PRH Children's reveals 2018 World Cup guide

Penguin Random House Children’s is publishing a fans’ guide to the 2018 World Cup with football fan network Copa90.

Copa90: Our World Cup: A Fans' Guide to Russia 2018 will be publishing next Spring, on 5th April 2018, to be followed by a football quiz book later in the year. Gary Panton, senior editor, brands and media at Penguin Random House, acquired world rights from Bigballs Media for two books.

The book will be "a comprehensive guide to the planet's biggest tournament", authored by Copa90's in-house team for football fans of all ages. Coverage will extend to the full run-down on all 32 competing nations, a guide to the host nation's stadiums and cities with information gathered from Copa90's travels to Russia, a recounting of memorable moments in World Cup history, and the best and worst teams, players, kits and goal celebrations.

Copa90, owned by Bigballs Media, originally launched as a YouTube channel in 2012. It now commissions and publishes its own content across a range of platforms, blending real fan stories, documentaries, and shows (including Saturday’s Are Lit, Derby Days, FIFA & Chill and Comments Below) to engage with football fan culture worldwide. Guests on Copa90 have included Stormzy, KSI, David Beckham and Jeremy Corbyn.

Gary Panton, senior editor, brands and media, said: "As a big fan of Copa90’s content and a lifelong World Cup obsessive, I’m incredibly excited about what we have planned for this book. Copa90’s passion and enthusiasm for the game shines through in everything they do, and this is a book that I know football fans of all ages are going to love."

James Kirkham, head of Copa90, added: “Being able to bring our passion to the printed page in this way, and to re-invent much of what we do in a physical, tangible format is both brilliant fun and a great opportunity. We believe football is the universal language, so I can’t wait for people to get stuck into this.”