World Cup Final Preview, Olympic Cross Country Skier Jessie Diggins

0:00Hisense started as a small radio factory and now supports the greatest football tournament on earth. Find out more later in this podcast. Hisense, official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup 2026. So there's a lot of noise about AI, but time's too tight for more promises. So let's talk about results. At IBM, we work with our employees to integrate technology right into the systems they need. Now, a global workforce of 300 ,000 can use AI to fill their HR questions, resolving 94 % of common questions. Not noise. Proof of how we can help companies get smarter by putting AI where it actually pays off, deep in the work that moves the business.

0:42Let's create smarter business. IBM. Brought to you by Capital One. As a founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports, Capital One is here to bring you closer to the athletes and teams you care about. And with checking accounts that have no fees or minimums, Capital One is here to handle your banking needs, too. Just ask the Capital One bank guy. It's pretty much all he talks about, in a good way. Capital One, what's in your wallet? Terms apply. See CapitalOne.com slash bank for details. Capital One and a member FDIC.

1:17Bloomberg Audio Studios. Podcasts. Radio. News. This is the Business of Sports. Our aim is always to leverage the global appeal of football. Having representation in college sports is even more important than pro. 10 % of Americans now claim soccer to be their favorite sport. We estimate the youth sports audience has$3 trillion in spending power. The nature of baseball is it is worldwide and it is global. I'm very happy for the WNBA and how the NBA has embraced them. Sportsbooks are not going anywhere, and sports betting is only growing. We have a super team running this league, and this league is here, and it's here to stay.

1:58Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio. This is the Bloomberg Business of Sports, where we explore the big money issues in the world of sports. I'm Mike LeBard. I'm Vanessa Perdoa-Maglione. And I'm Miranda Williams. The World Cup Final is set, but you know what that means. it means the World Cup is about to come to an end. I'm not prepared, and I will not get over it anytime soon. But this is going to be a great final between Spain and Argentina. Coming up today, we will talk about the World Cup with Sports Business Journal senior reporter Joe Lemire on his takeaway from attending matches, as well as check-in with Olympic cross-country skier Jesse Diggins, who's being honored at the Time 100 Sports Gala.

2:39And all that is straight ahead. But first, let's run through the biggest headlines We followed through the tournament. Well, it's over. Well, it will be over. It's almost over. Almost over. Let's put it that way. And I'm just wondering how many VIPs will attend the Sunday matchup at MetLife Stadium between Spain and Argentina. It's a really good question, Michael. I feel like there's definitely going to be a lot. President Trump is scheduled to attend. Yes. He will be there, which will make our jobs really hard on Sunday, getting into and out of the stadium. I think that what we'll see on Sunday is a lot of VIPs.

3:23Obviously, there are also the halftime show. That's Justin Bieber, Madonna, Shakira. And BTS. And BTS. With, don't forget, you cannot forget Sesame Street. Sesame Street. Yeah, buddy. I think what I'm interested to see is if the number of stars is on the level of Game 3 at Madison Square Garden between the Knicks and the Spurs. I think it's a good comparison because you have the young prodigy in Laminia Mall and the old goat that is Lionel Messi. So it'll be interesting. I think that the interesting thing there in that comparison is MSG for Game 3 was like, how do you get these tickets? How can we be seen courtside, all of that?

4:09And because that doesn't really exist in soccer, the courtside and the being seen aspect of it, I'm not sure it's going to be as Celebrity Row. Well, I might disagree with you there. And the reason for that is because FIFA does have the celebrities give out the ball and sometimes they stay for the game, other times they go. And it often feels like they are obligated to show the celebrities in the suites. And I think that with the halftime show, with this being the biggest final lever that FIFA is trying to make it, I do wonder if they will incentivize people to come out. we will check in on that next week maybe i'll bring my binoculars i want to ask though because there's been a lot of talk about the hydration breaks in this tournament i mean yes it's important because it's hot as blazes out there but at the same time too i know a lot of the purists are like what is this but i'm going to ask this question and this is from a novice what's the difference between that and a TV break when you're watching a professional NFL game?

