World Cup Fever (or Malaise) – FIFA World Cup: Soccer & Global History

This is a space where I’ll share some interesting World Cup media items of interest — the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The Last Cup / La Última Copa – is a podcast series from NPR beginning Nov 10 that chronicles the life of Lionel Messi but unpacks larger issues about culture, nationalism, globalization, immigration, etc. The series is the brainchild of NPR correspondent, and Argentine- immigrant to the U.S., Jasmine Garsd.
After the Whistle – a new podcast with NBC Sports’ Rebecca Lowe and Ted Lasso actor Brendan Hunt (“Coach Beard’)

Papelitos – A bilingual research site featuring 78 stories from the 1978 World Cup in Argentina
ESPN FC ranks all 21 World Cups – worst to last. Very subjective piece, but offers a great sense of each tournament’s place in history and legacy.
USMNT organizes a game for migrant workers via The Daily Mail to raise awareness of progress and ongoing concerns.
SI.com guide to the 32 teams at the World Cup
“Soccer” or “Football”? – Analyzing the origins of these two words
The effects of Qatari heat on players at the 2022 World Cup — even in winter

How soccer changed between World Cups – an interactive data analysis (ESPN)
A visual history of the World Cup official match ball.
Worker deaths building mega events in the last two decades (The Guardian)
Most fouled players in the World Cup since 1966
U.S. Census Bureau information and quiz about the 32 participating nations at the 2022 World Cup
Political poster: soccer, human rights, and Chile 1977 (and FIFA World Cup Argentina 1978)
World Cup Kits (jerseys) bracket from ESPN; rankings from NBC Sports
Data, country codes, and Tableau (Twitter @StatHunting)
World Cup bracket! (The Telegraph- UK)

Nike’s quadrennial World Cup ad
Adidas WC commercial
An old John Oliver clip (Last Week Tonight) clip still relevant on FIFA corruption; and a follow up a year later. [Plus, a bonus clip on probably the worst film in cinema history]