The Power and the Glory

The definitive history of the world’s most watched sporting event: the FIFA World Cup.

“Epic in scope, awesomely rich in detail, and compulsively entertaining.” —Tom Holland, cohost, The Rest Is History 

Since 1930, the World Cup has become a truly global obsession. It is the most watched sporting event on the planet, with more than two hundred countries battling to qualify and the world’s greatest soccer players facing off on the pitch.

The Power and the Glory is a comprehensive history of the matches and goals, the scandals and triumphs, the haggling and skulduggery of the bidding process, and the political and cultural tides behind every tournament. 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 controversy-ridden Qatar.  

Updated to encompass the 2026 World Cup, The Power and the Glory brims with the politics, heart, and drama—on and off the pitch—that define the greatest cultural event of our era. 

• ​“Wilson is the game’s pre-eminent popular historian.”
  Observer (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)
• ​​“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)
• “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
• “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
• “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
• “[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)
• “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
• “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
• “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
• “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