# FIFA Series: Who Gets Rich When the World Cup Comes to Town?

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/sportly-6953496/fifa-series-who-gets-rich-when-the-world-cup-comes-to-town
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/sportly-6953496/fifa-series-who-gets-rich-when-the-world-cup-comes-to-town.md
Podcast: [Sportly](https://stenobird.com/podcast/sportly-6953496)
Published: 2026-06-11T11:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://pdst.fm/e/traffic.megaphone.fm/ALMIR8784701084.mp3
Audio file: https://pdst.fm/e/traffic.megaphone.fm/ALMIR8784701084.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/sportly-6953496/episodes/fifa-series-who-gets-rich-when-the-world-cup-comes-to-town
Duration seconds: 2683

## Resource

The FIFA World Cup 2026 is here, and with it comes the familiar promise: billions in economic activity, a tourism boom, and a windfall for host cities across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. But according to Jules Boykoff, professor of politics at Pacific University, former U.S. U-23 national team player, and one of the leading scholars on the politics of mega events, those promises have almost never held up. In this episode, we dig into who actually profits when FIFA comes to town, and who gets left with the bill. From skyrocketing ticket prices and $100 train rides to MetLife Stadium, to the way FIFA's contracts have been quietly rewritten since 2010 to funnel revenue away from host cities and into FIFA's own coffers, Boykoff pulls no punches. We also get into the broader political stakes of hosting the World Cup under the current U.S. administration, the threat to immigrant communities, FIFA's coziness with power, and whether it's still possible to love the beautiful game while holding its governing body accountable. Host: Kavitha A. Davison | Producer: Paroma Chakravarty I Executive Producer: Saadia Khan | Fact Checking and Research: Paroma Chakravarty I Sound Designer & Editor: Paroma Chakravarty I Sportly Theme Music: Simon Hutchinson | Other Music: Epidemic Sound | Cover Art Graphic Designer: Sarah DiMichele Please share the love and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify to help more people find us! You can reach the host, Kavitha, at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠kavitha@immigrantlypod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find Sportly on Instagram @sportlypod Follow us on TikTok @immigrantly Sportly is an Immigrantly Media Production For advertising inquiries, you can contact us at info@immigrantlypod.com Want to go deeper into your own identity? Download Belong…

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/sportly-6953496/episodes/fifa-series-who-gets-rich-when-the-world-cup-comes-to-town/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/sportly-6953496/fifa-series-who-gets-rich-when-the-world-cup-comes-to-town.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.