After 32-Year Wait, the World Cup Is Finally Back
But the *real* tournament is still a couple weeks away
We’re getting ready for the World Cup—and our networking hang on Thursday in NYC! Don’t forget to RSVP!
🚨🚨 GOING YARD WITH BACKYARD BASEBALL 🚨🚨
Eben’s Two World Cups Theory 📉 📈: I’ve been asked a lot recently about the relatively tepid vibes in the U.S surrounding the World Cup. Here’s how I’m thinking about it:
There are really two World Cups. The first is the 72 group stage games. There are a handful of good matchups over those three weeks, and there will be some upsets, but this first World Cup is going to be a little bit of a drag. There are so many teams, and so many games. There will be empty seats, and toward the end, real World Cup fatigue.
Then the second World Cup begins. The knockout stages will concentrate the talent and raise the stakes. By the time we get to England vs. France, or Brazil vs. Argentina, this tournament will be a sensation. The semifinals and finals will be the three biggest sporting events ever held.
What I’m Not Sure Whether to Laugh 😂 or Cry 😢 About: The heat. There have already been some great memes of Norwegian and English footballers adjusting to the U.S. summer.
And yet, the blistering sun is no joke. Temperatures could impact players and fans alike over the next few weeks. We’ve already seen heat shake up Roland-Garros. Hopefully the weather remains a laughing matter…
(If you want to read more about how players are biohacking to prepare for the conditions, we did a deep dive on the topic ahead of the 2024 Olympics.)
Non-Sportico Story of the Week 🌱: FIFA spent more than $5 million on grass research for this World Cup, creating 16 different pitches designed to perform everywhere from Guadalajara to Toronto. BBC put together a great breakdown of the challenges scientists faced—and the solutions they came up with, including mixing natural turf with artificial fibers.
HALFTIME ⚽: Here’s FIFA boss Gianni Infantino kicking a soccer ball.
A Ticket Update 🎟️: Expensive tickets have been the most enduring story of the run-up to the World Cup, and with games just a few days away, FIFA is still sitting on tens of thousands of unsold tickets. Here’s what one section looks like at publish time for the U.S. team’s first game against Paraguay in Los Angeles on June 12 (unsold seats in red).
We’re at the point now where FIFA has to do something. And as we’ve discussed before, there are a few levers to pull. The governing body can 1) drastically lower prices, 2) filter more and more tickets to secondary market brokers who unload inventory on the resale sites, or 3) quietly give tickets away to sponsors, charities or fans on the street. I’m expecting to see a little of all three, but with an emphasis on 2 and 3.
What I’m Worried About 😬: If you see a World Cup ticket offer that seems too good to be true, think twice before clicking through. The FBI is warning fans about scammers exploiting excitement—and naivete—around this summer’s festivities. AI tools only make realistic messages and websites easier to build. One recent report found 19,000 domains created since January with references to “FIFA.” Watch out!
Sportico Story of the Week 🏟️: There are sixteen cities across North America hosting the World Cup. On Monday our colleague Luke Cyphers wrote about a handful that aren’t. Do officials in Montreal, Chicago or Minneapolis have any regrets? Doesn’t seem like it!
Let’s end on an exciting note. Here’s how Paraguay sent off its World Cup team last week 🎆:
Club Sportico is a community organized by Sportico, a digital media company launched in 2020 to cover the business side of sports. You can read breaking news, smart analysis, and in-depth features from Eben, Jacob and their colleagues at Sportico.com, and listen to the Sporticast podcast wherever you get your audio. Contact us at club@sportico.com.