Shadowing Practice: How Greed is Destroying FIFA - Learn English Speaking with Video
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This is the Rueda family.
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They love soccer, or football.
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The family attended Mexico's World Cups in 1970 and 1986, but for 2026 they are staying home.
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Why? FIFA priced them out. In 1994, the cheapest seat at the World Cup final, yes, the final, was $404 when adjusted for inflation.
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The most expensive? $1,067.
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Fast forward to today and the cheapest non-resale seat is $2,030.
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The most expensive $10,990.
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But the resale market is even crazier, with some tickets going for $2.3 million.
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All of this will be great for FIFA.
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They expect to earn $11 billion in revenue from the 2026 tournament, up from $7.5 billion at Qatar in 2022 and $5.36 billion at Russia in 2018.
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But strangely, this might be terrible for the beautiful game.
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Something insidious is happening inside of FIFA.
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I am Kam for 2&20 and this is FIFA: The Actual Winner of the World Cup.
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Okay. Full disclosure, I love soccer. or football.
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I love it so much that I won four tickets to the round of 32.
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And four tickets to the round of 16.
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Now, I say won because although I got through the lottery, the tickets did not come cheap.
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Each ticket sent me back nearly $1,000 CAD for a total of $8,000.
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After I recovered from my wallet being drained, I wondered how will fans from lower income countries afford this?
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Today, the cheapest seat available on the official platform across all 104 matches is around $200 ish.
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The cheapest seat to a USA match is about $1,100.
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The cheapest final ticket is $2,030, but let's compare that against the median income in Italy.
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Oh, sorry, Italy didn't qualify.
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What about France?
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The median income before taxes is around $51,000 USD.
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Not looking good.
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What about the last competition champions, Argentina?
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They're around $8,000.
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Or perennial challenger? Brazil.
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They're around $7,666.
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We can go on and on and on.
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But I think the point is pretty clear.
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These tickets are out of reach for most fans around the world, but whatever.
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Maybe you bite the bullet and buy a category one ticket.
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Well, FIFA probably screwed you.
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Remember those tickets I won through the random draw?
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You see, they were category one, and I thought, wow, these seats are going to be insane.
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But then I noticed something.
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My brother also won seats basically beside me, and so did nearly everyone else I know who won.
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We were all placed in these little corners of the stadium.
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I'd normally be okay with this, but in this case, FIFA showed seating maps that made it look like regular fans could buy seats along the lower sidelines.
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Instead, FIFA kept the vast majority of those seats aside for “On Location”, which sells expensive hospitality packages.
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Think VIP tickets with food, lounge access, etc..
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It's so bad, the California attorney General opened a consumer protection investigation in May.
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But what is “On Location”?
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On Location is a company owned by Endeavor, which is run by the real life Ari Emmanuel.
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The guy fictionalized in Entourage.
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It was originally launched by the NFL to sell packages to the Super Bowl, and now they hold the exclusive contract to sell hospitality for all 16 World Cup venues.
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Listen to how crazy this is!
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Their cheapest three match group stage bundle is $5,300 per person.
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Their flagship eight match MetLife package, the one that includes the final, is $73,200 per person, and the craziest, a full private box at a venue series runs over $100,000.
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Okay, maybe you don't care about the tickets.
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Fine. What about everything else?
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Hotels across North America have all increased significantly.
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For example, in Vancouver, 350 days before, hotel rooms were $584, 164 days before the tournament, they increased to $775.
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Then you need to consider what it cost to enter the U.S..
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International fans from visa waiver countries pay $40 for an ESTA.
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That's up from $21 in September 2025.
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Under the One Big Beautiful Bill act.
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Fans from countries that need a full B1 or B2 visa pay $435, which includes a new $250 visa integrity fee that did not exist before October 2025.
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That is a lot of money.
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We're not even mentioning that in cities like New York, S.F.
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or Vancouver. You pay $8 just for a coffee.
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This isn't Russia, where $2.50 gets you the deed to your cousin Igor's house.
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Or airline prices which have gone through the roof in June and July, made even worse by the Iran and U.S. war.
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You have to keep in mind, people didn't know they were coming to this World Cup until a few months ago.
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FIFA's defense for all of this is summed up by two quotes from FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
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So we have to apply market rates.
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You cannot go to watch in the US a college game, not even speaking about a top professional game of a certain level for for less than $300.
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And this is the World Cup.
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Listen, you could convince me that the final might reach those prices in America, but group stage matches shouldn't be reaching prices similar to Yankees postseason games or SEC rivalry games, or even some Super Bowl games.
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And many fan support associations have raised the exact same concerns.
