A Look Ahead

Sam On Sport previews some of the exciting projects coming up in the build up to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

A Look Ahead

With the FIFA World Cup just over a month away now, I thought I would use this week’s article to give you all a preview of some of the things that I have planned. Excitingly, there is a lot!

Substack

Firstly, here on Substack, when there are 25 days left until the tournament begins, each day I will post a note counting down my own personal favourite World Cup matches. Although I have watched historical tournaments extensively, I will restrict these matches to the period of time that I have been watching the tournament personally, so these matches will range from 1994 (the last time the tournament was held in the USA) through to the most recent edition in 2022.

Each week’s long-form article will also be World Cup based with profiles on legendary players, a look at some of the tournament’s most bizarre incidents, a list of iconic goals and, finally, the weekend before the tournament begins, an in-depth look at some of the favourites and the potential pathways that they may take as the tournament unfolds.

Throughout the tournament there will be daily notes outlining key moments that have taken place that day and the long-read each weekend will be a review of events and a look forward to what is to come. As ever, I will try to keep each piece interesting and engaging with a personal slant to differentiate it in some way from the millions of other articles out there.

All of these are things that I had planned anyway and are very much in line with my usual content, but I have also been working on a couple of incredibly exciting side projects that will also be released in the period between now and when the World Cup begins on June 11th.

Podcast

First to arrive will be the first ever Sam on Sport podcast which will run for an initial period of four weeks. Alongside Graeme from the Football4Cast and James from Three and Two, both of which you can find here on Substack, the podcast will break down the 2026 World Cup and use Graeme’s algorithm to discuss how events may play out.

We have split the tournament up into the four quadrants of the draw and in each episode will discuss the three groups that make up each of those sections. There will talk about each side’s history in the tournament, our own favourite memories and their overall pedigree before moving on to looking at the current picture, players who could have a big part to play and also how teams qualified and how they have performed in recent friendlies.

The show aims to be an accessible and informative entry point to the tournament for those looking to find out more but also to provide insight and knowledge for those who want a little bit extra. For those interested, Football4Cast also have their usual prediction algorithm and an interactive bracket on their website that is accessible for the World Cup and is what we have used on the show to assess chances.

The first episode will be out on the morning of Sunday 17th May and will then be released each Sunday from then until the tournament begins. Links will be shared on Substack and all of my socials.

Book

Lastly, and for me most excitingly, by the end of this month I will have released my very first book; ‘The World At Their Feet: A history of the World Cup through the lens of the 2026 tournament.’ This has been a labour of love for me over the last six months or so but in reality is something that I have been wanting to do for many years.

In terms of content, the title should provide you with a bit of the context. The book works through all of the teams that will participate at the 2026 World Cup group by group and looks at their performances, history and legendary players before moving on to the current edition and examining how they qualified, their story over the last four years and profiles on key players.

Of course, I am also very aware that not all teams that have qualified for the World Cup previously have made it to this edition. With this in mind, there will also be an additional section where these sides are recognised and their achievements listed. The hope is that this will help to provide a more rounded picture.

This is an entirely independent work that has been researched, written, formatted and edited solely by me. As such, at least initially, the book will not be available in print but only digitally. This will be on Kindle and also in PDF format, details of which will be shared in due course.

It is something that I am incredibly excited about and, even if I do say so myself, I feel like it would be a valuable addition to the collection of any World Cup fan, stirring up a huge number of nostalgic memories, but also just an interesting read in general, highlighting many of the stories behind the football as well as the action on the pitch.

As soon as everything is finalised and ready I will provide details here and elsewhere. Once I do, if anyone is willing to share far and wide it would be very much appreciated. I have always been overwhelmed by the support of the sports writing community here on Substack and hope that this is my opportunity to give something back in a way and perhaps even pave the way for some others.

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Hopefully, some of this content that is in the works is the sort of thing that you were looking forward to as we build to football’s greatest spectacle. I would be incredibly interested to hear anyone’s thoughts and opinions on these projects as well as discussing anything that I have mentioned that you may be excited about. Please feel free to comment, message or share as you wish.