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Alex Rodriguez
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Jason Kelly
Yep.
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Alex Rodriguez
If Jason and I wanted to make an investment in soccer, what's your pitch?
Jill Ellis
Well, I think it's the truly global sport. I mean, right now we're in China negotiating broadcast deals for China in terms of revenue. So for the Women's World cup, it'll be a billion in revenue for next summer. And for the Men's World cup, you're probably Talking upwards of 4 to 6 billion, I would say, in that range.
Jason Kelly
So.
Jill Ellis
So, yeah, I mean, the numbers are big, but those are the numbers that go back into the sport.
Jason Kelly
Welcome back to the deal. I'm Jason Kelly.
Alex Rodriguez
And I'm Alex Rodriguez.
Jason Kelly
All right, Alex. Coming up on the show, Jill Ellis. She is the chief football officer of FIFA, meaning she's one of the chief architects of the global game of soccer. Also not for nothing, she won a couple of World Cups in 2015 and 2019 as the head of the U.S. women's National Team. The World cup, even if you wanted to escape it, you couldn't.
Alex Rodriguez
And I haven't. I'm down in Miami. I mean, it is everywhere. And I cannot wait to dive into the numbers of what FIFA represents and
Jason Kelly
all eyes are going to be what happens next in the business of soccer. Coming up, Jill Ellis. Jill Ellis, FIFA's chief football officer. You know, Alex, we'd love to make this show timely. What is more timely than talking to the chief football officer of FIFA on the eve of the World Cup? So let's start there. How are you feeling about this World Cup?
Jill Ellis
I mean, excited. I think the, what I've learned over time, you know, whether either competing in them or watching them is there's always a lot of controversy. It always feels like a three ring circus kind of getting into there, but once the games kick off, it's, it's magical. So excited. Obviously I'm from the US so it's exciting to have a, a World cup back here on, on the shores of America. So I think it's going to be brilliant.
Jason Kelly
You're feeling it down in Miami, aren't you?
Alex Rodriguez
Oh, there's no doubt. I mean, I think for the first time, Joe, I was born in New York, but I've been in Miami around 40 plus years. And I think soccer right now could be the number one, if not the number one sport, the number one kind of conversation and narrative around. I mean, you got Beckham, you have Messi, you have the, the championship and there's so many people, some multiply. And I guess my question to you, obviously FIFA, I'll be throwing the coin flip flip, but sell me in the sport, like if it was an investment, obviously I'm into women's sports with a W. I'm into men's sports with the NBA team with the Wolves. If Jason and I wanted to make an investment in soccer, what's your pitch?
Jill Ellis
Well, I think it's the truly global sport. I mean, you always hear, obviously you've got American football, baseball, but it's played everywhere. So I think you've got an immediate global audience. There's not a bigger audience for it than obviously the World Cup. I mean, even the Women's World Cup, 2 billion viewers in 23. So you've got probably the most global sport out there in the US it's trending. I mean, I think it's becoming probably the largest participation sport amongst Youth. So you've now got a whole generation of people playing it. You've got established professional leagues here. I mean 30 plus teams in the MLS, obviously the women's league. So it's not just emerging anymore. It's very much here. There's a baked in fan base. You've got an educated fan base now. You've had success. You know, obviously the women's team's had a lot of success on the global stage. Listen, I think it's, it's a can't miss sport and I think people that are engaging in sport and especially in America where we make it something that it's can't miss, it's such an exciting sport. I mean there's nothing like the last five minutes of a soccer game.
Jason Kelly
You mentioned, Jill, the three ring circus of it all. And I mean it may be a 12 ring circus at this point in this lead up. We're talking to you just a few weeks before it all kicks off and everybody's talking about something. I recently talked with your colleague Johnny Infantino about ticket prices, people are worried about visas, people are worried about who's going to play. Like from your job perspective, like what do you worry about in this tense lead up to the matches actually getting played?
