The wizards at Ankh-Morpork's Unseen University are renowned for many thingswisdom, magic, and their love of teatimebut 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 staffor lose the funding that pays for their nine daily mealsthe 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 footballthe most important thing about football is that it is never just about football.