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- [00:00]
Adam
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- [00:36]
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- [01:08]
Anthony
this will be a once in a lifetime opportunity to showcase the greatness of American world class athletic competition as we celebrate our nation's 250th year. The world cup will also be an incredibly significant economic opportunity for countless American workers and businesses. It's expected to drive more than $30 billion.
- [01:30]
Faisal
Johnny, I don't know about that. That sounds like a lot of money.
- [01:33]
John Murray
That's true.
- [01:34]
Faisal
Are you sure? One does the country get out of that 30 billion 20 percentage of the gross or anything that's for negotiation
- [01:47]
Anthony
and it's going to create nearly 200 a once in a lifetime opportunity. That was of course US President Donald Trump talking to Gianni Infantino, the head of FIFA in the Oval Office last year about the upcoming World cup, which is almost here.
- [02:02]
Adam
And in this upcoming episode we're going to be talking about money. How much does it cost to buy a ticket? Spoiler alert. A lot. Where does all that 30 billion come from? And then go and a few other of the financial aspects of the 2026 World Cup. And you'll be hearing that in this third episode, which is a co production like the World cup itself, between three
- [02:21]
Marianna
BBC podcasts Newscast, Newscast from the BBC. It's going to be the world's largest sporting event ever hosted, but when the
- [02:30]
Faisal
time is up, they'll have to go home.
- [02:32]
Marianna
FIFA is making $11 billion off of this World Cup.
- [02:36]
Gianni Infantino
If somebody buys a ticket for the final $2 million, I would personally bring him A hot dog and the Coke.
- [02:41]
Faisal
It is such a unifying event. It is also about winning.
- [02:44]
Anthony
I may put on shorts.
- [02:46]
Faisal
I look extremely good in shorts. And join the play.
- [02:51]
Adam
Hello, it's Adam from Newscast.
- [02:52]
Marianna
And it is MARIANNA in the AmericasT worldwide headquarters, our current collab studio.
- [02:58]
Anthony
And it's Anthony in the American headquarters of AmericasT here at the BBC bureau in Washington D.C. from the football Daily,
- [03:05]
John Murray
this is John Murray at my desk shortly before I head to Mexico and the World Cup.
- [03:10]
Faisal
And it's Faisal, economics editor here in the Newscast studio in London.
- [03:14]
Adam
And Faisal, you've got your tablet out in front of you. Is that because you're currently on the FIFA World cup dynamic pricing website?
- [03:21]
Faisal
Well, I have been. And the dynamic on the dynamic pricing website is that there's a 23 minute wait right now to get up. Well, it may well be that once you get beyond that, there have. This is something that I think anybody who has been sniffing around for tickets has witnessed. There has been a sort of dribble of tickets on at certain times of day onto the website, which people, I think many people are kind of jumping on there thinking, so it's a full
- [03:50]
Adam
time job keeping track of when the tickets even go on sale.
- [03:53]
Faisal
I mean there are like Reddit forums, there are like AI built websites.
- [03:57]
Marianna
Yeah.
- [03:57]
Faisal
There's like a whole community of ticket chasers trying to, trying to find. And the game is you can get tickets for almost anything actually officially, but getting cheaper tickets, that's the game. And that is a very difficult task. And you use the phrase dynamic pricing and it's something that's. Well, it certainly wasn't around, it hasn't been ever been around for any World Cup. It's something that's come from the world of concerts. It became very famous with the Oasis gigs here in the UK a couple of years. Well, last year. And it's very common in, in American concerts in big.
- [04:37]
Adam
And what is the dynamism of the dynamic prices?
- [04:39]
Faisal
Well, it's that demand. When demand goes up, the price goes up. So you've seen that at each stage of the ticket offer, every time there's been an offer of tickets, it has adjusted sometimes by the day, sometimes by the week. And you're seeing it to some degree as well right now in the last minute phase. There's also, with some, you know, huge difference. Should we go through some of the.
- [05:04]
Adam
Well, yeah, let's just get your virtual blackboard out and chalk up some prices for us.
