"Next summer's World Cup will be the largest, most complex and most lucrative sporting event in history, with 48 teams playing 104 games in three countries. The tournament is expected to draw a global TV audience of nearly 5 billion and FIFA, the event's organizer, is hoping for revenues of between $10 billion-$14 billion - which is why lower-bowl tickets for Iran-New Zealand at SoFi Stadium cost nearly $700."
"All that seemed unlikely after the first tournament in 1930, when the idea of a soccer World Cup was nearly killed in the cradle, the victim from lack of planning, lack of money and lack of interest. That the competition survived, much less thrived, is nothing short of a miracle, says English writer and podcaster Jonathan Wilson, author of the deeply researched "The Power and Glory: The History of the World Cup.""
Next summer's World Cup will feature 48 teams, 104 games across three countries, an expected global TV audience nearing 5 billion, and projected FIFA revenues of $10–14 billion, driving high ticket prices such as nearly $700 for Iran-New Zealand lower-bowl seats at SoFi Stadium. The inaugural 1930 tournament involved only 13 teams; travel costs, missed ships, and refusals to participate plagued the event. Early matches faced snow and tiny crowds, officiating was informal, and there was no TV coverage. The competition's survival and growth from those humble, chaotic beginnings to a global behemoth represent a remarkable transformation.
Read at Los Angeles Times
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]