phenomenon as a sporting one."--Irish Times (Best Sports Books of 2025)

​"Wilson is the game's pre-eminent popular historian."Observer (UK)

"A treasure trove of tales that explain why [the World Cup] becomes a global obsession every four years....As in his previous dozen books on the world game, Wilson's eye for detail shines through."--Irish Times

"Brilliant...exhaustively researched, full of fascinating tidbits and personal backstories that flesh out the main theme without neglecting the nuts and bolts of what happened on the field."--Irish Independent

​​"The first serious history of the tournament in English since Brian Glanville's Story of the World Cup, published in 1980. In the near half-century since then, the greater depth of global football scholarship, and easy access to old video, has allowed Wilson to offer an infinitely more detailed account and one considerably richer in political and cultural context than its predecessor.​​"--New Statesman (UK)

​"A magisterial 600-page history of the World Cup from its conception in the 1920s to the present, [The Power and the Glory] is perhaps the definitive account of the world's greatest sporting festival."--Literary Review (UK)

"So much of what we know of football's history we know thanks to Wilson, and he tells it so engagingly, with an eye for personality and story as well as the deeper structures. He sees the connections between football and everything else and is dazzlingly international. The game is lucky to have him."--Simon Kuper, co-author of Soccernomics

"There could be no better guide to the glory and the shame of the world's most popular sporting event than Jonathan Wilson, the world's most accomplished soccer writer."--Stefan Szymanski, co-author of Soccernomics

"The Power and the Glory: A fantastic ride through World Cup history. Legendary players, unforgettable matches, and the politics that surround the game on the global stage."--Bob Bradley, soccer manager

"A history of the World Cup that is also a four yearly temperature check on the history of the entire world. Epic in scope, awesomely rich in detail, and compulsively entertaining."--Tom Holland, co-host, The Rest Is History

"Meticulously researched and well-organised--an informative account of how the World Cup became the global event it is today."--Jamie Carragher, former player, Liverpool FC

About the Author

Jonathan Wilson is a columnist for The Guardian. He is the cohost of the football history podcast It Was What It Was and is one of the seven regular voices of the podcast Libero. He has written thirteen books, including Inverting the Pyramid, and is the founder and editor of The Blizzard. He lives in London.