George Hamilton

So I'm just thinking, when you spread it like this,

And think of the next World Cup, what they're doing with that.

It's the 100th anniversary.

So they started in South America, they stop off in Africa and they finish up in Spain.

I mean, where are the fans in all of this?

No, despite the best efforts of the likes of David Beckham and Lionel Messi and what they have done.

I mean, it's at a higher level than it was.

It is.

Let's be honest.

But the net effect of the evangelizing of Sepp Blatter and taking it to the USA in 1994 hasn't so much been to plant soccer on the sporting map in the United States as bringing United States entrepreneurs into Europe to buy up football clubs and make money out of them.

But that's a kind of an ironic byproduct of what was supposed to be bringing soccer to the States.

The interesting thing about the States, though, is women's soccer is huge.

I did the Women's World Cup in France in 2019 when they were in their pomp, the USA women.

And the crowd that followed them from the United States was quite phenomenal.

So the way I'd put it is it's a niche sport behind American football, baseball, ice hockey and basketball.

But...

It has a toehold for sure.

And there is a bigger audience for it now, I would feel, than there would have been in 1994 when the hot ticket was for the opening ceremony or the closing ceremony and not so much for the games.

Yes.

Absolutely.