Behind the Selection: How Cultured Football Picks the Best

Guidelines Shaping our Choices

At Cultured Football, our commitment to delivering the most compelling, insightful, and thought-provoking content is unwavering. Every week, we meticulously review over 100 football-themed sites, blogs, and newsletters to distill the top five articles to feature. Sometimes, we allow ourselves a couple of extras—because great writing deserves recognition.

The process isn’t easy; we typically start with a shortlist of ten outstanding pieces, each worthy of inclusion. Over time, we’ve developed a set of guidelines—born from experience and philosophy—to ensure consistency and quality in what we share. With Cultured Football growing rapidly, we believe in being transparent about how we make these choices.

Always Free, Always Accessible

While we wholeheartedly support paying writers for their work, Cultured Football remains a free newsletter—always has been, always will be. This promise means we avoid featuring content behind a paywall or on sites with limited free articles. We want our readers to enjoy every featured piece without barriers.

Fresh Content Matters

We prioritize articles published within the seven days leading up to each issue. This keeps our newsletter dynamic and relevant, ensuring we spotlight the latest perspectives on the footballing world.

One Week, One Website

Variety is key. While we occasionally make exceptions, we generally avoid featuring the same website two weeks in a row. This guideline helps us stay impartial and keeps our readers exposed to diverse voices and platforms.

No Promises, Only Quality

We encourage authors and editors to share their work with us, but we don’t guarantee inclusion. Our commitment is to the readers: the final selection is always based on merit, not solicitation.

Zero Tolerance for Hate

We’re not afraid to feature articles on difficult or divisive topics, even if they don’t always attract the most clicks. However, we draw a hard line at content with any form of hate—racism, misogyny, or other toxic ideologies have no place in Cultured Football. We won’t disguise harmful rhetoric as “banter.”

Evergreen Over Ephemeral

We focus on content that stands the test of time—pieces that provide insight, analysis, or narratives with enduring relevance. As such, we avoid articles tied to specific events like match previews or recaps, as their relevance quickly fades. Similarly, we steer clear of transfer rumors and gossip, which often lack substance or accuracy. Our goal is to highlight writing that sparks thought and conversation long after publication.

At the heart of our newsletter is the belief that football is more than a game—it’s a lens through which culture, society, and human stories are explored. These principles guide us in curating content that resonates with our growing community of readers.