Jill Ellis
I mean, I certainly think it's, you know, you want to have four stadiums. Safety is always something when you think about massive global events that you want to make sure that those things are in place. But ultimately it's getting the teams here, getting the stars here. Once, you know, again we had the club World cup last summer and there was a lot of debate and controversy about is this the right event. As soon as the matches kick off, the fans are in the stands, people gravitate towards that and it plays out. And I think that's as a former coach as well. You also know there's always the anticipation for that first whistle, that first moment and then once it happens, I think people settle into it. But you know, I think one of the things that people have talked about about this World cup is we now got 48 teams. It's the largest World cup ever. It's going to be, you know, countries, debutantes here. It'll be, you know, are the games going to be competitive? And I think that's going back to my early comment about this sport being truly global is yes, I think on any given day you're going to see, you know, one of the minnows beat the giants. And that's kind of what the exciting thing about this sport is. You've got such. Not the whole world really participating.
Alex Rodriguez
Give us an idea of some of the numbers as far as how many people around the world would watch these events, like the last two championship games, for example. And what kind of revenue would you say it generates?
Jill Ellis
Well, I think the last World cup, and obviously that was Qatar, I think it was 5 billion globally. The Women's World Cup, 2 billion.
Alex Rodriguez
5 billion.
Jill Ellis
Yep.
Jason Kelly
5 billion people.
Jill Ellis
Yep. The Women's World cup in 23 was 2 billion. We're projecting, you know, 2.5 to 3 billion. I mean, you know, it's broadcast. I mean, right now we're in China negotiating broadcast deals for China. You know, the whole, whole world really tunes in in terms of revenue. So for the Women's World cup, we're projecting this will be a $500 million increase. It'll be a billion in revenue for next summer, in 2027. And for the Men's World cup, you're probably Talking upwards of 4 to 6 billion, I would say in that range. So, yeah, I mean the numbers are big, but those are the numbers that go back into the sport. You know, for example, we give FIFA gives every participating country that's 211. They get FIFA forward money. So the money gets redistributed back of the sport.
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Alex Rodriguez
Jason, I have a question for you. I mean, you're the business person expert here. When you hear Joe say numbers like a billion for the women, 5 billion, what is the comp that you've seen?
Jason Kelly
There is no comp. I mean, that's the thing is there is no comp. And one of the interesting things, Jill, that as I've dug into this and spending time with Johnny on this topic is there is so much anticipation around this World cup in North America because of the scale of it. And one of the things, and I would love to talk a little bit about accessibility and ticket prices because I asked Johnny this question and he gave me a statistic which you got to keep me honest here, Jill, when I repeat it, which is this is going to blow your mind. The previous two World Cups, you know, people request tickets and there were 50 million ticket requests for the last two combined. Oh my gosh. For this one World cup, this one that's coming up, 500 million ticket requests. So 10x the last two. So I guess my question to you, Jill, on that is with that sort of demand, how do you manage the supply? Like, what are the conversations you guys have inside of FIFA? Because you have to manage the economics completely differently with that sort of demand.
Jill Ellis
Well, you know, in fairness, there's a whole team that manages this event, right? So we have a whole team behind it. But you know, the dynamic ticket pricing is, is very real. You know, I think that's the other thing. FIFA's been taking a lot of hits about the ticket pricing, but the reality is the demand is so big and you can't control all of the resale and all these types of things. But internally they have to keep a lot back, obviously for partners. How do you eke it out? How do you make sure that the demand is there? I mean, we still got certain games that I think we're trying to push and to sell, but they have a whole branch of ticketing experts that go in there and look at everything. I mean, even when you map out where you want teams to play, Right. Who do you want in what venue? I mean, we're doing this currently right now with the Women's World Cup. We haven't released the schedule because we're looking at the size of the stadiums. Where do you want teams playing to maximize revenue? So, yeah, this strategy happens years in advance, for sure.
