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Fast Company
a day ago
- Business
- Fast Company
‘Get in now': Soccer is booming before next year's U.S. World Cup, and brands want in
'Football in America is still growing,' says Roger Bennett, co-founder of Men in Blazers, which has grown from a single podcast in 2010 into a network of U.S.-focused soccer content. 'So when brands come in, they are remembered.' Last year, Men in Blazers content attracted more than 2 billion impressions, but it also works directly with brands to reach soccer fans, including Coca-Cola, Verizon, Michelob Ultra, Marriott, and Visa. With the World Cup being hosted across the U.S. in just 10 months, brands are turning to Men in Blazers to form their own winning game plans. He shared some intel with me, and in this piece premium subscribers will learn: The two key questions you should be asking when shaping a World Cup strategy A counterintuitive approach to marketing that will help your brand stand out What you need to know about Verizon and AB InBev's early World Cup work You're late, but not too late The most significant challenge in planning for an event like the World Cup is time. Not simply the time it takes to create a strategy and execute it, but also trying to predict the best approach to tap into culture this many months in advance. Subscribe to the Design latest innovations in design brought to you every weekday SIGN UP Privacy Policy | Fast Company Newsletters advertisement The early-rate deadline for Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies Awards is Friday, September 5, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply today.
Daily Mail
05-08-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Fans are all saying the same thing about Tom Brady's not-so-hot take on 'young phenom' that the US national team needs... as he gets star player's name wrong
has been criticised by football fans for stating the obvious with a not-so-hot take on the type of superstar that the US national team need to breed. The seven-time Super Bowl champion entered the footballing world back in 2023 when he purchased a stake in Birmingham City, becoming chairman of the club's new advisory board. In his first season at the club, the Blues were relegated to League One, but last season they bounced straight back into the Championship, romping to third-tier glory by 19 points over Wrexham. Brady's remarkable achievements during a 22-year career in the NFL, which was littered with gold, certainly warrant him to voice his respected opinion in American football. However, his voice is now becoming much more prominent in the game they call soccer across the pond, with a recent opinion relayed on the Men In Blazers podcast catching a lot of traction on social media, but not for the right reasons. The NFL legend stated that the US needs 'a young phenom like a Lamine Yamal ', which is not an opinion many would disagree with, as he is a Ballon d'Or contender at just 18 years old. Brady told the Men in Blazers Podcast: 'I think the reality for most athletes in America is these other sports just become very dominant because of culturally what's on television all the time. 'And what's being talked about in the schoolyard often ends up being talked about American football, basketball, baseball, hockey. 'And it's an amazing sport. It's a global sport. It's the biggest sport in the world. We all love it. And the reality is, you think about boxing, when there's an American heavyweight, everyone in America is all in on it. 'And we need the youth in America in soccer. We need a young phenom like a Lamine Yamal, a young Lionel Messi, to take over. And I believe that there will be the most amazing kind of cultural revolution for soccer here in America. 'We love rooting for winners. We love rooting for the best of the best. The World Cup is coming to America in 2026. You can't imagine the fanfare when that happens. Every stadium will be sold out. The American audience loves it.' This is not exactly what many would call a unique perspective, given Messi is regarded as the best player of this generation, while Barcelona's Yamal has drawn comparisons to the great Argentinian already at such a young age. Fans were quick to poke fun at Brady for the comment on social media, with one user sarcastically claiming, 'my boy Tom knows ball'. Not all supporters took the humourous route in their responses, though, with many being much more direct. One wrote: 'Every national team needs a young Lionel Messi.' Meanwhile, another said similarly, 'Every team in the world needs a player like Yamal, what's new?' It was also clocked that Brady got Yamal's name wrong, instead getting the starting letters of both his first name and surname the wrong way around, accidentally calling him 'Yamine Lamal'. This is not the first time that Brady has hit the footballing headlines recently after his criticism of former Birmingham head coach Wayne Rooney came to light in a five-part Amazon Prime series 'Built in Birmingham: Brady and the Blues'. In it, Brady admits to being worried about the dedication of the Manchester United legend during his disastrous spell at St Andrews. Rooney was sacked in January last year, lasting just 15 matches in the Blues' dugout. The fly-on-the-wall documentary shows Brady visiting the Birmingham training ground to observe Rooney's team meeting and training session. While driving away, he tells his business manager Ben Rawitz: 'I'm a little worried about our head coach's work ethic.'
Daily Mail
18-06-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Deserted stadiums, marines deployed on the streets and Mauricio Pochettino's team at a crossroads: Is the US really ready to host the World Cup in less than a year?
