About this episode

Ed investigates a rumor about his grandfather, football legend Gordon Banks, being poisoned by the CIA during the 1970 World Cup.

Ed is the grandson of footballing legend Gordon Banks. He was a national icon, the only goalkeeper ever to win the soccer World Cup for England. But Ed’s heard a rumour: that in 1970, while defending the title, his granddad, his hero, was poisoned… by the CIA. All part of a Cold War plot to bolster a military dictatorship in Latin America, supposedly. Could this possibly be true? Banks did get ill in Mexico in 1970 with food poisoning. And England crashed out, marking the start of decades of hurt. Ed enlists the help of investigative journalist Gabriel Gatehouse. Together they embark on a journey into the bewildering world of Cold War espionage, a journey that threatens to unravel 60 years of sporting history; or possibly… to knock Ed’s granddad off his pedestal. Foul Play is an Audible Original, produced for Audible by Grayhouse Productions. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

People in this episode

Host: Gabriel Gatehouse

Guest: Ed

Topics covered

• Cold War
• football
• espionage
• investigative journalism
• sports history

Keywords

• Gordon Banks
• CIA
• World Cup
• food poisoning
• Cold War
• football legend
• investigative journalism

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: CIA, Grayhouse Productions

Places: Mexico

More episodes of Foul Play

• 7 | Coming Home · July 1, 2026 · 54 min
• 6 | A Case of the Tummies · June 24, 2026 · 51 min
• 4 | Wilderness of Mirrors · June 10, 2026 · 46 min
• 2 | Bogota Bracelet · May 27, 2026 · 48 min
• 1 | Men in White Coats · May 27, 2026 · 48 min

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