Jason Kelly
That sort of demand, I'm turning this back on you. I mean, can you fathom that sort of demand? I mean, you have a couple pretty popular teams, but like, that level, it's hard to fathom.
Alex Rodriguez
I wish I can only dream well,
Jill Ellis
and we're getting hit for, you know, ticket prices. But you're right. I mean, the demand is so high that it drives the markets.
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Jason Kelly
Jill, one of the things that comes to mind for me is how do you factor that in on the sporting side, whether it is thinking about the matchups, thinking about which teams and which countries are going to be the dominant storylines, how do you maximize that as a business? How do you lean into it on the sporting side?
Jill Ellis
Well, it's certainly. I mean, you know, we're playing in massive stadiums, but if you look next summer In Brazil, there's 60, 70,000 seat stadiums, I mean, which for the women's game is massive and it's a heavy lift. So it's exactly that. It's who do you want playing where? Obviously there's not ultimate control because it's a draw and it's a random draw, but in terms of where teams play, making sure that, you know, South Korea is playing in L. A, you know, they've got an amazing player there in sun, and so making sure they're on the west coast. And so it's looking at location, population and obviously general interest. I mean, you know, a team. So, for example, last summer it didn't matter where you put Real Madrid, Real Madrid will. Will sell out in the club World cup or anywhere. And there's certain teams. I mean, Columbia has a phenomenal. Every time you see the U.S. play Columbia in the U.S. on the men's side, it's full of yellow jerseys. Obviously, Mexico will be playing in Mexico, but there's. I mean, there's just an immense amount, especially because we're such a melting pot. I mean, there's going to be large, a large following that will travel, you know, and that's the other thing you think about what fans will travel. You know, the Scottish fans will come, they'll travel. I mean there's just some amazing fan bases.
Alex Rodriguez
Jason, we have crazy fans in America now. In Miami, I'm really feeling it. There's a very European feeling in Miami now. They start partying at 6, 7 o' clock in the morning. So I guess my question is, who are some of the craziest, most rabid fan bases? If you had to say a few.
Jill Ellis
Listen, the Latin American market is phenomenal. I mean, you know, Argentina bring amazing fans. Colombia the same. I mean, I think those fans, I mean they don't stop the entire game moving their arms, singing. I mean it's non stop. And that's what's going to be really cool for I think the US fans to experience is, you know, we're kind of like a golf clapping kind of fan base compared to, compared to the rest of the world who are just, you know, rabid for 90 minutes. But yeah, I mean the, the South American fans are brilliant. I mean, listen, my mom was Scottish, God bless her. Those fans are, they're crazy. They will be probably starting at 6am and then you actually add to that because tailgating is not a thing in Europe or the rest of the world. You now add that you're going to open up potentially the stadium earlier. I mean, I think it's, it's going to be crazy. They have marches to stadiums. That's really big things in this, this world.
Jason Kelly
Well, and that entertainment piece, I think you'll appreciate this, Alex. It is so fascinating to me because, and Jill, again, keep me honest here. Like, it does feel like FIFA as a whole is leaning very much into the sort of entertainment aspect of sports. I think about what you guys do in, in Minnesota, I mean that's just kind of table stakes. But soccer, it feels like, is learning a lot about how to build around the match. Is that fair?
Jill Ellis
Yeah, I mean I listen, we, we have offices in Miami now and you know, in fairness, Gianni's spent a lot of time now going to American sports. We went to an Orlando basketball game. You know, the idea of the players coming out one by one being introduced. We did that last year in the club World cup. So there's a lot of, there's a lot of learnings. Just that sport as entertainment, you know, I think is very real. I mean, you know, last year we were walking around stadiums and just seeing the amount of Premium hospitality. You don't see that in Europe. You don't see that in South America in terms of just space. So I think we're learning a lot. Hydration breaks that you can actually commercialize now. I mean, there's all kinds of different things. One of the things he loved was the fitness cam, the dance camp. I mean, these are things that in Europe, they're very traditional because the game is the focal point and nobody gets distracted by anything else. Whereas I think in America, we're used to having a show around the show kind of thing also.
