WEBVTT - FIFA World Cup NYNJ CEO Alex Lasry Talks World Cup

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<v Speaker 1>All right, Well, we're just a few months away from

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<v Speaker 1>one of the biggest scoring events in the world, the

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<v Speaker 1>FIFA World Cup, and that will draw for that World

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<v Speaker 1>Cup just wrapped up a little bit earlier today at

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<v Speaker 1>the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Joining us live from

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<v Speaker 1>New York is Alex Lazri. He's the CEO of the

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<v Speaker 1>FIFA World Cup twenty twenty six New York New Jersey

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<v Speaker 1>Hosts Committee. Alex, great to have you here and of

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<v Speaker 1>course where our viewers don't know, most of these games

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<v Speaker 1>will be played, of course in the New York, New

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<v Speaker 1>Jersey area. Talk a little bit about the potential impact

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<v Speaker 1>that that's going to have for the local economy here.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, the impact of these games on the local economy

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<v Speaker 2>is going to be massive. I mean, we're looking at

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<v Speaker 2>over three billion dollars of economic impact, millions of fans

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<v Speaker 2>from around the world that are going to be coming

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<v Speaker 2>right here to our region, and I think the potential

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<v Speaker 2>legacy is even bigger. Right. What we want to do

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<v Speaker 2>is show the world that if you want to have

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<v Speaker 2>the premier sports and entertainment event, you want to do

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<v Speaker 2>it in the biggest stage right here in New York,

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<v Speaker 2>New Jersey.

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<v Speaker 1>I am curious, Alex about this idea of having all

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<v Speaker 1>of these national visitors coming to the US, particularly at

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<v Speaker 1>a time where there's been a huge crackdown in immigration

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<v Speaker 1>and a lot of concerns about how welcome some of

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<v Speaker 1>these people are going to be when they start to arrive,

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<v Speaker 1>and assuming they do arrive, are they going to be welcomed?

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<v Speaker 2>They are, and we're going to make sure they are

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<v Speaker 2>because we are really excited to welcome the entire world

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<v Speaker 2>to our region. And that's what the benefit of this

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<v Speaker 2>World Cup is and what makes this World Cup so unique.

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<v Speaker 2>The economic impact of this World Cup has a lot

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<v Speaker 2>to do with the millions of visitors who are going

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<v Speaker 2>to come to this region to participate in the World Cup.

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<v Speaker 2>And I think what's unique about a World Cup is

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<v Speaker 2>that most people that come aren't going to the stadium

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<v Speaker 2>to go to a game. They're coming to come to

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<v Speaker 2>our fan fest, come to our fan village, come to

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<v Speaker 2>all of our activations, and just be part of the

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<v Speaker 2>World Cup experience. And that's what we're really excited about,

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<v Speaker 2>to welcome the entire world right to our region.

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<v Speaker 3>And you think about that, welcoming the entire world, do

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<v Speaker 3>you think about where this is being held. MetLife. MetLife

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<v Speaker 3>of course can handle a lot. It's hosted a Super

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<v Speaker 3>Bowl before, for example, how will this final compare to that?

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<v Speaker 2>For example, this final is going to be the biggest

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<v Speaker 2>sporting event, maybe even the biggest event in human history.

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<v Speaker 2>We're looking at If you think about the last the

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<v Speaker 2>last World Cup Final, it was viewed by the same

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<v Speaker 2>amount of people as the last thirteen Super Bowls combined.

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<v Speaker 2>So if you think of you know, American football as

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<v Speaker 2>our sport, football is the world sport and we're going

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<v Speaker 2>to be having the eyes of the world upon us

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<v Speaker 2>for this final. So this is going to be the

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<v Speaker 2>biggest event that we've ever hosted out out pacing a

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<v Speaker 2>Super Bowl, Taylor Swift concert, you name it. This is

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<v Speaker 2>going to be the biggest event we've ever had, and

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<v Speaker 2>we're going to show the world that if you want

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<v Speaker 2>to have a sporting event or anything on the biggest stage,

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<v Speaker 2>you got to do it right here in New York,

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<v Speaker 2>New Jersey.

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<v Speaker 3>Well to your point, I mean, this is the world's game.

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<v Speaker 3>We're talking about the US market, and it feels like

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<v Speaker 3>everyone growing up in the US plays soccer in some form.

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<v Speaker 3>Do you think about soccer's popularity though in the United States,

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<v Speaker 3>I mean, what do you think the stakes are here

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<v Speaker 3>when it comes to raising the profile of the sport domestically.

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<v Speaker 2>I think our hope for this World Cup and the

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<v Speaker 2>legacy for this World Cup is doing the for football

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<v Speaker 2>what you know the Dream Team did for basketball around

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<v Speaker 2>the world, Right, it inspired a generation of basketball players,

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<v Speaker 2>and now you've had like the last six MVPs not

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<v Speaker 2>being from the United States, And I think our hope

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<v Speaker 2>for this World Cup is that it inspires a next

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<v Speaker 2>generation of athlete. Right You're going to have a bunch

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<v Speaker 2>of six seven eight year olds who are going to

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<v Speaker 2>be feeling the energy seeing the best players from around

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<v Speaker 2>the world competing on the biggest stage, and hopefully it

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<v Speaker 2>inspires them to go play football and to go join

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<v Speaker 2>the US men's national team to make us the strongest

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<v Speaker 2>team in the world. When you look at the ninety

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<v Speaker 2>nine Women's World Cup, you know, those images and that

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<v Speaker 2>energy led to the women's national team being the most

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<v Speaker 2>impressive and biggest powerhouse in women's soccer. So I think

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<v Speaker 2>we're hoping for the same thing for this World Cup.

