Panel: The World, the Universe and Us live: can science win the World Cup?
This event is part of the Royal Society's Summer Science Exhibition 2026.
In this special live edition of New Scientist’s award-winning podcast, host Rowan Hooper is joined by very special guests to delve into the question of how advances in medicine, data and sports science are giving modern football teams a cutting edge on their rivals and might prove the difference between lifting this summer’s World Cup and collecting a runner up medal.
Joining Rowan are a panel of expert guests including:
- Dr Leonardo Bonetti – Associate Professor, Center for Music in the Brain, Aarhus University, and Research Fellow in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Oxford. Lead author of Decoding the elite soccer player’s psychological profile (2025)
- Dr Ian Graham – Founder of sports advisory business Ludonautics, Director of Research at Liverpool FC from 2012 - 2023, and author of How to Win the Premier League (2025)
Together they’ll explore how performance science can give players that extra 1% and how the use of AI is revolutionising everything from injury management to football tactics. There’ll even be a chance for you to put your own questions to the expert panel.
Further speakers to be announced.
Attending the event
This event will be held in Theatre 1 at the Royal Society on Tuesday 30 June 2026, 6.45pm – 8pm.
- This event is for 18+ only
- Free to attend as part of Summer Science Exhibition on a first-come, first-served basis, subject to seat availability. We recommend that visitors arrive 10-15 minutes before the session
- Eventbrite tickets for Summer Science Exhibition are recommended, with only a limited number of walk-up tickets released on the day
- This talk will take place in person
- This talk will be released on YouTube at a later date by the New Scientist Podcast: The world, the universe and us
- Live subtitles will be available
- Travel and accessibility information and details on planning your visit - contact us directly to arrange any specific accessibility requirements
- Food and drink will be available for purchase at our onsite café
For all enquiries, please email us.