Alex Rodriguez
I can just imagine, Joe, the social impact of social media, the connectivity around the world is just massive, those numbers. But, Jason, I'm also wondering the economic impact to a city like New York. Yeah, those numbers have to be bonkers. And I'm assuming, Joe, that those fan base. We just talked about travel impacts, right?
Jill Ellis
Yep.
Alex Rodriguez
They travel well.
Jill Ellis
Yeah, I mean, Jason, if you speak to that.
Jason Kelly
But no, I mean, I think this is one of the big question marks around this World cup is we got a little bit of a preview of it to your point, from the Club World cup. Some good, some bad. You know, in terms of, like access to the stadiums and, you know, can people get there? Can they travel there? You know, there's been a lot of talk about how much it's going to cost to get to MetLife. I mean, these are the kinks that definitely are being worked out that probably, I mean, certainly in the last World cup in Qatar, you and I were in Doha together and actually spent some time talking about the sort of these mega events. Everything was very, very contained. You could go to multiple match in a day in different stadia. Here it's much more spread out. I think these are big questions that we actually won't know until the matches really get underway, right?
Jill Ellis
Correct. Yeah. I mean, I think it's, you know, again, I think some. Some events are still selling how much fans will travel. I mean, obviously, visas issues coming into the country. I think, you know, we're trying to mitigate those as much as possible. But sometimes people's hesitation, I mean, we saw it last year, CONCACAF hosted their tournament and, you know, at the time, people were uncertain about going to the stadiums. But I think the Club World cup showed last year that, you know, when you get there, it's. It is a great event, it's a safe event. But, I mean, there's nothing quite like coming and seeing you experience it with the Baseball World cup countries. That national pride. There really isn't anything quite like it
Alex Rodriguez
yeah, it's almost like 10 to 1 to a regular game or even a playoff game because, for example, in Miami it had a very much of a European soccer field where there was like concerts going on five, six hours before the game and people were chanting and they had their flags. And it, it's just a very patriotic theme that is. It's hard to describe unless you're there.
Jill Ellis
Yep.
Jason Kelly
So it's interesting in, in talking to you, Joe, even for the past little bit about how fluidly you move in your job and obviously based on your experience between the men's game and the women's game, it is not at all hyperbole to say you've been a chief architect of the women's game globally and, and certainly in this country. Where are we in that journey? You know, I mean, I know we're very focused on the World cup, the Men's World cup this summer, but there'll be one next summer for the women. How would you describe the state of the women's game?
Jill Ellis
I mean, I think it's, you know, the signals are out there. Right. We're seeing attendances go up. I mean, I think the Denver NWSL team, it was 62,000, 63,000. So you're seeing a lot of these amazing signals, you know, the Women's World cup next year. And so, yes, I straddle both, but obviously have one eye on next summer as well because, you know, this will be the first. I mean, it was 500 million. I think they made off of the last one. Now we're looking at billion and 100% of that money will be reinvested into women's football, which is huge. But we're also seeing the ecosystem grow. We're seeing now club championships for global club championships for women like we have on the men's side. We're seeing professional leagues become more stable in terms of attendance, investment. Even internally in FIFA, it used to be that everything and this was true. And I think in a lot of sports, you sell the men's game. The women's game was an add on. You sell this, it was an add on. Now we're unbundling rights. We've just got the most, the highest media deal ever for next summer's World cup where Netflix is paying for a one month tournament, which is incredible numbers. So we're suddenly seeing this unbundling, unpackaging, because I think it can stand alone.
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Jason Kelly
And so to that point, I've followed the NWSL very closely for a number of years now, and it was not that long ago and you remember, well, I'm sure that this was a league that was in existential crisis. You know, The AIDS report, 2022 comes out. You and a lot of other people were in that report and there was a concern that the league wouldn't go on. What's changed? Like what, what, what has happened in those intervening years that gives you confidence that women's soccer, and especially women's soccer in this country is on the right track?