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Football Supporters Europe, the umbrella body that represents all national fan groups in Europe, launched a formal complaint with the European Commission against FIFA for abusing its dominant position and for exorbitant prices.
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But this doesn't end just with fans.
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FIFA also dominates the host nations, states and cities.
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So let's say you're not flying to MetLife.
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You're going to be watching from home like the rest of us.
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Even that has gone complicated.
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In India, you still don't have an official broadcaster, and China only closed a deal three weeks before kick off.
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Travel during the tournament and your home subscription probably won't work where you land.
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Sadly, our beautiful game has borders now.
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The fix is a VPN, specifically Proton VPN.
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You pick a server in a country that carries a match and you watch the match.
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Simple. That's it.
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And you want to know the reason I picked Proton over the other VPNs?
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It's because they actually mean it, when it comes to privacy.
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They're Swiss-based, foundation-led, open source and built on European privacy law, and their no logs policy is verified by most independent auditors.
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Most VPN companies sell the data they promise to protect.
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But Proton doesn't.
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Link is in the description and gets you an exclusive discount.
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Big thanks to Proton for sponsoring this one.
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Now, back to FIFA, who is somehow making this whole thing worse.
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If you've watched our channel before, you know that we like to call out bad deals and bad governance.
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Making a deal with FIFA might be one of the worst deals a government can make.
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There are three things to look at here.
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One: The host responsibilities. Two: The host concessions.
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And Three: the host revenues.
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Let's begin with the responsibilities.
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Each US host city is on the hook for 100 or 200 million in direct costs covering stadium retrofits, fan festivals, transportation, security, and more.
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BC Place alone required $170 to 180 million in stadium retrofits, and another 24 million for a high end grass training facility for teams.
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Additionally, if we look at Vancouver, the total cost of running the games is $578 million.
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The federal government is providing $215 million, whereas the B.C.
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government is providing $362 million.
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If we do some simple math, that is $82 million of taxpayer money per game.
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Now, this might sound bad, but there are far worse examples.
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When Brazil hosted in 2014, they spent $270 million USD for 43,000 seat stadium deep in the Amazon.
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I mean, look at this map.
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The town of Manaus is only accessible by plane or boat.
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Today, the stadium generally sits empty, at most seeing 1000 fans for the local team games.
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A similar thing was seen for the 2010 South Africa World Cup.
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This is where Cape Town Stadium was built for $600 million on prime waterfront real estate.
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Again, it basically sits empty, but outside of stadiums and other responsibilities, FIFA also requires significant concessions.
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The first one: taxes. Hosts must grant FIFA and its commercial partners broad tax exemptions.
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No corporate tax.
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No sales tax. No municipal tax, no nothing.
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But one could argue these revenues would not have been there in the first place.
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And so maybe the governments aren't losing anything.
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But then there are the exclusionary clean zones.
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This zone is typically a two kilometer radius around the stadiums and fan festivals, where FIFA basically blocks all promotions that they don't have their grubby little hands on.
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Moreover, this zone is often closed, preventing people from driving or even going to work at all.
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Or in my case, going to Costco.
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Listen to this.
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So my barber had to close his business on game days, and he's going to receive zero compensation from the government.
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How is that fair?
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Cities are also required to remove graffiti, any unwanted signs or unwanted people.
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Local events aren't even allowed to run during the same time as FIFA, and the list goes on and on and on and on.
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One of the most incredible concessions required is that cities must guarantee hotel rooms for FIFA staff, teams and tourists.
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Now, neither FIFA nor cities can mandate hotels to reserve rooms.
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But when the government comes knocking on your door, it's pretty hard to say no.
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But these hotel rooms are not guaranteed, though.
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In fact, FIFA was allowed to cancel their bookings as late as spring 2026, and FIFA did just this.
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Now, not all cities were hit hard, but Vancouver saw nearly 80% of their blocked rooms released, or roughly 15,000 room nights.
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It's so bad that hotel bookings are actually lower than last summer.
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Which, may I remind you, was a regular summer.
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But the argument that government officials will give is that this will bring incredible benefits to the city.
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They project significant revenues.
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But is that true?
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Firstly, none of and we mean literally none of the revenue generated by FIFA from tickets, advertising, beverage sales, merchandise sales or anything else go to the host governments.
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Not even for these hideous host city jerseys, which cost nearly $400.
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Can we take a moment to appreciate just how much of a money grab this is?
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I mean, look at these jerseys and even the marketing for them.
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Do these people even know what soccer fans are like?
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Okay, so if they don't make money from FIFA activities, how do they make money?
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Let's use Canada as an example, because it's arguably the worst off and because the US fought for some tax revenues.
