Readers of Sussex: quick reminder that the only author signed paperback copies of my book Narcoball: Love, Death & Football in Escobar’s Colombia IN THE WORLD are available to purchase at both Brighton and Hove branches of @waterstones.bsky.social - find it in the Sport section, or just ask! ♥️☠️⚽️🇨🇴

Last push this week and next to get the full, complete manuscript edited, locked and ready to be sent to print. Bit of a last minute pre-Xmas stress but will feel great when it’s all done!

So… Not a terrible XI by any stretch but… Mbappé, Salah, Raphinha and Luís Diaz all have worthy cases for inclusion if you ask me… in fact Daniel Muñoz also deserves a shout! Who do you think should have been recognised? And who definitely shouldn’t be in there?

Need a little extra xmas gift for someone (or a treat for yourself)? Look no further than Narcoball! ♥️☠️⚽️🇨🇴

Readers of Sussex: quick reminder that the only author signed paperback copies of my book Narcoball: Love, Death & Football in Escobar’s Colombia IN THE WORLD are available to purchase at both Brighton and Hove branches of @waterstones.bsky.social - find it in the Sport section, or just ask! ♥️☠️⚽️🇨🇴

Did you know my novel Corona is currently 25% off in the #SmashwordsEoYSale ? You do now! Ebook for just $3.74? Bar. Gain. Gawaaan, treat yo’self! www.smashwords.com/books/view/1...

Colombia vs Portugal as the final Group K game, in a Hard Rock Stadium in Miami that I’m certain will be PACKED with Colombia fans, is going to be an epic 3rd match - most likely to decide who tops the group and gets a MUCH easier route through the knockouts… HUGE. ♥️⚽️🇨🇴

The struggles of being a Colombia (and England) fan in England: Colombia’s first 2 group games both kick off at 3am, 4hrs after the England games finish. Those are gonna be some long, late, tiring nights with almost zero sleep! At least the final COL group game is a 00:30 KO!

Anyone else getting nervous about the World Cup draw tomorrow already? Who do you want, and who do you want to avoid?

A genius assist and a vital injury time goal from Luis Díaz today for Bayern. What a season Lucho is having in Munich.

Some Friday reading inspiration for you, courtesy of my best efforts to create the best worst content on TikTok 🤣

Psyching myself up for an hour watching Little Miss Writerman’s hockey training tonight in the freezing cold. At least I’ve got Dan Dan Noodles to look forward to for dinner after… 🏑🥶🧊❄️🍜😋🤤

When you’re so tired you accidentally make yourself a double strength coffee instead of your planned single shot… that’s just the universe balancing things out for you.

My interview with the 2nd biggest newspaper in Italy - La Repubblica. Hit “translate” on your browser tab if you want to read it in English! Narcoball is out now, published in Italian by 66thand2nd ♥️☠️⚽️🇨🇴 d.repubblica.it/urep/2025/11...

Fading now, 3.5hrs sleep is not enough! Feel I did well somehow to put a semi-coherent video together about what we might have learned about Colombia from their final game of 2025… Have you checked it out yet? Agree? ♥️⚽️🇨🇴

Colombia 3-0 Australia : what we learned about 🇨🇴 from their final game of 2025… I stayed up all night and got 3.5hrs sleep so you didn’t have to!

3:5hr sleep. That’s what Fitbit tells me I got, after staying up until 3:30am watching Colombia 3-0 Australia. School drop off and quick little Waitrose shop done. Now? Coffee. Sofa. Regroup.

I did end up missing last night’s game, the friendly between Colombia and New Zealand (I was actually fast asleep by the 12:30am kick off, and not even sure it was televised here in the UK), but it seems it was a decent 2-1 win and a useful chance to look at some fringe players?

Narcoball is on 🔥 in 🇮🇹 2 new reviews, one of which might be my favourite so far… m.tuttosport.com/amp/news/cal... sport.quotidiano.net/locale/calci...

Rather busy this week. In full-on edit mode, with actual deadlines and stuff. Sometimes being a writer actually does feel like a real job.

🚨New Episode⚽️ @davidarrowsmith.bsky.social talks: - His Colombian and English roots and fandom of Colombian football - His new book "Narcoball: Love, Death and Football in Escobar's Colombia" - The legacy of Andres Escobar - Colombian football in modern times bit.ly/4qUKYMQ

Need a Sunday evening or Monday morning listen? Why not check out my episode of Curva Mundial, a brilliant pod hosted by the wonderful Sal Bono, that has had some huge previous guests and is all about a fan’s love for the beautiful game… ⚽️ open.spotify.com/episode/6kNI...

Oggi è il giorno di Narcoball! It’s Narcoball (in Italian) Day! 🇮🇹♥️☠️⚽️🇨🇴

It’s release day for Narcoball in Italy - and here’s a fabulous review from Esquire Italia! ♥️🇮🇹 Meanwhile the piece in U Repubblica calls the book “mind-blowing and enlightening” 🤯 www.esquire.com/it/cultura/l...

It’s release day for Narcoball in Italy - and here’s a fabulous review from Esquire Italia! ♥️🇮🇹 Meanwhile the piece in U Repubblica calls the book “mind-blowing and enlightening” 🤯 www.esquire.com/it/cultura/l...

