Timed to coincide with the 2026 FIFA World Cup, our second special issue explores the world’s most popular sport as a window into power, belonging, empire, nationalism, labor, and collective desire. Featuring twelve essays and features from across Africa and beyond, it asks what football can tell us about the modern world—and what the modern world can tell us about football.

(Available Monday June 8th)

1. Football unites the world?

2. What is the World Cup for?

3. The last ritual

4. The globalization of African football

5. Kenya’s sportswashing playbook

6. The indelible African superfan

7. What’s in the crate?

8. Football won’t rescue the nation

9. Dancing in the shadows of empire

10. Soccer and nothingness

11. A city of games, a world out of reach

12. How much is an athlete’s life worth?