A chartered jet, $3 million in cash, and a player kissing a stack of bills on the tarmac in Brazil. Ghana’s 2014 World Cup bonus crisis wasn’t an isolated fiasco; it was a flashpoint in a larger story about how empire, economics and harmful stereotypes have shaped the arc of African soccer on the world stage. This episode traces the history of African nations at World Cups, from Zaire’s traumatic 1974 campaign under Joseph Mobutu to Cameroon’s joyous shock in 1990 and Ghana’s heartbreak in 2010.

We examine how colonial structures and authoritarian politics warped soccer federations, why compensation battles recur, and how racist tropes still overshadow commentary. Above all, we ask why, despite a deep pool of elite talent, African national teams have so often fallen short at World Cups—and how governance, infrastructure, pay disputes and perception continue to tilt the field against them.

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In the 1980s, Margaret Thatcher’s England was a country under strain, marked by industrial decline, social unrest and sharp political divides. In that climate, English soccer became a national problem rather than a point of pride. Stadiums crumbled, hooliganism spread and tragedy struck at the Bradford, Heysel, and Hillsborough stadiums. The game felt like a relic: toxic, unsafe, unloved. Then, in the summer of 1990, something shifted.

This episode traces how the 1990 World Cup helped detoxify English soccer and reframe national identity. We look at how an improbable World Cup run became a cultural moment that opened the door to Britpop on the radio, "Cool Britannia" in the headlines and the Premier League era that followed. This is the story of a sport crawling out of the wreckage and a country finding a new way to love its national team.

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In 1978, Argentina staged a World Cup beneath the shadow of a military dictatorship. Just beyond the cameras and ticker tape, the regime was disappearing thousands of dissenters, and the spectacle of the tournament was engineered to launder power: a triumphant nation on TV, a silenced nation offscreen. 

On this episode of Pitch and Power, we unpack how the 1978 World Cup became the junta’s stage. We hear from reporters, academics and witnesses about a victory tainted by terror, how regimes weaponize joy and pageantry, and the uneasy afterlife of glory when a country must reckon with trauma.

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In the summer of 1998, the French national team became a symbol of a diverse, confident nation—only for that dream to curdle twelve years later with the public shame of the Knysna mutiny in South Africa. Few teams have carried more complicated meaning: triumph sparked celebrations of a more expansive French identity, while failure unleashed arguments about loyalty, national character, and who gets to be called ‘French.’

On this episode of Pitch and Power, we explore why this team became a lightning rod for social debates in France, how far‑right voices and mainstream media shaped the story, and what the journey from 1998 to the Knysna mutiny reveals about race, belonging, and power. We hear from reporters who were there, examine the narratives that turned heroes into scapegoats, and unpack how a squad once hailed as the Republic’s emblem of progression came to be portrayed as a national embarrassment.

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In the heat of USA ’94, Roberto Baggio carried the nation of Italy on his shoulders— and then saw it all slip away from twelve yards. This episode explores one of soccer’s most spellbinding talents and the penalty kick that turned his decorated legacy into a lingering question mark.

But this isn’t only about one miss. Host Eoin O’Callaghan and guests John Foot, Ben Lyttleton and Kevin Kilbane explore the strange hold penalty kicks have, and why that ritual reveals so much about pressure, identity, and the human condition.

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It’s been forty years since a ragtag Canadian team made its unlikely World Cup debut. On this episode of Pitch and Power, host Eoin O’Callaghan and guests Jay Baruchel and 1986 team member Colin Miller unpack the public indifference and skepticism that greeted Canada’s soccer pioneers, who briefly stood on the world stage before vanishing from public memory. 

How have self-doubt, underfunding, and a series of inexplicable choices shaped Canada’s relationship with soccer? And can recent successes and the upcoming co-hosted World Cup break the cycle?

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In the summer of 1974, a bright-orange revolution swept the soccer pitch and the world. The first episode of Pitch and Power: How Soccer Shapes Everything tells the story of Dutch football star Johan Cruyff and the Netherlands’ Total Football movement—the dazzling skill, sex appeal and cultural swagger that defined it—and the heartbreak of a World Cup final that turned genius into myth.

More than 50 years on, we explore why this team still captivates the soccer world, whether their idealism was doomed in a colder era, and how their brief reign reshaped the game—and a nation—forever.

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Behind every World Cup is a larger story — about national identity and the historical moment in which the games unfold. Eoin O’Callaghan hosts Pitch and Power: How Soccer Shapes Everything, a Globe and Mail series that rewinds the World Cup to eight moments when the game crossed into politics, culture, and the public consciousness. These are stories about ambition, rivalry, grief, and triumph. About the highest highs and the lowest lows.

The first episode of Pitch and Power: How Soccer Shapes Everything arrives on May 28, 2026, from The Globe and Mail. Follow us now wherever you get your podcasts

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Argentina are world champions after one of the most thrilling games in World Cup history, which saw them beat France 4-2 on penalties after a 3-3 draw. In our final episode, we’re looking at the rollercoaster victory and reflect on Qatar 2022 as a whole. Plus, we look ahead to the World Cup in 2026  and the next four years of Canadian soccer.

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With Argentina knocking out Croatia 3-0 and France beating Morocco 2-0, the two heavyweight teams are set to faceoff on Dec 18. for the World Cup final. The stakes are high: France is going for its second World Cup win in a row, while Argentina’s Lionel Messi is vying to finally win a World Cup, and in what will be his last tournament. John and Sonja break down how each team and their star players are looking and who they think will win it all. Plus. Sonja speaks with David Miller, the former Toronto mayor and soccer advocate, about Canada’s journey to becoming a soccer nation and what the 2026 World Cup could mean for this country. And John and Sonja discuss the problem with referees.

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