An England World Cup isn’t just football – it is money, politics and a nation’s bad habits June 18, 2026 England are being asked to win the World Cup, yes, but the absurdity is that they are required to do so much more in the process, both commercially and politically, writes Ed Warner. And so they’ve begun. Our boys, Tom’s 26. Their world is in motion, three lions on their shirts, out to erase 60 [...]
Politics and football have more in common than you think June 18, 2026 If politics is showbiz for ugly people, it might also be seen as sport for the unathletic. It often carries the same partisanship, the obsession with obscure statistics, and the familiar pattern of renewed hope, only to be dampened by reality, says John Oxley By the time you read things, two things will have happened [...]
England, Kansas City and Taylor Swift: Why FA chose midwest as World Cup base June 17, 2026 England have picked Kansas City as their home from home at the 2026 World Cup, along with three other teams, despite not having any games there. So why has the Taylor Swift-linked midwest become “base camp capital”? Kansas City’s recent contribution to sports discourse has been dominated by the Chiefs’ three Super Bowl wins in [...]
England’s secret weapon against World Cup heat? British company’s £26 product June 17, 2026 England have turned to a British hot water bottle maker for help coping with the extreme World Cup heat ahead of their tournament opener against Croatia in Dallas tonight. High temperatures are expected to be a defining feature of this tournament – with dangerous conditions possible in 14 of the 16 host cities – and, [...]
2026 World Cup: England only attract half as many bets as Norway to lift trophy June 16, 2026 Tournament outsiders Norway have attracted twice as many bets on them to win the 2026 World Cup as England, surprising new data has revealed. Ahead of England’s first match of the tournament, against Croatia tonight in Dallas, Thomas Tuchel’s team have attracted five per cent of all betting tickets handled by Sportradar on behalf of [...]
2026 World Cup: How England went from misery to magnet for blue chip brands June 16, 2026 As they begin their 2026 World Cup campaign, the England brand is unrecognisable from 10 years ago – and it is paying off in growing revenues for the FA. This month marks a decade since one of the darkest days in the Football Association’s history, when England’s men were humbled by Iceland – a nation [...]
England named most valuable squad at 2026 World Cup, ahead of France and Spain June 10, 2026 No pressure, lads – England have been named the most valuable squad of players at the 2026 World Cup, according to leading football academics. Thomas Tuchel’s 26-man group, featuring stars such as Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, is valued at €1.454bn (£1.254bn) by the CIES Football Observatory, an independent research centre used by Fifa and [...]
Everton chief calls for full review of England academy talent funding June 10, 2026 Everton technical director Nick Cox, one of the most respected figures in the academy world, has questioned the Premier League’s model for investing in youth development. Cox, who worked at Manchester United’s academy for nine years – six as its director – before joining Everton last year, believes big clubs receive too big a slice [...]
Fifa charging World Cup fans £59 for ‘shoutouts’ in new money-making scheme June 9, 2026 Fifa is charging football fans £59 to have their name announced before matches at the 2026 World Cup, which starts this week. For $79 (£59), supporters can buy a “Super Shoutout” to have their name read out and appear on the stadium scoreboard before any fixture at the World Cup. It is the latest money-making [...]
England World Cup fans invited to ‘soccer Coachella’ with free fan fest and cheap beer June 8, 2026 The cost of attending the 2026 World Cup is already notorious, but Philadelphia believes it has the solution for budget-conscious England fans heading to the United States. The city raised $60m in private funding which, along with state and federal contributions, will subsidise what the city is billing as “a soccer Coachella” – the only [...]