Jill Ellis
Well, I think it's, you know, it's stability. I mean, we're in our third iteration of a women's professional league. So the first two failed. So this one has now been, I think we're in year 13. Perhaps you're seeing the growth of it in terms of teams added. You know, we went from 12, now we're at 16. So you're just seeing all of the, all of the numbers go up in that. But I think it's just, it's the professionalization of the game. I think at its core, I mean, if you put the players in the middle of it, it was part time contracts, it was paying for their own luggage to get on planes. It was things that just, you know, shouldn't really happen in professional sports. Now you're seeing legitimate minimum standards imposed. You're seeing facilities being specifically built now for women's teams. So there's just a lot more stability. I think there's a lot more attention on it. There's a lot more regulation of the sport as well in terms of, you know, expectations and like I said, minimum standards. So I think all of those things attribute to it.
Alex Rodriguez
I can tell you, Joe, when you were speaking, I was like, wait a minute, is she speaking about the wnba? It was exactly the same playbook and the same traction. But I was recently at the WNBA draft and we had the second pick and I had an opportunity to speak to a lot of the young women and I said to a few of them, I said, are you excited? Is your family happy? She goes, heck yeah. I'm a millionaire. I'm going to be a millionaire. And they said it was such pride and they deserve it. And I do think that the economic growth and the compensation is going to recruit other young women to say, why can't I also play in the wnba? I want to be a millionaire.
Jill Ellis
What's interesting is, and I don't know if this is same, but in women's soccer, women's football, for example, as the sport is growing and the ecosystem is growing and the players for sure are getting more, we're Actually seeing less women in leadership on coaching and the sidelines. So as it becomes more economically viable, you're now seeing a lot of men going into, you know, for example, coaching. We only have, I think, three head coaches that are female in the nwsl, in the women's professional league in England. I think it's 2 to 3. So we also have to make sure we're investing not just in the players, but the pathway for owners, for leadership, for GMs, for these other roles in women's sports, I think is a part of that.
Alex Rodriguez
Isn't one of the changes that you made that every team must have at least one female head coach or coach,
Jill Ellis
an assistant or a head coach? Yeah. I mean, and the reality is you hope these things happen organically, but they haven't. I mean, listen, the US Title 9 was a game changer for us in terms of access and opportunity, but we're seeing less and less women on the sidelines. And I think this was a passion for Gianni. He was like, I want every head coach to be female. I'm like, we're not quite there yet. We've got to make sure that these, these coaches are prepared, that they have, you know, experience, that they have education through coaching licenses. So it's not just creating the, the regulation, it's creating the pathway to the regulation.
Jason Kelly
I read a quote of yours about your current job that you said, and again, keep me honest here. You didn't come into this job to protect comfort. You're a straight talker. What is some straight talk that you've given to your colleagues at FIFA and to Johnny about growing the women's game and what FIFA's role can be in ensuring that in investment terms, these gains are consolidated?
Jill Ellis
Well, yeah, I mean, yes. And yes, Gianni appreciates this straight talk. I mean, I just gave a speech to Congress and basically to the 211 presidents of the federations, just sort of said to them, like, if you don't invest in women's football, you're missing out. Your countries care about winning. It's not just a matter, it's a gender thing. It's about winning. So provoking and encouraging people to invest because, you know, and I said in this speech, it's not an obligation. It shouldn't be an obligation. It should be something you look at as a viable economic decision as you move forward. But, yeah, I mean, just conversations, you know, looking at how we look at how media rights are framed, you know, pushing. Yes, we've got a great deal with America, but guess what the rest of the world should also be paying. So it's. It's everything from media rights deals to meeting with our cmo Rami and pushing and sort of challenging him to sort of say, hey, listen, this is packaged. How many standalone do we have for the Women's World Cup? So a lot of different conversations around that, but ultimately it's like, what are we doing? I mean, like the club World cup for women, it's. It's now a real thing. The first iteration will be in 2028. It's important that it's a high standard. And I've said to them, we've got to have it in a region. Hopefully it will be here in the US that we can commercialize it, that we can really give it what it deserves in terms of access around the world viewership.
