How sky-high ticket prices, war & politics could impact the World Cup
6/9/202645 min
The biggest World Cup ever starts this week. Laura Williamson, editor in chief of The Athletic, describes how sky-high prices, travel restrictions, politics and the Ebola outbreak are impacting fans. Williamson also discusses President Trump’s UFC event on the White House lawn.
Ken Tucker reviews Kacey Musgraves’ album ‘Middle of Nowhere,’ which he says pairs well with the music biography ‘Gary Stewart: I Am From the Honky-Tonks.’
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Dave Davies· Host0:18
This is Fresh Air. I'm Dave Davies. The FIFA World Cup opens this week with soccer matches in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. With 48 teams and 104 matches, this will be the biggest World Cup ever. Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, the international federation that runs the tournament, has declared that this will be the greatest event that humanity, mankind has ever seen and ever will see. So yes, there's plenty of excitement. More than five million tickets have been sold to international travelers alone. But this is also a season of some discontent surrounding the Cup. Aside from logistical challenges like transportation, there are issues arising from war, politics, infectious disease, and according to many, greed. FIFA's ticketing practices and pricing have outraged many fans and prompted investigations by two state attorneys general. US immigration restrictions and the war with Iran have affected travel from many countries, and the Ebola outbreak has the attention of local and international health officials. And just to keep things interesting this week, there's the NBA finals and another one-of-a-kind sports event coming up