5:16Well, the difference is there's actually quarters in the NFL and the soccer is not. Soccer's not supposed to be quarters. And the interesting thing with the hydration breaks is it's not a completely new thing in global soccer. I was at the Gotham Spirit Match this week that was held at Citi Field and there were hydration breaks there because it was 98 degrees outside with like 85 % humidity and because there was wildfires happening around the area. So the air quality wasn't good. So when you have these sorts of circumstances where players actually need to breathe and they need help with that and the conditions aren't great, then hydration breaks make sense.

5:57They've been done before, but it's not something that soccer purists are going to want constantly in the sport. But they made$500 million from the hydration break. So it's hard to argue that it's not something that's going to stick around. What's fascinating about the hydration breaks is the fact that there weren't a lot of controversy after the hydration breaks. What I mean by that is that I heard Kylian Mbappe, and I'm going to paraphrase this quote here, where he said they asked him about hydration breaks. And he says, like, I don't know. Don't ask me. If we come out and we're dominating and then a team, you know, comes out in the second half of the hydration break and they dominate, then we're going to hate it.

6:39But if we turn it on, then we're going to love it. And I do think that there hasn't been a hydration break that we've seen the momentum swing super far that I remember just yet. I mean, of course, we had the Argentina-Egypt game, but I don't think that that was from a hydration break. I think it was just more so that Argentina was down 2-0 to Egypt and they had to come back. I haven't seen one yet where it's like, wow, whatever was said in that hydration break changed the scope of the game. I think when that happens at an international tournament, and we could see it at the final, but when that happens, I think that it will be put under the microscope a little bit more than it already is.

7:17I think that's interesting, and I think that that is true in the terms of like, did the other team swing things around? No, but it did stop a lot of teams' momentum. It stopped a lot. I can very clearly remember England versus DR Congo. DR Congo was putting it on them. England was on, you know, on the defense a lot. And DR Congo had all of this momentum that got fully stopped by the hydration break. It didn't mean England came out strong. You're right. But it put the brakes on. Yeah. It allows you to gather yourself. And I think that it does serve as a momentum stop. But and if you're a team, of course, you hate that.

7:55But at the same time, intensity is sort of intensity. And I think that we saw it in the match between Argentina and England where that was probably the most physical match. And it didn't matter about the hydration break. It felt like they wanted to fight regardless. Did somebody slap somebody in that game? Jude Bellingham hit an Argentiner player after the game was over. Which also I have seen reports that he could— I say he pushed him. He pushed him in the back of the head. which I have seen reports that he could potentially face some sort of penalty for that because, I mean, it is unsportsmanlike.

8:31And Randall, something else is coming up as we move on. Something else is coming up that you were talking about. Yeah, Fanatics Fest is taking over in New York in the Javits Center. And I mean, Fanatics gathers a cluster of stars like no company I have ever seen. A tremendous amount of talent as well. So Fanatics just brings out the biggest athletes and celebrities, and they're going to be doing that all weekend long. It is unbelievable how big this has gotten in only like three years. And I think it's now it's going to become one of the just the biggest things on every sports calendar, I think, going forward.

9:10I mean, from a numbers perspective, year one had 65 ,000, year two had 130 ,000 people. And year three is expected to do more than both combined at 200 ,000 people. And I think it's just a testament to fanatics. Like there's a lot that people can say about them in terms of the product. Like when you get a product that maybe the logo is bad or you don't like the quality of it, it hasn't stopped their business. They still are partnered with athletes, celebrities, sports teams and leagues who see their value. And then you throw an event like this and you think of everything that is going on in the midst of this week and what's going to happen after.

9:44You, of course, have the World Cup that's unique to this year. But you also have Yankees Dodgers. You also have a WWE match at Madison Square Garden. And so then you place Fanatics Fest right in the middle of that. And you give these superstars a reason to come to New York and celebrate with fans who evidently are only going to shower love. Which I actually had spoken with someone about it and about scheduling for the MLB. And they said that they worked with the MLB to make sure Yankees, Dodgers and the Mets were all in the New York market during this week so that they could all make an appearance.

10:19Which just shows the scope and power of Fanatics. The leagues have a vested interest in being around this event because if you are not there, then it's like, why aren't you there? There's very few people who say no to Fanatics Fest. Like, you think about the list of stars that are going to be there. LeBron James, Tom Brady, Kevin Durant, Serena Williams, and many, many more. The only person that is missing from that is Michael Jordan. And he has so many different names, MJ, Black Cat, Goat, that he can afford to make a decision like this and be like, I'm good on it this year. He'd probably be at a NASCAR track anyway.

