Sixty Years of Hurt – England, and the England Football Team

Sixty Years of Hurt: England and the England Football Team is a story of football, politics and how the two worlds have met – or collided – since 1966.

Sir Geoff Hurst is the sole surviving player from England's 1966 World Cup-winning side, but the importance of the victory still has a hold on the national mood, for matters both on and off the pitch. Sixty years on from that momentous triumph, where is the nation now?

This book:

• Ties the performance of the England men's football team with its people and politics, from 1966 to 2026, through various triumphs and disasters
  
• Offers a novel take on one of the nation's most culturally important and enduring stories, the attempt to regain the FIFA World Cup: it is a story as much about Callaghan and Cameron as Beckham and Kane
  
• Brings you the views of England internationals and managers meticulously uncovered from memoirs and interviews
  
• Examines the English social and political landscape, using Parliamentary discussion, budgets and occasions where English football and politics have intersected
  
• Looks at the rise and demise of hooliganism, and how laws tried to keep it in check
  
• Explores the importance of football to the cultural life of the country

Published in 2026.

Size: 129mm x 198mm – 304 pages.