“This is a World Cup swimming in star names...”
Jonathan Liew in The Guardian 1 has argued that the 2026 tournament has become the "cult of the individual". Messi and Ronaldo are more popular than Argentina and Spain. The race for the Golden Boot, in some circles, has overtaken commentary about the actual tournament itself.
This is merely the next step on the journey team sports have been on – where they increasingly revolve around individuals.
The liberty of exclusivity: Choice, freedom and Jesus
I was born in the mid-1970s when there were three television channels in the UK: BBC1, BBC2 and ITV. That …