It isn't the most auspicious moment to be marking one year out from the next World Cup. US Marines have been deployed to restore order in one of the host cities, Los Angeles, and USA men's team manager Mauricio Pochettino has been engaged in verbal combat of his own with star player Christian Pulisic. Chelsea 's opening Club World Cup game played out in a deserted stadium on Monday night. From the outside looking in, it's tempting to ask: 'Is the US actually ready to help stage the 2026 tournament?' Roger Bennett, the podcaster and broadcaster who through his hugely popular Men in Blazers shows has become the voice of Premier League football for millions in the US, offers the experience of June 17, 1994, by way of answering this question. He'd just arrived in Chicago from his native Liverpool, to be told by many Americans that the imminent US World Cup held no interest for them. He arrived at Chicago's Soldier Field stadium for the opening game, Germany v Bolivia, to find the place swamped with fans. 'Before that World Cup, there were studies saying that no one cared and no one would go but it was delirious,' he says. 'America loves a circus. We love a party.' That 1994 tournament still holds the record for the highest total attendance, at 3.57 million, and the highest average attendance at 68,626. Building a US men's national team which might flourish is the difficult bit. Before beating Trinidad and Tobago in the Concacaf Gold Cup on Sunday, Pochettino's side had lost four straight games and Pulisic needled Pochettino by declaring himself too tired to play the tournament. Even Bennett, an eternal optimist who loves this generation of Pulisic, at AC Milan, Weston McKennie at Juventus, Crystal Palace 's Chris Richards and Bournemouth 's Tyler Adams – one of Men in Blazers' podcasters, wonders whether Pochettino will be able to bring them all together. 'There's something about America where on the men's side we feel such pressure,' he says. 'Where we know that you know that we desperately want this and it's the one place where the rest of the world can laugh at how much we've not succeeded. 'So, to some degree we've always over complicated it. In the modern period, we tried to make them play dazzling football. We've tried to swagger rather than play effective football. We don't have to be Barcelona 2009/10 to win! We just have to bloody win games!' History tells us that the current geopolitical concerns will temporarily melt away when the opening game - Thursday, 11 June 2026 at the iconic Estadio Azteca Mexico City – comes around, Bennett says. Even though the travel bans on 12 countries, which Donald Trump is considering extending to 48, could render many nations' fans persona non grata. The people of Iran, already qualified, are banned. Cuba, Haiti, Sudan and Sierra Leone, all subject to travel bans, are in contention to qualify. On Trump's possible extended banned list, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Egpyt, Ghana, Nigeria and Liberia all still harbour hopes of reaching the finals. 'Right now, the world is in chaos, the geopolitics are utterly dispiriting and I only hope that the mechanism that's always kicked in when that first ball is kicked happens again,' Bennett says. 'And that we do, however fleetingly, feel united. That's testament to the power of football.' His abundant positivity reflects the tone of the Men in Blazers shows in which he approaches interviewees from a position of reverence and fascination, and a stellar list of Premier League managers and players and celebrity guests have been keen to appear. 'We are watching human decision-making in moments of transcendent glory and howling mistakes,' Bennett says of these people's professional challenges. 'Managers leading in the most strategic and highly evolved and complex ways. We will never take that for granted.' Broadcast on the NBC Sports network, which has the US rights to the Premier League, the main show has featured Pep Guardiola describing his friendship with Boston Celtics' basketball coach Joe Mazzulla and Mo Salah discussing the importance of chess in his life with Swedish grandmaster Magnus Carlsen, a guest on the same show as him. Cole Palmer admitting he borrows his mate's Spotify account and Mikel Arteta discussing the value of his chocolate labrador to the Arsenal team ethic. 'You want the player to lean in,' Bennett says. Carlsen, incidentally, revealed that Trent Alexander-Arnold last eight moves longer in a chess match against him than Bill Gates had. These are no ordinary conversations. It's propelled Men in Blazers – which takes its name from the classic trope of American sports broadcasting teams wearing matching blazers when on air - from a single podcast-turned-television show in 2010, to a media network with strands for the Premier League/Champions League, the women's game, and Hispanic fans. It will broadcast 2,000 shows this year and as a media company is now bigger than the MLS. The growth reflects the way the US has fallen for the Premier League and European football since 1994. Bennett likes to tell a story of how, soon after he'd arrived from his native Merseyside, his beloved Everton had reached the 1995 FA Cup semi-final against Tottenham, yet nowhere on his '365 cable channels' could he find a broadcast of it. He called his father, who held a transistor radio broadcasting the commentary of Liverpool station Radio City to the phone. 'We've come so far, so fast,' Bennett says. NBC, which just paid $2.7 billion for a new six-year rights deal, says the Premier League reached more than 30 million viewers last year, up from around 13 million in 2012. The Club World Cup, with its half-deserted stadiums, is no reflection on the US appetite for football, Bennett insists. 'I would not say it is a campaign that's been put together in the most thoughtful fashion,' he observes. 'The American audience has become so much more discerning and knowledgeable about which football to spend their dollars on. While this feels like a tournament which is being workshopped, the World Cup is being put together meticulously.' Men in Blazers recently raised $15 million to support its plans for next summer, with the joint venture co-founded by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney to buy Wrexham and the fund headed by Crystal Palace co-owner David Blitzer among the investors. It will host live pre-game shows during the tournament in eight of the 11 US host cities, including Atlanta, LA, Houston and Philadelphia. 'Those places are going to incredible lengths to seize the moment,' Bennett says. 'Philadelphia will be celebrating its 250th anniversary as the birthplace of the nation next year. Houston is the least known and will become the most beloved.' The US, it must be said, is not the only host country: 13 matches will be played in both Canada and Mexico. The 60,000 dollar question is whether Pochettino's side will be a competitive irrelevance and merely incidental to a tournament which is poised to create $13bn of revenue, according to New York Times analysis. 'It pains me to hear those words,' Bennett says of that question. 'There is a scenario where the US hosts a World Cup on home turf and score one of the biggest one goals on home turf by just never being ready. 'On paper, Poch is what America needs. A man who talks about 'grinta' ('grit') fight, struggle, a willingness to do whatever it takes to win. At Spurs, it took him a moment with that team he inherited. Getting ridding of the players who weren't willing to give, looking at who were his people - Eric Dier, Ryan Mason and Harry Kane, who back then had been on loan at Norwich and Millwall – and making them his players. 'We're at a crossroads for Poch and this team. We're a year out and the World Cup feels like it's tomorrow for them. Time is very short. So, the real question is can he find his people, sift through and find a core where he can build that culture of fight and struggle?' His uncertainty belongs to an eternal fascination with football which has built Bennett such a following.