- [05:08]
Faisal
Well, and it's also evolved during the period of Sales, the multiple periods of sales that we've had. So for, for Cat 3 tickets for the final, I mean obviously that's like a big showcase and it's, it's going to be expensive, you'd expect, but not quite sort of three grand starting price, expensive and that was the price in October, but it's squeezed up and up and up. It's different and it's, it's now up to nearly six grand and category three in dollars, in US dollars and that's the lowest. And, and like you may be right up in the gods for 5,785 hard earned dollars and that's for Cat 3, to give you some context, the last World cup final in Qatar, 603. So a tenth of the price. You know, lots of complaints about that price at the time. This is extraordinary. Now that's for a cat three. For a cat one, you're into five figures. No, no problem. That's the official price. On the FIFA website, they, they also have a resale site where the people, which is FIFA run, which is also FIFA run, where if you got it for the cheaper prices in October, which weren't that cheap by the way, still several thousand dollars fee. I was going to say, relatively speaking.
- [06:22]
Adam
Yeah, but they're going and O.
- [06:24]
Faisal
Well there's, there's literally they put no limit on it. They've let the, the market fly in terms of sales and FIFA take a 15% cut from buyer and from seller. So it's an extraordinary, you know, and, and I think if you take a step back, what's happened here, these tickets, if they had been put on sale and if they've been put on sale for hundreds rather than thousands, many of them would have ended up costing thousands on secondary ticket websites sold, not legally. And essentially the economic strategy here is to capture all of that gain inside the FIFA ecosystem. So you have the resale, you have the sale dynamically. I mean, you also have this other thing where there's some slightly like odd crypto website where you can collect car virtual cards that double up as that are currently being swapped for tickets.
- [07:15]
Adam
Right. I mean that doesn't sound cheap to me.
- [07:19]
Faisal
No, no. Actually though, for some people that has been the cheapest way, right. Of getting a ticket. Apart from that there are a few hundred tickets, I think, I think for each game for fans who have got tickets through their football associations, the supporter tiers, where there are more typical reasonable prices, where I think you can get some tickets for $60, for example, but
- [07:41]
Adam
these are pretty rare and Anthony, FIFA's defense of these prices, I mean, it's a slightly loaded word to say it's a defense. But what they say about them is that actually going to live events in America, whether it's sports or concerts, is just way more expensive than it is anywh else in the world. And that just reminds me of when I went to see Taylor Swift in Liverpool and the hotel was full of American families who'd come to Britain to see Taylor because it was so much cheaper than seeing her at their local football stadium in America.
- [08:07]
Anthony
Yeah, it's expensive. America is an expensive country, particularly the big cities where all of these matches are going to be held. They're just expensive places to go to events, to park, to go to dinner, to stay in hotels. All of it just isn't cheap. And I have European friends who come over here and repeatedly remark about how expensive things are across the United States. Now, Gianni Infantino said the $300 for a ticket for the lowest level World cup tickets is about the same as, say, a college football sporting event here, which is very popular in the United States. And that's not exactly true. You can get tickets to college football games for much less than that. But the high profile tickets, the big games, the ones that sell out stadiums, the way that the World cup hopes to sell at stadiums, those are expensive and they, you have to pay either retail or through these secondary markets a pretty penny to be able to enjoy them.
- [09:06]
Adam
And Anthony, is it true that some of the attorneys general of the states where matches are being held have decided to investigate FIFA?
- [09:12]
Anthony
Yeah, there is currently ongoing investigations into FIFA, into how they struck out this dynamic, pricing arrangements, the sorts of deals they have with local governments for things like transportation, and it'll be difficult for it to get to anywhere. The legal gears in the United States grind slowly. And here we are almost at the start of the World Cup. But I think what that shows, because attorneys general, they're usually political positions in the United States, they're elective offices and they stand before the people to go back to their jobs during election years. They sense public dissatisfaction. They sense the ability to take advantage politically of the criticisms of the World cup and of FIFA. And that's why they're getting out ahead of this and bringing these cases.
