Nominated for the public vote in the Skroutz Book Awards 2026.
Confidential World Cup is an investigation into the forces that shaped the FIFA World Cup beyond the four lines of the pitch.
From 1930 to the present day, the book examines the role of politics, regimes, geopolitics and economic interests in the planet’s biggest sporting event.
Through documented research and historical context, it sheds light on the relationship between football and power, without glossing over the facts.
Confidential World Cup pulled back the curtain on the face of the tournament that few have wanted to look in the eye.
After all, from 1930 to today, the FIFA World Cup has never been just about football. It has been a mirror of its times. An instrument of power. At times a vehicle for propaganda, at others a stage for resistance and, often, a battleground. And almost always, something far greater than a football tournament.
In the 640 pages of Confidential World Cup, the focus is not on spectacular goals or tactical genius. Those are documented elsewhere, in meticulous detail. This book examines what happened around the pitch. Who was in power. Who oppressed. Who exploited. Who resisted. Who paid the price.
And yet, despite the political games, geopolitical horse-trading and economic interests, the World Cup remains the most powerful global cultural event of our time.
The question, then, is not whether football is entangled with politics, but how aware we are as spectators and fans. How well we understand the context in which the game is played. How fully we recognise that every tournament takes place within a specific historical moment…
Number of pages
640
Cover
Soft
Year of publication
2026
Publisher
Ekdotikos Oikos Historical Quest
