Collecting World Cup Books


The very first football World Cup was organised by FIFA and was held in Uruguay in 1930. The host nation won this inaugural tournament, beating bitter rivals Argentina 4-2 in an exciting final. Since then the competition has been held every four years, except for the years 1942 and 1946 (due to World War II). The first World Cup to be held in Europe was staged in France in 1934. Once again, the host nation triumphed as Italy beat Czechoslovakia 2-1 in a tense final. Indeed, hosting the World Cup often gives a team a good chance of winning the cup, current holders France beat Brazil 3-0 in Paris to take the 1998 trophy. The next World Cup in 2002 will be the first to be staged in two different nations, Korea and Japan. Neither home side is actually expected to win the cup this time around… although the difficult conditions could still make it hard for a European team to triumph. Brazil have won the trophy the most times (1958, 62, 70 and 94) and could be a good bet to triumph again. Needless to say, the World Cup is easily the biggest sports event in the world (even bigger than the Olympics) and there is a big market in World Cup collectibles.

One of the rarest World Cup books is Ralph L. Finn’s incredibly scarce guide to the 1954 ‘World Cup’, published by Panther Books this paperback is now worth an incredible £120. A useful guide to the history of the World Cup can be found in Ian Morrison’s ‘The World Cup – A Complete Record’, published by Breedon Books and now worth about £35. Another great book is John Camkin’s ‘World Cup 1958’, published by Rupert Hart Davis and valued at about £30 in dust jacket. Another book that covers the 1958 tournament in some style is Brian Glanville and Jerry Weinstein’s ‘World Cup’, published by Robert Hale and now worth about £25 in good condition dust wrapper. Of most interest to English collectors, the official souvenir programme to the 1966 World Cup tournament is today worth about £30 in excellent condition.