How Qatar Took the World Cup

The New Yorker Radio Hour

WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

Politics, Arts, News, Wnyc, Books, David, Storytelling, Society & Culture, Yorker, New, Remnick

4.2 • 6.2K Ratings

🗓️ 18 November 2022

⏱️ 22 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

No self-respecting sports fan is naïve about the role that money plays in pro sports. But, by any standard, the greed and cynicism behind the World Cup are extraordinary. The cloud of scandal surrounding FIFA, the international soccer organization, has led to indictments and arrests on charges of wire fraud, racketeering, and money laundering around the globe. Headlines have been filled with reports of the deaths of workers who constructed the facilities. “People are normally careful enough not to leave a paper trail,” the contributor Heidi Blake notes. But she says, of investigating FIFA, “I’ve never seen graft and corruption documented in this kind of detail.” Blake speaks with David Remnick about “The Ugly Game,” which she co-authored with Jonathan Calvert, and how Qatar came to host the World Cup.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is the New Yorker Radio Hour, a co-production of WNYC Studios and The New Yorker.
0:09.8	Welcome to The New Yorker Radio Hour. I'm David Remnick.
0:12.7	Well, America, for at least one fleeting moment, democracy is safe, or at least safer than it was before the midterm elections.
0:21.7	And so maybe we all deserve a little break, a diversion.
0:25.7	Now, I'm not a particularly knowledgeable fan of the beautiful game.
0:29.2	The NBA is more my thing.
0:31.1	But every four years, I get deep into the World Cup.
0:35.1	A global phenomenon that this year will be played out in the tiny Middle
0:39.1	Eastern nation of Qatar.
0:43.0	And in my city, New York, anticipation is running high.
0:49.0	Who are you rooting for?
0:50.0	Ecuador, of course.
0:51.0	We're the ones that play first.
0:52.0	Yeah, I think it's in Senegal, yeah.
0:54.0	Argentina, Brazil. Either Iran or England. Wales is the World Cup. USA, baby! The best team win the World Cup. I like football because the energy. We was born on soccer. Like, you need a piece of land, a ball, and that's it, a bunch of guys. That's all you need. I've been waiting my whole life for us to get there. It hasn't happened since 1958, so it's been 64 years. Even if I'm in school, I'm going to watch the game. How are you going to do that? No, I got something on the app, like I go watch the game on life. We actually have the big screen ready. I already bet for Senegal to reach at least a quarterfinal. It's amazing. It's fabulous. I'm very proud.
1:30.0	Big claps from New York, definitely.
1:35.2	Iran, Iran.
1:38.0	Viva Senegal.
1:40.9	The best team in Africa.
1:42.3	Come on, Camry.
1:43.3	I'm all here.
1:43.9	Go Wekador. If you can't, which means that yes we can. What a bet is Senegal going The best team in Africa. Come on, Camry. I'm all here. Go away, God.
	...

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