So Luis Díaz had an eventful evening last night in Paris, his two goals helping Bayern to a CL win over PSG despite his red card right on half time. Lucho features in my book Narcoball : Love, Death & Football in Escobar’s Colombia. Love football? Check it out. ♥️☠️⚽️🇨🇴

14:45 UK time, Colombia U17 start their World Cup against Germany. Live (and free to watch) on FIFA+. Could be a cracker…

Forza Narcoball! 🇮🇹 My interview with Maurizio Crosetti, for U Repibblica, the new men’s magazine supplement of La Repubblica- the second biggest daily newspaper in Italy. Narcoball is a “hallucinating and enlightening journey” - and the Italian edition is out 7th November!

Just a few hours left to get Narcoball for 0.99 - hurry hurry hurry!

Ebook is 99p until midnight - hustle people!

Just a few hours left to get Narcoball for 0.99 - hurry hurry hurry!

Luis Díaz with another goal and another assist in another Bayern Munich win tonight. Lucho is flying in Germany. ♥️⚽️🇨🇴

Sounds like James Rodriguez will be leaving his current club León, in Mexico’s Liga MX, in December… he absolutely HAS to make the right next move to ensure he has the absolute best preparation for the 2026 World Cup. ♥️⚽️🇨🇴

Got a favourite? So, with the new Italian edition of Narcoball my debut work of non-fiction has had 4 very different cover designs so far (not including the Finnish translation which used the same design as the English language hardback). Which do you like best, and why?

The news is out! Narcoball: Amore, Morte e Calcio Nella Colombia di Escobar, published by the fantastic 66thandSecond, will be out in all good Italian bookshops on 7th November! And just look at that cover! 🔥 Che bello! 🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹

Narcoball, my best-selling account of the rise & fall of Colombian football & life & death of Pablo Escobar in the 80s & 90s, is a bargain 0.99 for the ebook edition right now. Have you snapped it up? Great prices on audiobook, paperback & OG hardback too! What to pick? ♥️☠️⚽️🇨🇴

If you like yourself some dark, thrilling fiction, then consider this a gentle reminder that I’m more than just the author of non-fiction blockbuster Narcoball… Have your read Corona, Nevada Noir or The Drowned? Check them out here: tr.ee/kNNEMg Read with care!

Jhon Durán is having a mare. Now it seems Fenerbahçe want to send him back to Al Nassr. While Diaz flourishes at Bayern some of the other high profile Colombian summer moves are struggling to establish themselves. Richard Rios & Benfica inconsistent, Jhon Arias at a poor Wolves…

If you like yourself some dark, thrilling fiction, then consider this a gentle reminder that I’m more than just the author of non-fiction blockbuster Narcoball… Have your read Corona, Nevada Noir or The Drowned? Check them out here: tr.ee/kNNEMg Read with care!

Improve your Monday - uncover the incredible untold story of the rise and fall of Colombian football in the 80s & 90s and the pivotal role Pablo Escobar and the cartels played in it all…

Readers of Sussex - quick reminder that the Hove and Brighton branches of Waterstones are the only two bookshops IN THE WORLD with author signed paperbacks of my book Narcoball available to purchase. Snap up your copy for the weekend! ♥️☠️⚽️🇨🇴 @waterstones.bsky.social

Struggling a bit today after that late night watching the Colombia u20 side lose very narrowly to Argentina. As a Colombia fan living in the UK, time differences are not my friend!

Might try and begin to rectify a big gaping hole in my TV series watching tonight… I have approximately 2hrs between Mrs Writerman’s 10pm bedtime and the midnight KO for the Colombia vs Argentina U20 semi. Time to dive into The Shield!

Getting nervous a full 9hrs ahead of tonight’s midnight (UK time) kick off for Colombia vs Argentina in the semi finals of the FIFA u20 World Cup… some big absences to cover for due to injury and suspension, Neíser Villarreal the obvious one. ♥️⚽️🇨🇴

My two footballing nations, Colombia and England, have both qualified for World Cup 2026. Happy days. Just hope they don’t play each other this time… 🇨🇴⚽️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Quick reminder you can find lots of stuff - podcast eps, music playlists, socials links, book buy links etc - all in one handy place right here: linktr.ee/DavidArrowsm...

Tonight Colombia U20 take on Spain in a World Cup 1/4 final, and then just a few hours later the men’s side play Mexico in a friendly in the USA. If you’re interested in the history of Los Cafeteros, or the history of Colombia, then why not check out my book Narcoball? ♥️☠️⚽️🇨🇴

Tonight Colombia U20 take on Spain in a World Cup 1/4 final, and then just a few hours later the men’s side play Mexico in a friendly in the USA. If you’re interested in the history of Los Cafeteros, or the history of Colombia, then why not check out my book Narcoball? ♥️☠️⚽️🇨🇴

The Crishtian Mosquera situation is a funny one. Already a brilliant defender for Spain U21, and Arsenal fans starting to realise they’ve bagged a gem. But it doesn’t seem like he’s keen to switch allegiance to Colombia even though he’d surely get in the full squad.

99p and your weekend reading sorted. Bosh.