- [10:04]
Adam
And John, I mean, you and your colleagues, this is luckily something you don't have to necessarily worry about because you're there for work and you get a great seat through your job. But what about people who don't have that privilege? What sort of things Are you hearing from them?
- [10:16]
John Murray
Yeah, I've got great, great sympathy with people who have made it their life to go to tournaments, whether it's Euros World Cups, and follow their team. And what I'm intrigued to find out is, is this going to be different? Because even as a commentator, I think all of the World Cups that I've covered, all seven of them up to this point, one of the great joys is that mix of humanity, football supporters, people who are coming from all over the world and mixed together in big numbers in the host cities and all around the host. Are we going to see that to the same degree here? And not only that, inside the stadiums, you know, to see huge stands full of supporters of one country, I'm not sure that is going to be a thing at this World Cup. And from my point of view, from an observer's point of view, that makes it a lesser spectacle. You know, only a few days ago I was at the Champions League final in Budapest. Brilliant. 17,000 supporters. And I know people will say it should be many more than that, but 17,000 supporters of the two teams involved, PSG at one end, Arsenal at the other. The color, the atmosphere that that provides, you know, is everything around the organization, ticket prices, hotels, transport, etc. Etc. Is that actually going to completely change the face of this World Cup? I have, I have a feeling it
- [11:44]
Adam
might because you, because you have a sort of generic crowd rather than people who are true partisans.
- [11:50]
Marianna
Yeah. Just to echo what John's saying, but, you know, when you go along to, like the World cup or the Euros, you know, one of the most, like, almost quite moving bits of going to games as a fan is just seeing, like, all these different people from all different parts of the world often trying to talk to each other. Like there's a real, like, happiness. And I think when we talk about the politics, I wonder whether, like, if that happiness were to exist between the fans, that that could perhaps eclipse some of the political conversation. But like John's saying, if. If the kind of ingredients aren't there, then that might not be the case. And like some of. I investigate all the bad stuff on social media, but some of my favorite social media content is often, like, football fans at the World cup, like, people will try and take pictures with like, every fan from every country and all that kinds of stuff. You just wonder if, yeah, that the vibe, the vibe might be a bit different.
- [12:36]
Adam
And Anthony, sticking with the pricing thing, explain to me this story about what sounds like the world's most expensive train.
- [12:43]
Faisal
Yeah.
- [12:44]
Anthony
So this has been a source of controversy. It is a train that runs from New York City to the football stadium, MetLife Stadium, which I think is being rebranded as New Jersey Stadium, to avoid corporate sponsorship issues for the World cup, where the championship match is going to be held. And this train, because a lot of people are going to be staying in New York, there's nothing really around the stadium in the Meadowlands in New Jersey. It's basically just an empty field and swamp it could cost. It originally was being slated as costing $120 round trip to get there. This is a ticket that normally costs commuters in the areas only about $10. So a massive markup. And the reason why the markup took place was because, according to the governor of New Jersey, the FIFA wasn't shouldering any of the costs of transport, and this was all required for security and in order to run these trains more often, in order to handle the mass crowds. Now, since then, there's been a deal struck. I think the ticket's gone down. And those haven't been selling out quite as much as I think they anticipated. Only a fraction of them have been sold. But it shows some of these additional costs, some of these unpredicted for fans coming to the United States, costs for getting to these stadiums, it's catching them by surprise, and it is generating a lot of angst and anger from the folks who want to get to a stadium which you can't walk to. You could drive, but parking's going to be expensive, too, so you pretty much have to take the train. They're stuck.
- [14:17]
Adam
Anthony, you've got to dash and go do some actual news now, so I'll let you go.
- [14:20]
Anthony
All right. It's great talking to you. Bye.
- [14:22]
Adam
Thank you very much.
- [14:23]
Faisal
Bye.
- [14:23]
Anthony
Bye.
- [14:24]
Adam
So, Faisal, intellectual point from you, please. Isn't this just proof that football, like lots of things, is just now a giant global commodity? And with globalization, that means the best seats go to the highest bidders?
