It should come as little surprise that I do not care very much about football. That said, even I have found myself swept up in Arsenal fandom these past few weeks. It has been impossible to move through London without hearing the chants or spotting the red scarves, as the club — which last Tuesday won the Premier League for the first time in 22 years — prepares for the Champion’s League final against Paris Saint Germain on Saturday.
Much of the buzz has been driven by anger. The Champion’s League rights holder, TNT Sports, has issued the clearest recession indicator of 2026 thus far and restricted access to subscribers of HBO Max (its chosen streamer), forcing a £4.99 add-on for those who wish to watch the game live. Fans and publicans are livid, saying this adds insult to injury. This summer’s World Cup being held in America means viewers will only be able to cheer on England from the pub during games that begin early enough in the US, unless a late licence is granted.
Whether or not this happens, I wish to divert our gaze from football for a minute. Wimbledon begins in a month’s time (King’s Road punters will soon witness RHS paraphernalia being replaced with tennis trappings) and the Queen’s Club Championships before that. Praise be to the BBC, which airs both. Come July, Silverstone will return to Channel 4 as Glorious Goodwood will to ITV. Some of us, naturally, will attend said events in person.
The fanfare around football only cements what has long been, in Britain, a summer of sport. It is a story told in numbers — the UK Grand Prix contributes an estimated £100 million to the economy, with Royal Ascot adding £138 million and Wimbledon a whopping £319 million — but still better told in anecdotes. On a recent sojourn in the Peak District, some friends wondered aloud about the totems of Englishness, uniting around sport: cricket, badminton and (yes) footy. These games began as symbols of social mobility (the budding middle class of the 18th century had more time to devote to leisure) and, later, of the Englishman’s love of rules. It was games, one pointed out, that allowed the Empire to assert cultural imperium.
It is also through such sports that we continue to draw a crowd. The Goring, for instance, is organising rounds of ‘Cham’Pong’ in its garden throughout the summer (think Beer Pong, but with coupes of Bollinger) to celebrate 100 years of whiff-whaff. Templeton Garden Hotel, in Earl’s Court, is hosting a croquet match for its summer party in June and The Double Red Duke in Canfield, Oxfordshire, will throw its annual Country Creatures cricket match next week, pitting chefs against restaurant critics.
So, don’t worry too much about the World Cup. Raise a glass to everything else.
This feature originally appeared in the May 27, 2026, issue of Country Life. Click here for more information on how to subscribe.