10:57He owns a car. Exactly. Exactly. Speaking of the New York Yankees, the Yankees said to be in talks for three billion dollars in Apollo financing. You talk about a splash to get into sports. It's a lot of money. And we did not report what the percentage of the stake is going to be. But with that much money, and I believe Sportico followed us after and said between two to three billion. But we went with the three billion dollar number. That valuation is going to be absolutely huge. And a good portion of this money, of course, is going to go towards debt and Apollo will get a piece of the Yankees back.

11:30But, I mean, we don't see signature franchises often stakes come up for sale. And the fact that they're doing private equity means that there's probably some debt that they'd like to get rid of. And Apollo is and I imagine that Apollo was not the only private equity firm that raised their hand to say, well, we'd like to partner with the Yankees. So good on Apollo for getting arguably the most famous sports brand in the world. Yeah, I think it's really interesting, especially in this era of private equity coming into sports. It's one of the only ones we're seeing. I know that they're not the only ones getting debt relief, but one of the only ones we're seeing that's not helping finance a stadium or anything like that.

12:09Absolutely. And I'd also say that they are one of the only signature sports teams that has welcomed in private equity. The Los Angeles Rams have not. The Dallas Cowboys have not. The Los Angeles Lakers have not. But so many of the biggest brands in the world are like, no, we're good. And the reason for that is because they truly don't need it. They make so much money on the day to day that they're like private equity. It's an option, but we're good. And I think the Yankees doing this, maybe it helps their cap table. Maybe it allows them to spend a little bit more. But this is a big win for Apollo.

12:48It is going to be interesting to see how that deal continues to come together. Randall, we know you're going to stay close on it. But coming up, we're going to continue our conversation on, of course, the World Cup with Sports Business Journal senior reporter Joe Lemire. That is straight ahead on the Bloomberg Business of Sports for Vanessa Perdomo-McLeon and Randall Williams. I'm Michael Barr. You are listening to the Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio around the world.

13:17The world first experienced football through sound. A crackle. A voice from afar. Carrying the hopes of millions. football traveled by frequency and imagination did the rest but technology never stood still it evolved frame by frame with Hisense the game steps into a new light flickering black and white unfolded into color distant heroes moved at the speed of sight we feel every pass every strike Every second that stops time. Sharp emotion. Richer color. Hat trick technology behind every unforgettable moment. From radio factory to immersive display. The beautiful game is for everyone. Hisense.

14:10Tuned to the game. Hisense. Official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup 2026. Brought to you by the Capital One Saver Card. With the Capital One Saver Card, you earn unlimited 3 % cash back at grocery stores and on dining, entertainment, and popular streaming services. That's unlimited cash back on ordering takeout from home. Or unlimited cash back on tickets to concerts and games. So grab a bite, grab a seat, and earn unlimited 3 % cash back on food and fun with the Capital One Saver Card. Capital One. What's in your wallet? Terms apply. See CapitalOne.com for details. Ask yourself, what are your best people spending their time on right now?

14:51Expense reports, receipt chasing, month-end close that takes weeks. You become what you spend on, and that's not what you're building toward. Brex is the intelligent finance platform that eliminates that work before it starts. AI agents that handle the manual stuff automatically, so your team can spend their time on what actually compounds. It's time to get Brex AF. Learn more at brecks.com slash AF. This is Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio. This is the Bloomberg Business of Sports where we explore the big money issues. I'm not talking about that little coin stuff. I'm talking about some big old money issues in the world of sports.

15:32I'm Michael Barr. I'm Vanessa Perdomo-Maglione. And I'm Randall Williams. Now to continue the conversation on the World Cup and to discuss FIFA, if they can classify this tournament as a success. We are joined by Joe Lemire, senior reporter for Sports Business Journal. Joe, welcome to the Bloomberg Business of Sports. This thing is winding down the World Cup. I'm going to miss this. It's been a remarkable ride. Certainly the competition on the pitch has stolen the show, but there's been a whole lot of activity around it, kind of consuming just about all facets of life, especially in this New York region.

