Will the World Cup be a disaster?

Will the World Cup be a disaster?

From Sports Media with Richard Deitsch by Audacy

June 9, 2026 · 39 min

About this episode

The episode discusses various aspects of the upcoming World Cup, including safety issues, ticket prices, and team expectations.

Episode 629 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Adam Crafton, a British journalist based in New York City, having relocated from London in 2024. He primarily covers soccer for The Athletic. In this podcast we discuss how a journalist can cover the duration of the tournament; the safety issues surrounding the World Cup; FIFA's terrible issuing of tickets and the exorbitant prices consumers are being asked to pay; the lack of access journalists get when it comes to FIFA officials; the expectation for the Iranian team and whether we see protests around those games; the tournament favourites including France, Spain, Brazil, England and others; the last World Cup for Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo; You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more.

People in this episode

Host: Richard Deitsch

Guest: Adam Crafton

Topics covered

  • World Cup
  • soccer journalism
  • FIFA issues
  • tournament favorites
  • safety concerns
  • Iranian team expectations
  • ticket prices

Keywords

  • World Cup
  • soccer
  • FIFA
  • journalism
  • ticket prices
  • Iran
  • Messi
  • Ronaldo
  • tournament favorites

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Athletic

Places: New York City, London, Iran, France, Spain, Brazil, England

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