The Quidditch World Cup of 1966 was
expected to be one of the most predictable competitions for many a generation.
The powerhouses of European Quidditch had dominated the rest of the world for
the best part of a decade with the continent keen to forget and distract itself
from it’s war dominated recent history. Indeed, at both of the previous two
World Cups in ’58 & ’62, 12 of the 16 teams to qualify for the knockout
stages were European.

  The
reigning champions Hungary had gone through the last tournament unbeaten and
hadn’t lost to a nation from outside Europe for over 40 years; whilst their
final opponents, Spain, had not lost a match for over 6 years prior to the
match. It seemed almost inconceivable that the next final wouldn’t be a re-run
between the two nations.

  The
choice of England & Wales as the hosts of the finals just added to this
predictability. The two had previously held more World Cup Finals
between them than all the South American nations combined.

  However,
the tide was about to change and almost no-one saw it coming. A number of tiny
yet proud nations would come forth and conquer in a way that had not been seen
for a great many decades, re-engaging a Quidditch community which was starting
to become frustrated with the predictability of results and the flare-less
state of the play.

  The
focus of the game shifted over the course of the competition away from the pure
power, aggression & grit of the early 20^th century towards the
play based on speed, skill & ingenuity that we know today.

  One team
would steal the show, but they would still have to get past a nation that just
wasn’t getting the message. . . .