16:08It has been a summer like no other in the region, like you had mentioned. Joe, when all is said and done after the finals played, after everything settles down, do you think this will be categorized as a successful World Cup? Absolutely a successful World Cup. I feel like there will be a few things kind of left on the table. I'm not sure we're going to see the same surge in interest that perhaps some people in North America wanted to see. I think the overall ticket prices have kept a lot of folks from being able to bring families to events. But certainly on the business side, it's been an unqualified success because even if the tickets might have been a little too expensive for families, they've still been incredibly well attended.

16:55I mean, we're talking only maybe a handful of seats have gone unused in pretty much any venue this entire month. It's been, yeah, a remarkable commercial success. The hydration breaks, which are certainly polarizing among purists, are something that I doubt will ever go away, given the ad inventory that they've brought along. the hospitality and event space and activations around, I think, are an American creation that I think we're going to start seeing in far more World Cups going forward as well. Wow. Wait. So hold on. You're saying hydration breaks will stay in basically in the World Cup, you know, here.

17:35So throughout, you know, the history of time. So basically, soccer is going to become a quarters sport. I will say that I caveat that without having any inside info, but I think the way that the way that has gone, I would be surprised if FIFA doesn't find a way for them to remain. And so one of the things you just mentioned was about how the impact after the World Cup ends, the interest in soccer might not be there. And I do wonder, what do you think would have been a better outcome for this tournament? Would it have been if the U.S. defeated Belgium despite the controversy? Or was it better that the U.S.

18:17was defeated because of Trump's meddling in allowing, you know, convincing FIFA to allow Flo Balogun to play? That's a hard question to answer. I will say that purely from the soccer side of things, beating Bosnia and winning that round of 32 knockout game was sort of the table stakes that U.S. soccer needed to have. They met the minimum. I think beating Belgium, beating a European power would have been that real shot in the arm that maybe helped with the surge in interest a bit more. Certainly the TV ratings were there. I do think soccer is going to grow some. I just don't know if this is the transformational moment.

18:59It's hard to compare to 94 because the bar was so low and that led to the creation of Major League Soccer. That was this watershed moment for the sport in this country. And I don't know if we're going to have another huge inflection point of acceleration, but it will continue to grow, although it's quite clear that it's one of the most massively participated youth sports already. So it's not like it needs to start afresh the way perhaps it did in 94. But it maybe won't reach the high end of the expectations. We're talking with Joe Lemire, Sports Business Journal soccer reporter. And I want your thoughts because FIFA head Gianni Infantino, he wants to make it, let's make it 64 teams.

19:45The more the better. I'm wondering, is that going to help or hurt the sport? I think we saw already that the group stage matches were watered down a bit in this 48 team, you know, addition. I think 64, as much as I don't think we need to expand the tournament, it does make the math a little cleaner. Whereas right now, so many of the third place group stage teams still got through that those matches meant a lot less. When you have 64 and it's just going to be the top two getting through, maybe that helps incentivize teams to try to win more instead of just settle for the gentleman's draw. And, you know, FIFA has said that so much of this revenue does go back to our feeding grassroots.

20:35And so if that's the case and this helps elevate the sport globally, maybe it can work. I think we've seen the success of this three country hosting and we've already got that, you know, even more countries, actually, for the next tournament between the handful of matches in South America and then the rest in Europe. I think as long as you have the space to accommodate that many teams, you know, maybe 64 is actually going to be better than 48. you know I personally probably would have kept it at 32 but that's a different story. This does sort of feel like the March Madness effect where and see like how many teams can we bring in and we've seen less Cinderella stories in March Madness but you know we saw Cape Verde captured the hearts of many soccer fans around the globe but ultimately you know when you play against the Titan and they had a monumental effort they lost and I wonder from your perspective, is it good to have so many nations involved, even if they don't get to the round of 16 or advance farther?

21:38Is that a win for FIFA to have smaller nations? If it means that, you know, the Titans are still going to emerge like they did in this tournament? Yeah, the March Madness analogy, I think is pretty perfect. I mean, I think mid-major basketball tournament, mid-major basketball conferences are still pleased that their schools get in and have a high profile winner too. And even if it is in this case, maybe Cape Verde getting, you know, pulling that epic draw against Spain and holding on against Solong against Argentina. I do think those Cinderella stories are meaningful, even if they don't, you know, reach the, you know, the deep rounds of the tournament.

