The next edition of sport's greatest tournament is soon upon us, and the excitement, tension and rivalry it produces can act as a fantastic stimulus for secondary English creative writing.
Nothing quite unifies a country like sport can do - with the UK, it is football that brings us all together. For a few weeks many of us will get together to cheer our teams on. For English teachers, this provides a unique opportunity to inspire student creativity by using the sport as a stimulus for writing prose, poetry, non-fiction texts and more.
It is really helpful when educating students around the knowledge and skills they should build for writing with a topic or focus with which they already have a good foundation of understanding.
Imagery, vocabulary and emotional intelligence are all crucial to communicate complex ideas - if students already have an interest in a sport like football, they will already have these in place from the many hours of playing and watching the game. They will already have experienced the bittersweet emotions, the highs and lows that come with being a supporter or a player.
Therefore, harness that enthusiasm, energy and appreciation as a backdrop for teaching writing skills.
I've previously used the World Cup as a stimulus for non-fiction reading and writing.
Euro 2020 Non-Fiction Reading
However, this year I've put together a complete teaching focused on creative writing using the World Cup for inspiration:
FREE World Cup 2026 Creative Writing Scheme of Work Document
Students use football to create descriptions, build characters, explore paragraphing, conjure up specific imagery for effect, use sentences to affect their readers and more.
The best thing about using football though, is it's not just about the players. As well as the coaches, managers and spectators, there are medics, doctors, physios, mascots, stadium stewards, security staff, retail workers and more. Even if a student isn't interested in sport, they can use these figures as inspiration for their own creative pieces.
If you're interested in trying out some football-themed creative writing resources, you can find the complete pack I designed here:
World Cup 2026 Creative Writing Complete Teaching Pack:
