Hello! You have arrived at this page because you are a writer (from across the writing spectrum, we’re talking novelists, poets, playwrights, translators, illustrators, rappers, comedians, songwriters, essayists, journalists and the rest) who wants to play football/be involved in a public-facing (non-playing) capacity in our very own World Cup 2026.
The tournament is being played on Sunday, 7th June 2026, 1-5pm at London Marathon Community Track, London Stadium, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London E20 2ST.
It is a five-a-side tournament and we are looking for squads of 5-10 players. There is a pot luck option for if you are a writer who isn’t in a team but wants to be put in a team with other writers. There will be groups stage and two knockout stages. The top two teams from the group will advance to the winners knockouts and the bottom two will play for the ahem… well, losers knockouts. Each game will be a continuous 12 minute match. If it’s evens at the end of the match in the knockout stages, well, it’s PENS, innit.
This tournament is taking place the weekend before the Men’s World Cup takes place and we are using it as an opportunity to be in solidarity against war, genocide and displacement. It’s hard to divorce football from politics. Right now, one of the countries hosting the World Cup is responsible for bombing another country that had planned to send a team. Other countries have had travel restrictions imposed, which will make homegrown support impossible. There is still the matter of the ongoing genocide in Gaza, which has resulted in the death of Palestinian footballers, future footballers, football fans. In a world of increasing nationalism and with the rise of the far right under the guise of patriotism, it feels harder than ever to ‘just stick to football’.
Entry money for each entered team will support English PEN, a charity that supports the freedom to read and write. One of the world’s oldest human rights organisations, they work to protect free expression, support writers facing persecution, and champion international literature through events, prizes, grants, commissioning and residence.
This is a mixed ability, all-gender tournament, with no quotas on gender ratios or anything like that. We want to be as inclusive as possible. What we are looking for is writers to assemble a team of writers to play. No ringers. Unless you are best friends with a professional footballer who has published a book that came with an ISBN number. We can’t really stop that.
If you’re interested, please complete this form and we’ll be in touch!