- [14:37]
Faisal
Yeah, I mean, actually, I think this is a very American model of, if you like, they're treating this like Super Bowls, and they're pricing it like it's a Super bowl final. That's not always going to be the case with some, you know, particularly, I think it's in Los Angeles where they've. They've got not the most famous teams in the world up against each other that may not fill the stadium. So you still, you know, you can pick up tickets for two to three hundred dollars if you want to see, I think, you know, Jordan. But, yeah, it's tricky, but it's, it's very out of character for these, for these tournaments to have things like not just charging people 80 to 100. In Boston it is $80. But then sort of basically you can't get there any other way. You know, it seems quite, it's like you're being channeled into this one form of transport. Whereas in Qatar, in, in Germany, all around the world, you know, in Germany 20 years ago, they let everybody travel the entire breadth of Germany on their bullet trains essentially for free. People were starting in Frankfurt and ending up in Berlin. If they had a ticket to a match, you know, obviously that's not gonna. And so you had a totally different, you know, as Mariana points out, you had a different vibe. You had like thousands of young people on their InterRail trip, like going from city to city where the best games were. So very different here, sort of luxury experience. Are people going to do the old sort of NFL style, what they call tailgating like a barbecue out of their giant suv? Is that the type of thing that's going to happen? And the prices have followed and the question, you know, and FIFA have sat there saying, well, we're pricing this like it's a North American tournament, very different from Qatar, as I said. Even though, you know, there were questions about the atmosphere there and how involved and passionate the fans were in a. In the Gulf. It's going, coming back to Spain and Morocco and Portugal. I just don't think the Spanish public for example, who are a little bit more like they're never gonna.
- [16:36]
Adam
Or the Spanish government, which is pretty left wing.
- [16:39]
Faisal
Yeah. See if they're still in place in four years time. But like, I just can't imagine that they'll, they'll allow this. So this is like, it may be a very one off experience. It's interesting that it's a similar thing. Prices are still being charged in Canada, Mexico, although there are limits on, on reselling the tickets. But yeah, they are saying if ticket touts are going to make thousands of dollars because they happen to have been allocated to get in a drawer ballot. No, we're gonna, we're gonna take that money and they would argue we're going to recycle it into the sort of footballing family. Yeah, I mean that is.
- [17:15]
Adam
And we'll come on to FIFA's finances in a second. But I just wanted to play this clip of Gianni Infantino from FIFA reacting to this idea that's done the rounds that there is a £2 million ticket and here's what Infantino said about that
- [17:27]
Gianni Infantino
if some people put on a secondary on the resale market, some tickets for the final at $2 million, number one, it doesn't mean that the tickets cost $2 million. Number two, it doesn't mean that somebody will buy these tickets. Actually, if somebody buys a ticket for the final 2 million, I will personally bring him a hot dog and a Coke.
- [17:47]
Faisal
Yeah.
- [17:49]
Gianni Infantino
To make sure that he has a great experience. But, you know, we have to look at the market. We are in a market in which entertainment is the most developed in the world. So we have to apply market rates. In the US it is permitted to resell tickets as well. So if you were to sell tickets at the price which is too low, these tickets would be resold at a much higher price. And as a matter of fact, even though some people are saying that the ticket prices we have are high, they still end up on the resale market at an even higher price, more than double.
- [18:41]
Adam
I think that's the if you can't beat them, join them argument. Also, I think Gianni Infantino is there talking from my own reading of the FIFA ticketing website about hospitality package, the Coke and the hot dog you actually have to pay extra for to get access to one of the pitch side bars. John, do we think this 2 million pound ticket actually exists or has it just become a bit of a sort of an emblem for just how expensive it all is?
- [19:03]
John Murray
Well, it was reported that there were four tickets available behind the goal for the final for almost $2.3 million each.
- [19:13]
Marianna
By the way, behind the goal is not that good.
- [19:15]
John Murray
Behind the goal. Exactly.
- [19:17]
Marianna
I'm too small. I wouldn't be able to see anything.
