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Simon Kuper

Life & Arts Columnist

Simon Kuper joined the Financial Times in 1994. He wrote the daily currencies column, before leaving the FT in 1998. He returned in 2002 as a sports columnist and has been there ever since. Nowadays he writes a general column for the Weekend FT on all manner of topics from politics to books, and on cities including London, Paris, Johannesburg and Miami.

Email Simon Kuper @KuperSimon  on Twitter (link opens in a new browser window)

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  • Thursday, 2 February, 2023
    FT MagazineLife & Arts
    Retiring at 62? The French have it absolutely right

    I used to take the standard Anglo-Saxon view that the French should get with reality. I’ve changed

  • Thursday, 26 January, 2023
    FT MagazineLife & Arts
    Why the world can benefit from contact theory

    A fear of the ‘other’ can usually be cured by actual contact with them

  • Thursday, 19 January, 2023
    FT MagazineLife & Arts
    Yes, there’s a polycrisis. Could there be poly-innovation too?

    After 50 years of disappointment, technological breakthroughs might again start improving our lives

  • Thursday, 12 January, 2023
    FT MagazineLife & Arts
    How the right tore themselves apart

    Centre-right parties face a dilemma — stick with chaotic far-right partners or lose elections by themselves

  • Monday, 9 January, 2023
    OutlookAdvertising
    Fay Weldon’s death is a reminder of advertising’s golden age

    There’s a century-old tradition of creative writers honing their talent promoting brands

  • Thursday, 29 December, 2022
    ObituaryPelé
    Pelé, football star and global symbol of Brazil, 1940-2022

    One of history’s greatest players helped his country win three World Cups in 21-year career

  • Thursday, 22 December, 2022
    FT MagazineLife & Arts
    How professors’ children are shaping the world

    Zelenskyy, Macron and Sam Bankman-Fried are all academics’ kids on a global stage

  • Sunday, 18 December, 2022
    News in-depthFIFA World Cup
    Messi finds the fitting ending to cap Argentina’s long quest for glory

    Best player of possibly any era wins football’s biggest prize at his fifth attempt

  • Saturday, 17 December, 2022
    News in-depthFIFA World Cup
    Why Messi surpasses Maradona without needing World Cup victory

    Most of the game’s greats marry brilliance and persona, but Argentina’s talisman ruthlessly pursued individual records

  • Saturday, 17 December, 2022
    Person in the News
    Kylian Mbappé, star striker who yearns to leave his mark beyond football

    France’s most explosive player has been thrust into the sometimes chafing role of hero of the republic

  • Thursday, 15 December, 2022
    FT MagazineFIFA World Cup
    Grant Wahl, the pioneering journalist who got it right on Qatar

    The US soccer reporter managed to watch both what was happening on the field and off

  • Wednesday, 14 December, 2022
    FIFA World Cup
    Reinvention of Antoine Griezmann transforms France’s World Cup challenge

    The striker who won man of the match in the 2018 final relishes his new role as a midfield playmaker

  • Monday, 12 December, 2022
    FIFA World Cup
    Luka Modrić: the maestro driving Croatia into a second World Cup semi-final

    Unlike middle-aged rivals Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the midfielder is willing to run all over the pitch for his team

  • Sunday, 11 December, 2022
    News in-depthFIFA World Cup
    France through to World Cup semi-final after missed England penalty

    Reigning champions face Morocco while Gareth Southgate’s team depart with ‘fewer regrets’ after epic encounter

  • Friday, 9 December, 2022
    News in-depthFIFA World Cup
    World Cup: Kylian Mbappé surges forward in reshuffling of football’s hierarchies

    As France prepare to take on England, striker has learnt to erase past achievements and focus on the next challenge

  • Thursday, 8 December, 2022
    News in-depthFIFA World Cup
    Dutch ditch tradition as winning trumps beauty in bid for World Cup glory

    Louis van Gaal pivots to more modest approach after realising modern football ‘is no longer an open game’  

  • Thursday, 8 December, 2022
    FT MagazineFIFA World Cup
    Qatar’s World Cup is a festival of cosmopolitanism — not nationalism

    Actually being in Doha is to watch civilisations come together

  • Wednesday, 7 December, 2022
    News in-depthFIFA World Cup
    World Cup: rivals aim to find out if Brazil have exploitable weaknesses

    The ‘Seleção’ have sauntered through the early stages but are wary of a stern test of their abilities

  • Monday, 5 December, 2022
    News in-depthFIFA World Cup
    Morocco blur borders and win Arab hearts with World Cup campaign

    Mission to woo talents from north African country’s large European diaspora has paid off

  • Sunday, 4 December, 2022
    FIFA World Cup
    Ruthless England get job done against Senegal

    Tougher challenge against France awaits in World Cup quarter-final

  • Saturday, 3 December, 2022
    News in-depthFIFA World Cup
    How to emerge a hero from the tension of a World Cup penalty shootout

    Specialist and novice takers as well as ‘killer’ keepers can play a big role in who wins the trophy

  • Thursday, 1 December, 2022
    FIFA World Cup
    World Cup: Ghana-Uruguay grudge match shows attraction of the villain

    West African nation out for revenge after last-minute Luis Suárez handball denied it a semi-final berth in 2010

  • Wednesday, 30 November, 2022
    News in-depthFIFA World Cup
    World Cup: Germany’s reputation as a ‘tournament team’ put to the test

    Fans pin their hopes on old-style striker Niclas Füllkrug to keep them in the competition

  • Tuesday, 29 November, 2022
    News in-depthFIFA World Cup
    Argentina put faith in Lionel Messi’s ‘tranquilo’ brand of football

    Star man wants teammates to control possession as two-time winners seek place in knockout stages

  • Monday, 28 November, 2022
    FIFA World Cup
    Southgate must pass Wales derby test and plot England’s path to glory

    Manager could write a PhD on how teams win World Cups — and shining in games doesn’t come into it

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