Jason Kelly
All right, we're going to move to our rapid fire pretty easy. We'll bounce it back and forth. I'll start and then you pick up. You ready?
Alex Rodriguez
I'm ready.
Jason Kelly
All right. Favorite World cup memory as a coach.
Jill Ellis
France 2019 quarterfinals.
Alex Rodriguez
Favorite World cup memory as a fan.
Jill Ellis
Qatar, last World cup final. Amazing. France, Argentina Classic.
Jason Kelly
That was a hell of a match. Storyline you're most excited about going into this World Cup.
Jill Ellis
Just the debutantes, the new teams. I think it's exciting.
Alex Rodriguez
One change to the World cup you
Jill Ellis
would make tomorrow, I would put 500 tickets aside for kids, just for kids to come.
Jason Kelly
All right, that's a good one.
Public Sponsor Announcer
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Jason Kelly
Host City for 2026.
Jill Ellis
Ooh, God. My wife's from Kansas City, so I can't say that I don't think there is one. I think these cities are going to be amazing.
Alex Rodriguez
Favorite player of all time.
Jill Ellis
Ooh, I'm Maradona. Male player.
Alex Rodriguez
Maradona and women.
Jill Ellis
Women's player. I would probably go with Marta Team
Jason Kelly
you'd like to see win a championship more than any.
Jill Ellis
My team since I was seven was man United. So I go, we need to get back on top. World cup, come on. I want to see the US Win a World Cup. Men's World Cup.
Jason Kelly
Jill Ellis, thank you so much. This was really fun.
Jill Ellis
Thank you so much, guys. Appreciate you. Thank you.
Jason Kelly
The Deal is a production from Bloomberg Podcasts and Bloomberg Originals. The Deal is hosted by Alex Rodriguez and me, Jason Kelly show is produced by Alexis Hot, Stacy Wong and Anna Mazarakis. Original music and engineering by Blake Maples. Booking by Paige Keffer. Our managing editor is David Revella. Our executive producers are Jason Kelly, Amy Kean, Neville Gillette, Trey Shallowhorn, Regina Dallea, Kelly laferrier, and Ashley Zingaro. Special thanks to Rachel Carnevale, Alanis Los Angeles and Nick Silva. You can also watch the Deal on Bloomberg Originals, YouTube, and Bloomberg Television. And please subscribe to the Deal wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks so much for listening.
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Date: June 7, 2026
Hosts: Jason Kelly & Alex Rodriguez
Guest: Jill Ellis, Chief Football Officer of FIFA; Former U.S. Women’s National Team Head Coach
This episode features a timely and ambitious conversation with Jill Ellis, chief football officer of FIFA and renowned former head coach of the U.S. women’s national soccer team. On the eve of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Ellis dives deep into the global business of soccer, the unprecedented scale of the upcoming tournament, the surging momentum behind women’s soccer, the economics of mega-sporting events, and the evolving culture of the sport in North America. The episode’s substance revolves around investment opportunities, fan culture, ticketing challenges, and building a sustainable future for women’s football.
[02:08, 04:33, 07:15]
[03:32, 05:30, 07:02]
[10:39, 11:43]
[14:36, 15:49]
[16:37, 16:55, 17:43]
[19:16, 23:09]
[26:51]
[28:12–29:20]
This episode delivers a compelling, candid, and numbers-driven look at the FIFA World Cup and soccer’s explosive growth, with a strong dual focus on unparalleled demand and the evolving economic forces in women’s sports. Jill Ellis brings a unique voice of experience, blending business pragmatism, cultural insight, and passionate advocacy for the future of the beautiful game—on and off the field.
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