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<v Speaker 1>And absolutely you talk about the formation of MLS back

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<v Speaker 1>in ninety six coming out of the ninety four World

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<v Speaker 1>Cup and exactly all the attention that Americans, who traditionally

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<v Speaker 1>ignored soccer certainly gave it. It gets to the question, though,

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<v Speaker 1>Alex as well as to sort of what is the

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<v Speaker 1>international cooperation going forward? And I don't mean at the

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<v Speaker 1>at the high end World Cup level, but do you

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<v Speaker 1>think we're going to see maybe a little bit more

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<v Speaker 1>symbiosis between say the leagues here in the United States

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<v Speaker 1>with those the big powerhouse leagues in Europe and the UK,

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<v Speaker 1>et cetera.

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<v Speaker 2>I think you're already seeing a lot of symbiosis, right

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<v Speaker 2>You're having Premier League teams playing in European teams from

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<v Speaker 2>all over the you know, from all over Europe playing

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<v Speaker 2>in the United States. You know, we just hosted the

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<v Speaker 2>Premier League series am met Life. We just have the

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<v Speaker 2>Club World Cup right here in you know, the finals

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<v Speaker 2>and the semi finals right here in MetLife Stadium. So

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<v Speaker 2>I think you're already starting to see kind of an

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<v Speaker 2>expansion of of football from around the world, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>really partnering with with us in the United States. I think,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, kind of the next step and next stage

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<v Speaker 2>is for the growth of the MLS to continue, the

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<v Speaker 2>growth of the NWSL to continue, and also maybe you know,

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<v Speaker 2>you start to see some of these other leagues doing

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<v Speaker 2>what US leagues have been doing. Right when you look

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<v Speaker 2>at the NBA and the NFL playing regular season matches overseas.

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<v Speaker 2>I think the hope is that, you know, we can

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<v Speaker 2>start to do that with football and that'll really expand

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<v Speaker 2>the game and continue to grow the sport.

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<v Speaker 1>I know you're basically just in charge of what's going

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<v Speaker 1>on here in the New York, New Jersey area, but

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<v Speaker 1>we should point out obviously these games are going to

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<v Speaker 1>be spread out in other cities as well as other countries,

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<v Speaker 1>including Mexico and Canada. What are the discussions that you're

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<v Speaker 1>having with your counterparts in those cities and countries with

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<v Speaker 1>regards to what they're doing and maybe sharing some interest

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<v Speaker 1>and advice as to what maybe you can do as well.

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<v Speaker 2>We're all trying to share best practices because the fan

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<v Speaker 2>experience in one city is going to directly affect the

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<v Speaker 2>fan experience in another. And so what we want to do,

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<v Speaker 2>especially here in the United States, but all across North

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<v Speaker 2>America is we really want to put on an incredible

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<v Speaker 2>show and we want people from around the world who

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<v Speaker 2>are coming here for possibly the first time, or CEOs

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<v Speaker 2>of other companies coming here who are looking to maybe

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<v Speaker 2>create jobs and invest We want them to see the

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<v Speaker 2>United States, especially as as the place to do that.

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<v Speaker 2>And so the fan experience in Atlanta or Miami or

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<v Speaker 2>Dallas is going to directly affect the fan experience that

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<v Speaker 2>you have in New York, New Jersey. And so we're

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<v Speaker 2>trying to make sure that we're all in communication, all

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<v Speaker 2>talking about what we can do to make sure that

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<v Speaker 2>everyone coming to the United States has an incredible experience,

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<v Speaker 2>because I think that the studies that I've seen are

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<v Speaker 2>saying that the World Cup could have an over thirty

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<v Speaker 2>billion dollar economic impact for the entire United States, expecting

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<v Speaker 2>over six million visitors. So this is this is a

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<v Speaker 2>very big deal, not just for our region, but for

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<v Speaker 2>the entire country.

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<v Speaker 3>And you know, you think about an event like this,

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<v Speaker 3>I have to imagine a lot of it, you know,

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<v Speaker 3>falls on the state governments, the local governments. But talk

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<v Speaker 3>to us about the relationship with the federal government. How

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<v Speaker 3>much you know, buy in and participation you need from

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<v Speaker 3>that level of government in term of putting on something

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<v Speaker 3>on this scale.

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<v Speaker 2>You can't put on an event like this without coordination

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<v Speaker 2>and buy in from your state, local, and federal government.

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<v Speaker 2>And when I look at the planning and all of

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<v Speaker 2>the conversations that I've been involved in and all the

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<v Speaker 2>preparations that we've made, the connectivity between federal, state, and

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<v Speaker 2>local has been truly incredible. Right. I think we're actually

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<v Speaker 2>seeing a putting a side of politics to make sure

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<v Speaker 2>that these games are successful. And if you look at

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<v Speaker 2>you know, kind of the next ten years here in

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<v Speaker 2>the United States, this is really the decade of sports,

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<v Speaker 2>and the World Cup is kind of the kickoff of that.

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<v Speaker 2>Right We've got the World Cup in twenty six, the

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<v Speaker 2>La Olympics in twenty eight, We've got the Women's World

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<v Speaker 2>Cup in twenty thirty one, and then the Salt Lake

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<v Speaker 2>City Winter Olympics in twenty thirty four or thirty six. So,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, this is the decade of sports. We are

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<v Speaker 2>the first one, and so we really have to make

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<v Speaker 2>sure that we put on a great show to you know,

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<v Speaker 2>I think really set the tone for what these mega

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<v Speaker 2>sporting events over the next ten years are going to

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<v Speaker 2>look like.

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<v Speaker 3>Absolutely, Alex really appreciate your time on this Friday afternoon,

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<v Speaker 3>that is Alex Lazri. He is the CEO of the

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<v Speaker 3>FIFA World Cup twenty six New York, New Jersey Host

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<v Speaker 3>Committee