Kevin Bridges on his new show celebrating the best of the beautiful game

In his new one-off TV programme, In Search of the Beautiful Game, Kevin Bridges embarks on an international journey to explore the state of football and its cultural significance ahead of the World Cup. Here he talks about meeting  Brazilian icon Cafu, one of the greatest full-backs of all time, his long-term friendship with Scottish midfielder John McGinn, and how he fancies the national side’s chances at this year’s tournament…

Why did you want to make this programme?

I’ve been a football fan for as long as I can remember but recently, I’d started to get a bit disillusioned with where the game is headed; State-owned clubs, sportswashing, the ubiquity of gambling sponsors, VAR, over-coached players, half-and-half scarves, fan reaction videos etc etc…. I could go on but it’s getting my blood boiling.

The obscene World Cup ticket prices felt like a moment where we decide to try to wrestle back control of the game or cede it entirely to corruption, greed and let what was a working-class passion turn in to an upper-class pastime. 

With the documentary, I wanted to show everything that’s great about the game, from first kicking a ball about in the park with my pals to then going to games on the supporters’ buses with my Dad and then my pals.

Did travelling and speaking to different people change how you see the modern game?

I don’t know if it changed how I see it as I knew that in a lot of places and to a lot of people the game still has its soul. I’d say it confirmed this and gave an audience to this side of the game; passionate football fans whose clubs represent communities and shared values and are more than just football teams.

Kids and adults who still take immense pleasure and a sense of escapism from playing football, and top-level footballers (past and present) who are still in touch with the real world and truly value and respect the importance of supporters and where they came from.

Which characters stood out from the show?

Obviously meeting Cafu was an amazing moment and when he handed me the World Cup… wow! I don’t think I managed to suppress the 12-year-old inside me. 

Daniel and Liz from the Cantagalo favela really touched my heart, too, when they explained their projects and how they’d left the favela, done well and came back to help and support the next generation. They have an incredible project going with centres around education, life skills and of course, football.

What was it like visiting your old school with your friend and former schoolmate, John McGinn?

We know what John is like as a player but he is one of the best guys out there. The last time Scotland were in the World Cup I was starting high school where his Mum was one of my teachers. 

The first time I met him was when his Mum had put me in detention and he’d finished primary school early and came over to wait for his Mum finishing. I was sitting doing my punishment exercise and he was sitting doing his homework. Who knew what the future held in store for us both, so it was nice 28 years later to go back to where we first met.

How far do you think John and the boys can make it in the tournament?

Scotland have some brilliant players. John, Kieran Tierney, Andy Robertson and Scott McTominay – the whole squad seem like they’re a tight unit and I think they’re going in with lessons learned from the last tournament. 

Scotland are no longer a joke team just there for the party, we should definitely be looking to get out of the group and then with the confidence that will bring and the nothing-to-lose spirit, who knows what could happen in our first ever knockout game?

What role do major tournaments like the World Cup still play in shaping football memories?

I remember USA 1994, the summer holidays and the World Cup being on. Collecting stickers in the build-up and then being allowed to stay up late to watch some of the games. 

I remember running around the park and everyone pretending to be Romario, Baggio, Stoichkov, Maradona!  Or whoever else had stood out – for good or bad (see Maradona) - in the night before’s games.

Then, in 1998, Scotland qualified. It didn’t go to plan but the excitement in the country stuck with me and I have vivid memories of our whole school class watching it together on an end-of-term trip. When I returned to my old school for the show it was infectious to see the same excitement levels in the kids who were the age I was then.

Scotland facing Brazil again is something fans still talk about. How significant is this rematch?

Brazil aren’t quite as daunting as they were back then and I’d say Scotland are stronger now than in 1998 - if there was a combined Scotland / Brazil 11 in 1998 then it would probably be 11 Brazilians, but now, I’d say at least one or two of the Scotland team could get in there. 

There’s something incredible about the Brazil team walking out at a World Cup though, the yellow, blue and white and I think being drawn against them really hit it home that Scotland were back on the big stage.

Do you think football still has the power to surprise people, even in an era of tactics, data and analysis?

Yes, very much so. The Scottish Premier League run-in. Beautiful! The PSG v Bayern semi-final first leg and then obviously, the Scotland versus Denmark qualifier which took us through. 

I watched it in a Mexican restaurant in New York with my wife, my son and my mate Craig. We were the only people paying attention to the TV but when the goals started flying in the whole pub were over asking who was playing, who were these superstars with their overhead kicks and long-range screamers? That’s Scotland, mate! A very proud night!

• Kevin Bridges: In Search of the Beautiful Game will be available on iPlayer on Friday, when it will air on BBC Scotland at 9pm. It will then be screened on BBC One nationwide at 10.30pm on Sunday. Interview supplied by the BBC.

Published: 2 Jun 2026