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World Cup Tales: the stories and scandals of World Cup history
Fixes, boycotts, hosts who pulled out and matches that should never have been played. The tournament as it happened, not as it is remembered.
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- 1The Shame of Gijón: Algeria's Stolen World Cup Dream5 September 2025 · Maggie Thorne
- 2World Cup Punditry: An Exercise in Unprofessionalism18 July 2010 · Maggie Thorne
- 3World Cup Tales: The Making of a Design Classic, Mexico 197026 June 2010 · Maggie Thorne
- 4World Cup Tales: When the World Cup Legitimised a Dictatorship26 June 2010 · Maggie Thorne
- 5World Cup 2010: England's Charmless Mediocrity Against Algeria25 June 2010 · Maggie Thorne
- 6World Cup Tales: How Mussolini's Italy Fixed the 1934 Tournament5 June 2010 · Maggie Thorne
- 7The 1966 World Cup Boycott: When Africa and Asia Said Enough31 May 2010 · Maggie Thorne
- 8World Cup Tales: Colombia 1986, the Tournament That Never Was12 May 2010 · Maggie Thorne
Most World Cup history gets told as a list of winners, which is the least interesting way to tell World Cup history. The stories worth reading are usually about something else: a dictator who wanted a trophy for the regime, a continent that refused to turn up, a match in northern Spain that both teams were happy to stop playing. World Cup Tales collects them.
World Cup history beyond the winners
The 1934 tournament in Italy was a political project before it was a sporting one, and the stories from it have not aged well. Thirty-two years later the 1966 World Cup in England went ahead without a single African nation, after a boycott over how few qualifying places Africa and Asia were given. In 1978 Argentina won at home under a military dictatorship, and the title has never quite shaken off the context.
There are lighter chapters too, including the 32-panel ball that made its debut at Mexico 1970 and became the shape everybody still draws when they draw a football.
The stories behind the scandals
The scandals are rarely as simple as they look. The Disgrace of Gijon in 1982 changed how final group matches are scheduled. Colombia's withdrawal from the 1986 tournament had as much to do with money and FIFA politics as with security. Each of these World Cup scandals left a rule, a precedent or a grudge behind, and the stories in this series follow them through.
Questions and answers
What does World Cup Tales cover?
Stories from World Cup history that sit outside the highlight reels: political tournaments, boycotts, scandals, design classics and the hosts who never hosted.
Which World Cup scandals are included?
The series covers Mussolini's use of the 1934 tournament in Italy, the 1966 boycott by African and Asian nations, Argentina 1978 under military rule and the West Germany v Austria match at Gijon in 1982.
Why did Colombia not host the 1986 World Cup?
Colombia won the right to host but withdrew, and the tournament moved to Mexico. World Cup Tales: Colombia 1986 tells the story.
What was special about the 1970 World Cup ball?
Mexico 1970 introduced the 32-panel football, designed with television in mind. Its pattern of panels became the shape most people still picture when they think of a football.