Daily Mail
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Fears over World Cup travel chaos deepen with ELEVEN countries at risk of being banned by Donald Trump
No fewer than 11 nations with hopes of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup may be subject to travel bans imposed by Donald Trump when the tournament starts. The US President has imposed bans on 12 countries, include Iran, which has already qualified for next summer's tournament, and is considering announcing that foreigners from another 36 may not visit the US because of national security concerns and public safety. Cuba, Haiti, Sudan and Sierra Leone, also on the 12-country blacklist, are all in contention to qualify. On Trump's possible extended banned list, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Egpyt, Ghana, Nigeria and Liberia all still harbor hopes of reaching the finals. Players travelling to the US for the tournament will be able to avoid the ban but supporters from banned countries may not. Ronan Evain, executive director of Football Supporters Europe, said: 'We're particularly concerned about the potential for selective enforcement and discrimination against fans based on our perceived political views or national origin.' Roger Bennett, the Men in Blazers podcaster and broadcaster who has become the voice of Premier League football for millions in the US, said: 'In modern World Cups, there's been a drum beat of doubt, dread and disaster, going in. 'In South Africa in 2010, we were told the threat of out-of-control violence was going to overwhelm the tournament. In Brazil, there was civil unrest, demonstrations and tear gas the year before. In Russia everyone was afraid of a police state. 'That's the rationale going in - but with the emotional aspect once the ball is kicked, its flips. There's this global eclipse that strikes the whole planet for, in our case, 39 straight days.'
News18
19-05-2025
- Sport
- News18
Barcelona Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny's Son Pulls Off Bicycle Kick
Last Updated: Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny's son Liam attempted a bicycle kick during trophy celebrations, but the former blocked it. Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny's son Liam was seen pulling off a stunning bicycle kick during the team's trophy celebrations, but the former ensured that he didn't let the ball pass into the nets even then, as fans were left heartbroken over the child's inability to score the goal despite a brilliant shot. Liam was seen dribbling the ball and bouncing it twice to get it into a suitable position for the kick. Liam pulled off the kick brilliantly, quite a feat for a seven-year-old, only for his father to use his right foot from the back and kick it away. Watch the video here: — Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) May 19, 2025 Meanwhile, Szczesny has backed compatriot Robert Lewandowski to win the La Liga Golden Boot award ahead of Kylian Mbappe. After Barcelona's La Liga triumph, the team arranged a huge trophy parade to celebrate with their fans. During the parade, in an interaction with Barca One, Szczesny said that Lewandowski could still win the Golden Boot, defeating Mbappe in the race. The Polish footballer has 25 goals to his name, three fewer than Mbappe. 'All that's left is for Robert to win the Pichichi. Don't worry, there are two games left for Lewy to overtake Mbappe," Szczesny said. Known for his reflexes, the Polish goalkeeper is considered one of the best in the business in the world. Szczęsny retired from professional football last year, before reversing his decision later to join Barcelona after being convinced by Lewandowski, a club with which he has had a long history. In February 2011, Szczęsny made his Champions League debut against Barcelona at the Emirates Stadium, making saves in a 2-1 win for Arsenal. In 2015, Szczęsny dislocated a finger during Roma's opening Champions League game against Barcelona after clashing with Luis Suarez, an injury that kept him out for over a month. Meanwhile, Villarreal qualified for next season's Champions League with an entertaining 3-2 victory over Barcelona on Sunday, May 18. Elsewhere, Mbappe struck as Real Madrid won 2-0 at nine-man Sevilla, while Leganes gave themselves a chance of survival with a victory at Las Palmas.
