Sightlines

Simon Inglis is a fan with a mission. Fed up with being labelled an anorak, yet repeatedly led astray by the glimpse of a grandstand accross a crowded city, he searches the world for a deeper meaning behind his fascination with stadiums.

What is it, he asks en route from ancient Olympia to Sydney 2000, about men and neatly-edged turf? Why are there more football grounds in Buenos Aires than public...