Is the USA ready for the World Cup? – Football Weekly podcast
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What are the main concerns about the upcoming World Cup in the USA?
This is The Guardian.
Hello and welcome to the Guardian Football Weekly. It's a month until the World Cup and we're getting lots of questions like, when are you going to talk about what's happening in the US? Well, even if we have covered it a lot in passing, consider this an official start. We're joined by two experts in the US to discuss ticket prices, Iran, visas, ICE, Trump, Gianni, public transport and general enthusiasm for the tournament. We'll also discuss the US side and their chances, grassroots football, all that on a bonus episode of the Guardian Football Weekly. On the panel today, Alex Abnos, Senior Sports Editor at The Guardian, our friend from Austin, Texas. Welcome, Alex. Hello, Max. I mean, not from Austin, Texas, but that's when we had our wild times together.
Leander Schollekens, soccer journalist, author of The Long Game, U.S. Men's Soccer and Its Savage Four-Decade Journey to the Top or Thereabouts. And we'll get to Leander to whether it's got to the top yet or whether it'll get to the top this summer in a bit. Hey, Leander, how are you? Hi, Max.
How do ticket prices impact fans' enthusiasm for the World Cup?
Barry is here, as always. Hi, Baz. Hi, Max. As with every major tournament, we have that tricky balance of wanting to enjoy the football without ignoring the political climate. We've talked about it before. We'll talk about it again, no doubt. I'm going to start with this email from George, who says, Hey, Max, Barry, and everyone else. Monday marks one month before the World Cup begins. Usually it feels like there's a lot more buzz around the tournament. Is it just me, or does it feel very flat this time around? Any thoughts on why? Is it general apathy towards a grotesquely large competition being run by... grotesquely shameless men who are turning it into an inevitable vanity parade? Is it because the Premier League title race is still interesting?
Is it the general negative news stories, e.g.
What political issues could affect the World Cup experience?
ticket prices that are streaming out from across the Atlantic? I also wonder how Mexicans and Canadians are feeling about it all. They're supposed to be co-hosts, but being treated like bit-part players. And I suppose in the UK, it is still the football season, right? We're not thinking about the World Cup, and we won't for a couple of weeks, I guess.
What's it like over there? It's not the football season. I mean, it is your football season that many people are paying attention to. I think, as with many big events in the US, you know, the ramp up hasn't really started yet. I think you often find with tournaments like this, you see this with the Olympics too, it's very much not happening until it's on the absolute most eve of it happening. Yeah. And then it's all that anybody is talking about, and it tends to go that way for the entire length of time that it exists. So, you know, is everybody on the street here talking about the World Cup? Not really. I mean, you know, I've certainly had more conversations about it in the last month or so than I have in the month previous, but it's not as if it's the only thing on everybody's minds right now.
How does grassroots football influence the USMNT's performance?
I think you'll see that change in a very, very big way, maybe in a couple weeks, and then... exponentially more so in the next week and then once the tournament starts it's all anybody's going to be talking about because these games are going to be happening and they're going to be bringing people to people's doorsteps uh sometimes literally there's a little bit ways to go but that's not necessarily a bad thing or all that unusual yeah would you go with that leander
There was a poll conducted a month ahead of the 1994 World Cup, which was the last one that was held here. And it found that 80% of Americans at that time didn't know what the World Cup was or that it was going to be on their doorstep. So if we take a comparison, we are miles ahead of there where at least people know what it is. But there is a lot of other programming on. The NHL playoffs are going on. The NBA playoffs are going on. Baseball season is going on. So it's just not something people are really thinking about as much with a few weeks to go, which is sort of as you would expect this time before World Cup.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What are the main concerns about the upcoming World Cup in the USA?
0:00–1:10
2
How do ticket prices impact fans' enthusiasm for the World Cup?
1:10–1:48
3
What political issues could affect the World Cup experience?
1:48–2:51
4
How does grassroots football influence the USMNT's performance?
2:51–4:08
5
What are the expectations for the USMNT in the World Cup?
4:08–4:50
6
How do the US, Canada, and Mexico collaborate for the World Cup?
4:50–6:21
7
What legacy do organizers hope to leave after the World Cup?
6:21–7:59
8
What challenges does soccer face in America post-World Cup?
7:59–39:20
Speakers
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