The wizards at Ankh-Morpork's Unseen University are renowned for many things–wisdom, magic, and their love of teatime–but athletics is most assuredly not on the list. So when Lord Vetinari, the city's benevolent tyrant, strongly suggests to Archchancellor Mustrum Ridcully that the university revive an erstwhile tradition and once again put forth a football team composed of faculty, students, and staff–or lose the funding that pays for their nine daily meals–the wizards of UU find themselves in a quandary.

To begin with, they have to figure out what it is that makes this sport of foot-the-ball so popular with Ankh-Morporkians of all ages and social strata. Then they have to learn how to play it. Oh, and on top of that, they must win a football match without using magic.And the thing about football–the most important thing about football– is that it is never just about football.

Discworld stories stand alone as independent works set in the same fantasy universe. However, a number of the books can be grouped into grand story arcs dealing with a set number of characters and events – This title is part of the RINCEWIND & WIZARDS arcs, and was the 37th Discworld book to be published.