#1014 | Ed and Tom look past the football at the expanded 2026 World Cup in the US. The focus is the off-pitch mess: visa and border problems, geopolitical tension, and reports of players and staff held for long stretches at US border control. Bans restricting fans from certain countries sit awkwardly against the tournament's "welcome the world" branding, and the gap between the message and the environment gets a hard look.

Ticketing comes in for the heaviest criticism. FIFA's high, dynamically priced model and its resale marketplaces amount to legalised touting, with fees stacked on top. The result might well be uneven pricing and stadiums that sit half empty.

Player welfare closes things out. Heat and humidity, water breaks that double as ad slots, and pitches rolled out over NFL turf all point to conditions built for revenue rather than the people on the field. Behind it sits FIFA's $13bn revenue target and Infantino's grip on the money through FIFA Forward.

00:00 Introduction

03:52 Geopolitics and Iran

05:02 Visa Bans and Fan Access

13:37 Ticket Prices and FIFA's Money

14:42 FIFA's Revenue 

22:59 Infantino and the FIFA Forward Programme

35:32 Player Welfare, Heat and Pitches

44:24 Stadium Experience and American Sports Culture

51:49 Wrap-Up

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