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The government is projecting a $3.8 billion gross economic impact, whatever that means.
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That's against $1 billion of estimated costs.
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Not bad. Right? A $2.8 billion gain?
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Maybe the $3.8 billion gets broken down into $2 billion of GDP, $1.3 billion in labor income and $700 million in government revenue, or $4 billion.
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Wait a minute. The numbers don't add up.
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GEP is the total value of all goods and services produced, including intermediate inputs. In regular human speech, it is double counting.
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The better framework for this is to think about how much the government is spending, the GDP they spend may generate and the revenue the government is collecting.
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Okay, so the government is spending $1 billion, give or take, to generate $2 billion of GDP.
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That is a two times multiplier on money spent.
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But that $2 billion of GDP is most likely overstated.
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Let me give you an example.
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If someone from Calgary was planning to vacation in Kelowna for the summer and spend $2,000, but they are now going to Vancouver to spend some of that $2,000.
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How do you account for this?
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Is that $0 of FIFA GDP or $2,000 of FIFA GDP?
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The government would say $2,000, but we would say that is wrong.
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Furthermore, so far, early data suggests that tourism in cities like Vancouver is actually down compared to last year.
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But more alarming is that the government will only collect $700 million in taxes for this event, which is $300 million less than it spent.
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Now, normally when a government makes an investment, they hope the investment will generate GDP and taxes for the long run.
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For example, if a government spends $1 billion on an airport, that airport may generate $300 million in tax revenues each year.
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But it will do that for decades, making the investment worth it.
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In addition, it will generate GDP for decades.
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The FIFA World Cup is a one time event.
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It will never generate more money for anyone in Canada, the US or Mexico.
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This is the maximum financial impact.
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Let's summarize this deal.
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The government spends hundreds of millions, if not billions, gives up dozens of concessions, earns zero direct revenue, all for the opportunity to lose money.
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Honestly, the government might as well give every citizen a one time stimulus check. It would have been better for the economy.
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As mentioned, I love soccer, or football.
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It is the greatest sport on earth.
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You can come from any part of the world, from any income, background and make it.
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You can be a 5’7 kid with growth hormone deficiency and become the GOAT.
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Sorry, Ronaldo fans.
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That is why it's such a spectacle.
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Because no matter where you are from the world, you know what football is.
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And FIFA knows this.
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They've turned a page in their history and become increasingly commercial.
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Increasingly American. Charging hundreds and in some cases, thousands for tickets to games that price out soccer-loving families like the Rueda’s all over the world.
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They grease the hands of politicians who agree to absurd policies that leave government coffers empty, but line the pockets of FIFA.
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And in doing so, FIFA generates billions.
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And at the end of the tournament, when the winner is lifting the trophy, we will all know who the real winner actually is.
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Thank you for watching.
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By the way, we're going to be doing a part two where we look at where FIFA spends its money and how that money gets siphoned for corruption.
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So make sure you're subscribed for that. Bye.
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Woordenschat en spreektips bij deze les
Deze spreekles op niveau B2 is gebaseerd op de video “How Greed is Destroying FIFA”. Deze woorden komen het vaakst terug: Fifa, billion, ticket, fan, revenue. Deze video bevat 187 zinnen en 2336 woorden om na te spreken. Het gesproken deel duurt 14:42. De spreker praat in een natuurlijk tempo van ongeveer 159 woorden per minuut, dicht bij een alledaags gesprek. 84% van de woorden hoort bij de 3.000 meest gebruikte Engelse woorden; de rest kun je beter vooraf bekijken.
Belangrijke woorden in deze video
De 15 moeilijkste woorden uit de video, met uitspraak en betekenis:
| Woord | Uitspraak | Betekenis |
|---|---|---|
| visa zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈviːzə/ | visum |
| resale zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈriˌseɪl/ | doorverkoop, wederverkoop |
| unwanted bijvoeglijk naamwoord | /ʌnˈwɒntɪd/ | ongewild |
| booking zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈbʊkɪŋ/ | boeking |
| hospitality zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˌhɑ.spɪˈtæl.ə.ti/ | gastvrijheid |
| median zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈmiː.di.ən/ | mediaan |
| coffer zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈkɔfɚ/ | koffer |
| exclusionary bijvoeglijk naamwoord | met uitzondering van | |
| exorbitant bijvoeglijk naamwoord | /ɪɡˈzoɹbətənt/ | exorbitant, buitensporig |
| grubby bijvoeglijk naamwoord | /ˈɡɹʌbi/ | groezelig, smerig |
| hideous bijvoeglijk naamwoord | /ˈhɪd.i.əs/ | afzichtelijk |
| insidious bijvoeglijk naamwoord | /ɪnˈsɪdi.əs/ | sluipend, verraderlijk |
| kilometre zelfstandig naamwoord | /kɪˈlɑmɪtəɹ/ | kilometer |
| siphon zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈsaɪfən/ | hevel |
| summarize werkwoord | /ˈsʌməˌɹaɪz/ | samenvatten, opsommen |
Phrasal verbs die je zult horen
| Woord | Betekenis |
|---|---|
| give up werkwoord | zich overgeven |
| run over werkwoord | te lang doorbijlopen |
Zinnen om te herhalen
Korte, volledige zinnen uit de video die je in alledaagse gesprekken kunt gebruiken:
- Remember those tickets I won through the random draw?