- [19:20]
John Murray
But you see the clincher here will be. And it is true what he says about how much it costs to watch sports in America. The U.S. open golf goes on when we'll be at the World cup in the United States. And to go to a day's golf at the US Open, it's hundreds and hundreds of dollars for a ticket. But what the clincher will be is, and will perhaps set the tone for future World Cups is if all of the stadiums are full when it comes to it, you know, you know, everyone's saying, well, they won't be full, people won't pay it. But if they are full, then, you know, that's it, isn't it? The floodgates are open.
- [19:57]
Adam
And John, just on the logistics, I mean, fans might find themselves traversing a lot of miles depending on how their team does.
- [20:04]
John Murray
Oh, yeah, absolutely. So, you know, Qatar and this World cup could not be more different because I think the longest drive we had in Qatar was about an hour and a half to the furthest stadium away. And you know, people could go to several matches per day. And actually, I think if you had a match ticket, travel on the public transport, on the metro, the glistening Qatar metro was free for anyone who had a ticket. And for this one, some locations are 2,800 miles apart from one another. And the cost of flights will be exorbitant as well. So that, you know, that's another factor in, in it all.
- [20:47]
Adam
And that's the thing, Faisal. Even though America is the inventor of the low cost airline, air travel in America has become very expensive in the last few years.
- [20:54]
Faisal
It has. And, and, and this also kind of shines a light on the economic impact because it's so diffuse because you've got lots of cities and they're very far apart. The concentrated impact on these economies won't be as much as it was. I think it was an 8% lift in the GDP of Qatars was smaller. And so they're often justified. We heard the clip at the top there of saying it's going to raise 20, 30 billion. It's not actually that much in terms of the size of the American economy. What you tend to see the justification for, and in this case what's interesting is that they haven't funded huge infrastructure improvements. Often what you see is that you get new stadiums, you get motorways built, you get metro systems built, you get new airports being built.
- [21:39]
Adam
And in fact the reason there isn't a match in Washington D.C. is because the stadium there is sort of falling apart and isn't, hasn't been rebuilt yet.
- [21:46]
Faisal
Yeah. And so it will be a bit weird because there'll be very big cities, Chicago is another city where the World cup is not happening. And then there are other cities where they haven't quite got the, the sort of big golden ticket games where they've canceled their fan parks and things and there's a lot of other stuff going on in the States. I do wonder in economic terms though, like I, I, you know, I like on a, in a bigger picture you've talked about around in previous episodes, it's just so fascinating to think that you've got Mexico, Canada, the US hosting this. They've been at loggerheads on the trade war. You've got US and Iran. I, I just wonder if like Trump's going to go for some sort of ceasefire, some sort of World cup ceasefire,
- [22:28]
Marianna
just by that Peace Prize?
- [22:29]
Faisal
Well, no, I'll talk about that in other tv. Yeah, one, one wonders that, which, you know, I know maybe that could free up what's going on in the straight of Hormuz and that might be a bit of an impact. So I think there's a lot of sort of geopolitics and geo economics kind of coursing through this World cup. But the actual macro boost to these three countries is probably going to be on the low side because there's a lot of other stuff going on.
- [22:53]
Adam
But America doesn't really need an economic boost, does it?
- [22:56]
Faisal
I mean, I think Donald Trump might decide. Well, it doesn't, it doesn't. It's not going to register on the scale of like what's happening in a different area, like in their AI where
- [23:04]
Adam
basically the cost of living is going through the roof. But the American stock market is going through the roof, but equally American government borrowing is going through the roof as well. Yeah, John, help me out here. And this is probably a very difficult question to answer with FIFA's finances because they keep talking about they're a not for profit organization.
- [23:20]
John Murray
Yeah. And listen, also, it does cost a lot to put the World cup on. However, they expect to make many billions more than that in revenue. But you're right, FIFA is a not for profit organization and it says it reinvests the revenue from the World cup to fuel the growth of the game across all of the associations, over 200 member associations and all of the various levels as well. And remember as well the power that Infantino is playing into here with a 48 team World cup, it means that he is giving many more associations the chance to be on the big stage with the biggest teams and the biggest country. So that's why we've got Cape Verde, Curacao, Jordan, Uzbekistan involved in the World cup for the first time because it's so big. And also lots and lots of other countries, not least Scotland. Adam appearing in the, in the World cup for the first time for a long time. Iraq is another one, the last team to qualify. Iraq haven't played at the World cup since 1986. So, you know, we're talking about this from a UK point of view. We've talked a lot about England and what they might do. But you know, when you look at it through the lens of Uzbekistan, then this is what they've been waiting for football fans in Uzbekistan forever.
