America Signed Up for the World Cup. FIFA Stuck You with the Tab.

America Signed Up for the World Cup. FIFA Stuck You with the Tab.

From Pablo Torre Finds Out by The Athletic

June 11, 2026 · 57 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the financial implications of hosting the World Cup in the U.S. and the hidden costs imposed on taxpayers by FIFA.

The biggest party in global sport is underway, and soccer's governing body stands to profit nearly $9 billion. How did FIFA squeeze U.S. taxpayers with so many hidden costs? The Athletic's Adam Crafton crunches the numbers on wasted public money, as Pablo dissects comically absurd demands upon host cities — from "clean" stadiums and super-V.I.P. treatment... to a pop-up jail. • Take the PTFO audience survey • Subscribe to Pablo's newsletter • Subscribe to The Athletic Further reading: • "The U.S. signed up for the World Cup — and its host cities are paying for it" • "U.S. states waived taxes to host World Cup" • "The $25.8m Kansas City 'World Cup jail'" • Rahm Emanuel Q&A: 'The numbers don't work'" Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Host: Pablo Torre

Guest: Adam Crafton

Topics covered

  • World Cup
  • FIFA
  • public funding
  • soccer
  • host cities
  • taxpayer costs

Keywords

  • FIFA
  • World Cup
  • public money
  • host cities
  • taxes
  • soccer
  • Kansas City
  • Adam Crafton

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: FIFA

Places: U.S., Kansas City

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