For the World Cup winner, read on

Congratulations to Arsenal, to Hull City and all the other teams that either won their leagues or gained promotion this weekend. Congratulations are due too to those teams that in the last weeks have managed to escape relegation, culminating in the great Spurs escape of 2026. Publishers will be banging on the door of the the Emirates for rights to publish the story of the first Premier league title for a generation. They will not be knocking on the door of their near neighbours. The publishing industry and readers are not as interested in the also rans as in the glory, the winners and their emotions captured in print and on paper.

The final throes of the domestic season are clearing the desks for the big one: the FIFA World Cup. With 48 teams due to play games from Mexico to Canada it is indeed the big one, the largest world football tournament to date. It will also be the most digital World Cup to date with information and emotions spread across all the channels, from the reports on the BBC and major news channels, the national newspapers and their websites down to  commentary on podcasts, comments on X, on TikTok and nor will LinkedIn be immune.

But these are transitory, ephemeral and provide only fleeting impressions of what is happening at the time. For a longer perspective, print will reign supreme just as it has since for the last half century and more. A completed album of Panini printed stickers from the Mexico World Cup, is highly sought after as auction prices demonstrate. Books produced after each championship will be treasured gifts and will be kept, perhaps for generations. For among all pontificating pundits, the discussions about which team will emerge as the event’s winner, that team will be immortalised by memories captured in print.