22:17And hopefully that does elevate the sport in other areas where maybe it hasn't gone there already. I think I still think that when Cape Verde scored that second goal against Argentina was one of the greatest moments of the tournament. Goal of the tournament. It was amazing. Absolutely. Joe, you also have written about and you've been to me, you, and Randall have all been to games at MetLife. I was really hesitant before going there. I was really scared. I was scared of how it was going to go. But it wasn't as bad as I thought. Tell me what you thought about the logistics and how it actually was handled as opposed to all the talk that happened beforehand.

22:54Yeah, I went in with great trepidation, particularly before that very first match that brazil morocco the first group stage wanting to experience it like most people would i took the infamous new jersey transit ride that made sure they cleared that with my bosses that it'd be reimbursed on the 98 before actually buying the ticket but perhaps so many people got scared off by the price tag that it was exceedingly efficient It was remarkable how many blocks were closed off in Manhattan to accommodate for security and to get everybody through. I don't know how many other people had their lives interrupted because maybe they couldn't get the train they normally would have or get to the place they wanted to.

23:36But for those actually going to the tournament, that train logistics worked out really quite well. I know a few people who ended up getting put on a bus instead of a train and they didn't have quite as positive of an experience. The second match I went there, I will say I had a press parking pass, and then I got treated like a VIP. But that's a very different story altogether. I think MetLife has worked out all right. I do think the final has the benefit of being on a Sunday when you don't have to worry about rush hour traffic and the normal commutes. But given how many VIPs there will be there, it will certainly be a whole lot of good luck.

24:15So let's look ahead, just based on how this tournament has gone, the next time the Men's World Cup takes place will be in 2030. That'll be hosted by Spain, Portugal, and I believe Morocco. In 2034, it'll be in Saudi Arabia, but there is an open slot in 2038. And I wonder, just based on your reporting, based on what you're hearing, how has FIFA enjoyed the U.S.? I mean, we've seen fans come in and talk about food and Buc-ee's and different places that they've enjoyed in the U.S. What's FIFA's perspective on bringing the tournament back here? The second match I went to at MetLife was one of the knockout matches when France beat Sweden.

24:50And I know some people there wanted to make sure they highlighted to me and to the rest of the media that that was the match where they eclipsed 5 million fans attending. They spoke to me about it as well. Yes, I didn't think it was a very quiet message. I think it was pretty well distributed. And I think they are in love with those numbers. I think the attendance has been great. The stadiums here are, you know, in a class of their own in terms of certain amenities and how much hospitality and premium spaces there are. I was at the semifinal in Dallas the other day, and that was certainly another great atmosphere.

25:32I mean, there are so many rings of luxury suites there. I think FIFA would love to bring it back as sort of as much as they can. whether 2038 might be seen as too soon because there are lots of other historic markets in other countries that can do a nice job hosting it. But if you do start thinking about, hey, 64 teams, that's going to really winnow the funnel in terms of how many countries and host markets can really sustain that type of inventory of matches and stadiums. And so I'm sure FIFA will make sure it gets back to the U.S., you know, in my lifetime at least. You know who's happy with the final, with Spain and Argentina?

26:16FIFA. You know what? But you know who really, the sports betting books. Because the so-called favorites for the semis were supposed to be France and England. And both of those guys got knocked out. And according to Bloomberg Intelligence, the books like that. because they get to clean up because a lot of people put a lot of money on the France-England ticket. I want your thoughts about that, Joe, and what do you think about that? Well, I think, yeah, I think Bifu's thrilled that the top four ranked teams were the final four standing. I think the first line I saw yesterday had Spain as a pretty significant favorite over Argentina.

27:00I think the most likely outcome, given how Spain just throttled France's vaunted attack, is that I would bet the under. But then again, you don't really want to bet the under against Leo Messi either. So it will be interesting to see how some of those other lines play out on Sunday. But Spain looks fierce. One goal allowed in the whole tournament, it's hard to get beat that way. That was senior reporter for the Sports Business Journal, Joe Lemire. Up next, we'll be joined by four-time Olympian and gold medalist Jesse Diggins. That is straight ahead on the Bloomberg Business of Sports. I'm Michael Barr with Vanessa Perdomo-Maglione and Randall Williams.