The world is not beautiful at the moment. But the 'beautiful game' still has the capacity to gather people, distract people, delight people, and occasionally inspire people.

There is no sporting event in the world that enjoys such a feverish build-up to the main event. Such is the global appeal of the ‘beautiful game’ and the FIFA World Cup.

The FIFA World Cup has always been more than football. Every four years, it becomes a global event capable of capturing the attention of billions and...