# The World Cup Story, Part 1: Soccer and Scandal

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-journal-547598/the-world-cup-story-part-1-soccer-and-scandal
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-journal-547598/the-world-cup-story-part-1-soccer-and-scandal.md
Podcast: [The Journal.](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-journal-547598)
Published: 2026-06-07T10:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://pdst.fm/e/traffic.megaphone.fm/WSJ4537699852.mp3?updated=1780846010
Audio file: https://pdst.fm/e/traffic.megaphone.fm/WSJ4537699852.mp3?updated=1780846010
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-journal-547598/episodes/the-world-cup-story-part-1-soccer-and-scandal
Duration seconds: 2369

## Resource

As the World Cup begins this week, we bring you a two-part Sunday special charting how FIFA built the World Cup into a global phenomenon and how it became marred in scandal and corruption. In Part 1, WSJ soccer experts Jonathan Clegg and Joshua Robinson go back to the World Cup’s origins — how it grew from a small tournament in Uruguay into a massive empire. And how an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice prompted a moment for reckoning for FIFA. Ryan Knutson hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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## Transcript

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