- Let's begin with the responsibilities.
- How do you account for this?
Grammatica in deze video
De structuren die de spreker het meest gebruikt, met de exacte woorden uit de video:
| Structuur | In de video |
|---|---|
| Lijdende vorm be + voltooid deelwoord — het gaat om wat er gebeurt, niet om wie het doet | being drained · is run · is summed |
| Present perfect have/has + voltooid deelwoord — iets uit het verleden dat nu nog telt | have gone · have raised · has gone |
| Betrekkelijke bijzinnen who / which + zin — extra informatie over een persoon of ding | Endeavor, which is · prices which have · event, which is |
Uitspraak om op te letten
De spreker gebruikt 25 samentrekkingen en verkorte vormen, zoals don't, they're, you're. Spreek ze kort uit, zoals je ze hoort.
- De klanken “sh” en “zh”: concession /kənˈsɛʃən/, fictionalize /ˈfɪk.ʃən.əl.aɪz/, deficiency /dɪˈfɪʃənsi/, exemption /ɪɡˈzɛm(p).ʃən/, flagship /ˈflæɡʃɪp/
- Lange woorden — let op de klemtoon: hospitality /ˌhɑ.spɪˈtæl.ə.ti/, exorbitant /ɪɡˈzoɹbətənt/, fictionalize /ˈfɪk.ʃən.əl.aɪz/, insidious /ɪnˈsɪdi.əs/, kilometre /kɪˈlɑmɪtəɹ/
Klanken die Nederlandstaligen lastig vinden:
- Stemhebbende eindmedeklinker — /b/, /d/, /g/, /z/, /v/ niet verscherpen: unwanted /ʌnˈwɒntɪd/, fictionalize /ˈfɪk.ʃən.əl.aɪz/, summarize /ˈsʌməˌɹaɪz/, beverage /ˈbɛv(ə)ɹɪd͡ʒ/, deed /diːd/
- /æ/ — opener dan de Nederlandse “e”: hospitality /ˌhɑ.spɪˈtæl.ə.ti/, broadcaster /ˈbɹɔdˌkæstɚ/, challenger /ˈt͡ʃælənd͡ʒəɹ/, flagship /ˈflæɡʃɪp/, mandate /ˈmændeɪ̯t/
- /g/ — een harde plofklank, geen Nederlandse “g”: exorbitant /ɪɡˈzoɹbətənt/, grubby /ˈɡɹʌbi/, graffiti /ɡɹəˈfi.ti/, exemption /ɪɡˈzɛm(p).ʃən/, grease /ɡɹis/
Zo oefen je met deze video
- Luister de hele video één keer zonder te spreken en noteer de woorden die je niet kent.
- Begin op 0,75× snelheid, spreek zin voor zin na en ga terug naar normale snelheid zodra het makkelijk gaat.
- Neem jezelf op en vergelijk met het origineel; let daarbij op woorden als visa, resale, unwanted.
Wat is de Shadowing-techniek?
Shadowing is een wetenschappelijk onderbouwde taalleermethode die oorspronkelijk is ontwikkeld voor professionele tolkentraining en gepopulariseerd door polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. De methode is eenvoudig maar krachtig: je luistert naar native Engelse audio en herhaalt het onmiddellijk hardop — als een schaduw die de spreker volgt met slechts 1–2 seconden vertraging. In tegenstelling tot passief luisteren of grammaticadrills, dwingt shadowing je hersenen en mondspieren om echte spraakpatronen tegelijkertijd te verwerken en te reproduceren. Onderzoek toont aan dat het de uitspraaknauwkeurigheid, intonatie, ritme, verbonden spraak, luisterbegrip en spreekvaardigheid aanzienlijk verbetert — waardoor het een van de meest effectieve methoden is voor IELTS Speaking-voorbereiding en echte Engelse communicatie.