This summer will host the biggest international football tournament in the game’s history, the first one to span an entire continent and the first time that a World Cup host will be at war with a competing nation. Basically: strap in.
The sheer size of the tournament changes the game for coverage. In 2022, 64 matches were played to decide the world champion. In 2026, 72 matches will be played to decide which 16 countries won’t make the last-32 round and then we have the knockouts. It’s a football all-you-can-eat buffet.
The geopolitical ripples are also extraordinary, and not just because of the US-Iran war. In Qatar, the most common criticism on my reportage was “Errr have you seen America?” And yes, I had seen America. There are issues surrounding the treatment of minorities, heat, freedom of the press, surveillance and so much more.
To which we must add the questions surrounding Fifa’s governance of the game, greed, the premiership of Gianni Infantino and the economics of a tournament that has priced out so many international travellers. This is a non-normal World Cup for myriad reasons and thus demands non-normal coverage. And so…
What is the project?
- A 7,200-mile road trip – no internal flights, all car – over 49 days from the westernmost point of the contiguous United States (Washington coast) to the easternmost point (Maine coast), watching matches live in nine different host stadiums and ending at the final.
What will I be doing?
- A series of detailed, on-the-ground features on the issues that matter, from ICE agents to public transport chaos to price gouging on tickets to the extreme heat.
- By travelling across the country, speaking to people in red and blue states, on the west coast and east coast, in host cities and in smalltown USA where the World Cup feels a long way away, I think we’re offering sharper, deeper and different coverage.
- Wider-angle match pieces, from Iranian supporters in San Francisco to watching Messi for perhaps the final time to LGBTQ+ visibility to the final itself.
- A newsletter sent every two days, straight to you, with progress updates, talking points and news from our reporters inside England’s training camp.
- Videos that I desperately hope will sit in the sweet spot between Alan Partridge’s From The Oasthouse and Richard Keys’ 2014 World Cup diaries. I highly recommend both.
How do I follow the journey?
- Sign up for the newsletter for free here, from which you will get all the updates.
- Sign up for a subscription to The i Paper for all of my work, all of our World Cup coverage and everything else the paper produces for a trial period of just £1 for the first three months.
- Follow me on Instagram for the videos as I slowly descend into highway madness.
Where will I be going?
The broad details, which look easier written down:
- 7,200+ miles
- 60+ driving hours
- 34 motels (obviously I’m going to end up rating these)
- 24 states. Deep breath: Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine
Who will be with me?
Just me, a hire car that I’m praying to every God holds up and a fistful of dreams. I will see familiar faces at matches and my goodness I will need them.
I’ll also meet lots of lovely locals, motel receptionists and supporters of various countries, who will all stop me going mad. This is the best bit of the project to me, telling stories with the help of everybody I meet along the way.
Other than that it’s me and the road. I’m thinking of Steinbeck’s Travels With Charley and Paul Theroux’s Dark Star Safari. But then neither of them had Spotify or Elis James and John Robins podcasts, so maybe better?
How are you going to stay sane?
Come back to me on that in late June. And then early July. And then late July. It’s the drive between Los Angeles and Houston that’s living in my head, because it’s the same distance as London to Morocco and I’ve got to do it in five days alongside work. Don’t ever feel sympathy for me – I love this stuff.