- [24:47]
Adam
And Faisal, is FIFA kind of doing the global economy a bit of a favor here? Because we're always told that people go out and buy new TVs. When the world cup is on, people
- [24:55]
Marianna
go out and buy or loads of stickers.
- [24:57]
Adam
Yeah, stickers just to give one example. Or massive pallets and kegs of beer for to drink with their mates in the back garden when their team is playing. Does it, does it give global GDP a boost?
- [25:07]
Faisal
You do see a boost to consumption. You do see the super. You know, you won't be able to move in possibly already for. In the supermarkets for like various official and unofficial kind of sponsorships. The faces of the England team and the Scotland team kind of emblazoned everywhere. And it does, it does. You know, there is a modest effect on consumption. It could it inject a bit of much needed feel good factor which can help into the UK economy. It's been lacking, I think I'll probably put it like that. I mean certainly I remember coming out of COVID when that delayed Euro 2020 tournament happened, it did suddenly feel like, you know, something happened generally with society and then something sort of happened to help the economy rebound at that point. So yeah, if, if the home nations do well, if your nation does well, I think once I saw a piece of economic research saying the best economic boost you can get is if the, if the host country of which they're three now does well, then you can see a material impact on gdp.
- [26:11]
Adam
I think that would be different country
- [26:12]
Faisal
with the American, with the Americans. But say like if you're the, if you're Mexico, Canada, we shouldn't rule out in front of home audiences what that can do to the Canadians. They've got, you know, handy set of players. John will be better cited on that. I think Mexicans can, you know, they've got a few skills up their sleeve. So yeah, I think that that is the, that is the, the, the, the big, in the big impact.
- [26:34]
John Murray
And I've heard as well it could give a bit of a boost to the Costa Brava and maybe all sorts of venues on the Mediterranean. Because a little bit like we've seen in recent years with the Cheltenham Racing Festival that people have decided it's too expensive. They're going to go and watch it all in Benidorm or wherever it happens to be. There is, there is some talk that people have decided, nope, we're not going to go. We're actually going to go and watch it en masse in Spain or wherever.
- [27:02]
Adam
So. Wow. So I'm trying to think of what my equivalent of that would be like not being able to go to Los Angeles for the Oscars, but just going to like York for the weekend, to watch the Oscars in a nice hotel. I think I've just come up with a holiday plan. Yeah, Faisal, I know you've got to go and it's to go and do work, not to go on that website, is it?
- [27:23]
Faisal
No, no, exactly.
- [27:23]
Adam
Exactly. Okay, thank you very much. See you soon.
- [27:26]
Anthony
Right.
- [27:27]
Adam
This has very much been like the journalist zone, because we've been talking about the. The politics, the diplomacy, how conflict is going to play out on the football pitch, the personal relationships, the money, some of the tensions around it. So that's. The journalist zone is closing for business. I'm going to reopen the fan zone now. Mariana, tell me something you're just looking forward to.
- [27:47]
Marianna
Other than collecting stickers for my non specified book or. All sticker books are available. I. I just think that there's something about. And I actually think this is. This is. Sorry, this is super cliched, but nonetheless, I feel like this is the moment to say it. When you spend a lot of your time investigating, like outrage on social media and algorithmic division and polarization, these kinds of tournaments feel like an opportunity for that to be sort of overcome. And I. I kind of. There's a little bit of me that slightly worries that maybe we're also kind of algorithmically polarized and sort of at loggerheads with one another, particularly because of what's unfolding on our feeds, that maybe, maybe that unity is not quite so possible in a way that it used to be. But it always seems like football is the time where people are able to kind of like, put aside all of the other issues that they're arguing about and, you know, get behind a particular team and, you know, even just watching. And I'm sure, John, you feel this like the most random group game, it's just such a fun experience. Like, it's not even just about watching your national team. It's just like watching these teams, particularly those teams that are so excited to be at the World cup cup because they've not been there before. Like, I absolutely love doing that.
