World Cup
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Qatargate and the dubious moral authority of NGOs
The Qatargate scandal haunting the European Union is not merely about corrupt politicians and officials. The deplorable role of a non-governmental organisation is at the heart…
Two football books examine where money is taking the modern game
‘Football holds a mirror to ourselves,’ Michael Calvin asserts in State of Play. Modern football is angrier, more brutal, more…
The view from Paris: ‘Why are Brexiteers so stupid?’
‘Problème est masculin; solution est féminine,’ says Brigitte, the adored French teacher at the British embassy in Paris. Good way…
Real football fans don’t care about race
It’s middle-class commentators – not supporters – who seem obsessed with the number of black players There were altogether too many darkies in England’s World Cup…
This is what happens when you put Brexit in the hands of unbelievers
Well, we did it. No, not Brexit, the World Cup or my (somewhat less) ambitious scheme at Legal & General…
The World Cup has made us proud to be English
Buying fish at Cambridge market on Sunday, I found myself chatting to the fishmonger about the prospects for England in…
Video games like Fortnite are fun — so they must be bad
It was only a matter of time. The headteacher of a primary school in Ilfracombe in Devon has banned ‘Flossing’,…
The true winner of this World Cup? Russia
Like most people with any taste, I like the odd vodka, I love Crime and Punishment, I enjoy Turgenev and…
The great thing about the World Cup is you don’t even have to watch it to enjoy it
Even though I don’t watch much football I love the World Cup because it’s my passport to total freedom. I…
What happened to the teams who scored more than six goals in a World Cup?
Nursing numbers Was there ever a time when the NHS wasn’t in crisis? According to a report by NHS Health…
Fifa may be corrupt but it has done wonders for football
In 1930, Jules Rimet, the creator of the Football World Cup, crossed the Atlantic in a steamship to attend the…
As our World Cup hopes grow, let’s not fret about the brilliant Belgians
Here’s a question: name some famous Belgians. Well there’s Kevin De Bruyne, Vincent Kompany, and Eden Hazard. And if that’s…
Why the England team is so unexciting
During a riveting session at the Cheltenham Literary Festival with sporting brainboxes Mike Brearley and Matthew Syed, discussion touched on…
It’s not just the Russians – there is no morality in top-level sport
Why do transgendered people need separate toilets? I thought, according to the prevalent orthodoxy, that the new gender they had…
What is to be done about a world where everything is for sale?
Next time you read about an auctioneer’s gavel coming down on a $150 million painting bought by some flunkey representing…
Dan Snow's diary: Making World Cup history
Could there be a more timely advert for the Better Together campaign than on the field of sport? What the…
Now even Fifa’s dinosaurs have learned to cry racism
Are all white women really prostitutes who should be avoided, as some children at those schools in Birmingham were apparently…
Did anyone really think that Qatar won the World Cup fairly?
I suppose the appalling shock to the soul that was occasioned by the allegation that Qatar bribed its way to…
Estate agents just don't get it - I want a house, not a building site
‘What is this, please?’ I said to the estate agent, as he showed me into the building site he was…
I used to think I was a Nietzschean superman. Now I know I'm just a dad
In The Wolf of Wall Street, there’s a poignant shot towards the end in which we see an FBI agent…
