It’s all kicking off

12th June 2026

I hope that you’ve had a good week. We are travelling towards the end of the academic year and I know that this is a time when we are trying to keep things as positive as possible, on the ground, whilst looking ahead into the next academic year. I was chatting to a member of staff about something that is due to occur at the end of September. In purely chronological terms that is three months away, in academic/school/college terms it’s only a matter of six or seven weeks away. You can be reassured that we understand that places an imperative on us all to get things done, which ensures that we can all go off into the summer break we are due knowing that we are ready for whatever the autumn term might bring.

It would be impossible to not to talk about the World Cup today. I must make mention, at this stage, of the women’s cricket 20:20 World Cup, starting today in Birmingham. That will be a fantastic event and will be worth catching up with, if you can. England are in with a serious shout of winning that tournament. Fingers crossed – and all that!

But there’s no getting away from the largest, most significant global sporting event; that is, the men’s football World Cup. It started last evening and will take place over six weeks across three countries: Mexico, United States and Canada. It really is the greatest show on earth. I know that many football purists find this particular World Cup extremely difficult to come to terms with. The American razzmatazz and the application of a Hollywood approach to the football, and all the branding around the tournament, makes some feel uncomfortable. It’s pretty much the same every tournament. There are things that we all are concerned about before the tournament starts, and then once it gets underway, we find ourselves becoming increasingly engrossed in the drama, even soap opera, of the matches and the wider event. We end up watching games between random teams, with players we barely know and become fully invested in that game, in those teams and in the tournament, more broadly. It really is the greatest show on earth.

In these times, as always, sport does give us the opportunity to see the world a little differently. Despite how things are globally at the moment, it is a way of bringing people together, understanding much more about the global village in which we live, getting to know peoples from other parts of the world, and understanding something more about other cultures and societies. All done through the lens of 90 minutes of football (well, it’s close to being 110 minutes of football these days).

Obviously, I want England to do well. If they do, I hope they do well in the right way. Playing football that is entertaining and bringing a smile to the face of the nation. Maybe, it’s a chance that we might just reclaim the flag, the cross of St George from those on the margins, who have weaponised the national emblem.

Unlike many people, this side of the border, I also do hope that Scotland does well. I don’t have this dislike of the ‘home’ nations. It’s great for Scotland, as a country, and great for the UK. I can see both Scotland and England progressing positively in the tournament.

I’m getting set and knuckling down to my serious work. That is to ensure that the end of term is as positive as possible, and we have all prepared for the upcoming academic year. And, my secondary role, making sure that I get to see as much of the World Cup as possible, without staying up too late.

‘You have to show up in the World Cup, and in the World Cup anything can happen’. Lionel Messi

‘The World Cup is not just a great global sporting event; it is also inscribed with much deeper cultural and political importance.’ Martin Jacques