- [28:56]
John Murray
Yeah. You know, I've got my diary sitting here next to me, and I know that when I look at it, my eyes are drawn to the England matches. But you're absolutely right, Mariana. The other matches as well, which. Any match you go to at the World cup, it means so much to the supporters of the two teams that are involved. You know, it is. It is the biggest deal. And you really feel that when you go there and sit in amongst it and see those players singing the national anthem and the supporters in the stands. That's why it is so important to have as big a number as possible in the stands of supporters from those countries being there, so they can share the emotion of it. But of all of the things that I do in this job, I'm very fortunate to go to commentate on big football matches, big sporting events. The World cup is the best for me because of the joy that it brings. But at the same time, it really means something to the supporters of those teams. They really, really care.
- [29:58]
Adam
Well, I can't wait to hear you doing the day job, John. I just remember Italia 90, Scotland being there in the World cup and it felt like the sunniest, happiest summer of my childhood. And I even remember things like a special episode of Rabsey Nesbit, which, Marianna is an old Scottish sitcom that was big in those days. That was where they went to Italy for. And then, of course, the Three Tenors at the end of it. And just things that are seared into a nation's consciousness, but things that are seared in. In a nice way rather than a bad way. So there's a lot of echoes there for Scottish people this time around. Right. John, I know on Football Daily you have your tradition of the ranking, the phrases from the commentary box.
- [30:39]
John Murray
Yeah, the great glossary of football commentary, we call it. So we have a long, long list, actually, which is on there on BBC Sounds. If you go to the commentators view, you can actually see the phrases that we' you know, which. Which refer to football commentary wherever it happens to be. But if I was going to throw one in, that I will almost certainly use ahead of the opening match between Mexico and South Africa in the Aztec Stadium. The Azteca. I'd be very surprised if the phrase iconic venue doesn't slip out onto the airwaves, because that's what it is. So iconic venue will be. Will be, I think, top of the. Top of the list when it comes to the first match at this World Cup.
- [31:25]
Adam
Well, I've just signed up to present Newsnight on the night of the 17th of June, which I didn't realize is England versus Croatia, first England match. So I'll try and get some of your phrases in on Newsnight. So I almost feel like I'm part of that Easter egg to the eight viewers who will be watching that night.
- [31:40]
John Murray
I think I can see how. I think I can see how that presentation is going to unfold.
- [31:44]
Adam
Yeah. I wonder how many other people they asked before they got to me. Right, John, it's been great hanging out with you.
- [31:49]
John Murray
Thank you Marianna.
- [31:50]
Adam
Great to see you too.
- [31:51]
Marianna
Thanks for having me.
- [31:52]
Adam
And Newscasters and Americasters, if you have liked this taste of the footballing life, you can get John Murray and his colleagues from five Live and the Commentary box on Football Daily. Well, every day talking about football. But that's the end of this little mini series which has been brought to you by me from Newscast, me Marianna
- [32:12]
Marianna
from AmericasT with Anthony, and me, John
- [32:14]
John Murray
Murray from the Football Daily.
- [32:15]
Adam
Loads of great BBC podcasts for you to listen to on BBC Sounds in between the how many matches is it? 100?
- [32:21]
Marianna
104?
- [32:22]
Adam
In between the 104 football matches that we'll all be listening to over the next few weeks. Bye Bye.
- [32:27]
Marianna
Newscast, Newscast from the BBC.
- [32:29]
John Murray
Well, thank you for making it to the end of another newscast.
- [32:32]
Faisal
You clearly ooze stamina. Can I gently encourage you to subscribe
- [32:36]
John Murray
to us on BBC Sounds?
- [32:38]
Faisal
And then, without having to do anything
- [32:40]
John Murray
else, our meandering chat will miraculously make its way to your phone.
- [32:55]
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