The football World Cup is the biggest sporting competition on Earth – a chance every four years to win international glory, and a month-long media spectacle watched by billions.

But the tournament has changed beyond recognition since the inaugural event in 1930. Once a semi-professional meeting beset by haphazard play, it is now a game of multinational buyouts, dubious ethics and questionable aims –a reflection of the globalised world.

Simon Kuper has attended every World Cup since 1990. His journey to find the heart of football, through the nine tournaments he’s experienced first-hand, included watching matches in half-empty stands to witnessing the French triumph at home in 1998.
Told on the pitch and in the stands, in the pubs, front rooms and on the streets, this is the story of how football changed the world.