WEBVTT - One Fan’s Journey to the World Cup 0:00:07.160 --> 0:00:11.680 Not every person or country is born loving football. That 0:00:11.840 --> 0:00:13.480 was the case for the Nezzi len. 0:00:13.840 --> 0:00:18.680 And Panama, like baseball and boxing, has always been what's 0:00:18.720 --> 0:00:19.239 really big. 0:00:19.840 --> 0:00:23.360 The Netzi is from Panama, where soccer has a relatively 0:00:23.480 --> 0:00:24.680 new following. 0:00:24.640 --> 0:00:28.520 And it's really been in the last fifteen to twenty 0:00:28.600 --> 0:00:33.479 years that soccer has grown and has become like one 0:00:33.520 --> 0:00:35.360 of the bigger sports and bigger fandoms. 0:00:35.800 --> 0:00:39.239 And if there's a game that perfectly encapsulates how that 0:00:39.320 --> 0:00:42.680 fan base has grown in numbers and in fervor, it's 0:00:42.760 --> 0:00:48.120 this one from almost ten years ago. In October twenty seventeen, ah. 0:00:48.080 --> 0:00:53.880 YadA, Puerto Rica. 0:00:52.720 --> 0:00:56.680 Panama's national team is up against Costa Rica and their 0:00:56.840 --> 0:01:00.840 one win away from qualifying to the World Cup for 0:01:00.960 --> 0:01:06.080 the first time ever. Fireworks are going off above the 0:01:06.120 --> 0:01:10.440 stadium and Panama City inside the stands are completely red 0:01:10.480 --> 0:01:15.720 with twenty six thousand anxious fans. Danetsy is watching the 0:01:15.760 --> 0:01:17.759 game from the basement of a bar in New York 0:01:17.800 --> 0:01:21.240 City where she lives, and her stomach is in knots 0:01:22.040 --> 0:01:24.000 because in order to make it to the World Cup, 0:01:24.319 --> 0:01:28.520 Panama needs to win this game and the US needs 0:01:28.560 --> 0:01:32.279 to lose another game. That's happening simultaneously. 0:01:32.680 --> 0:01:34.479 All the games are on at the same time, when 0:01:34.480 --> 0:01:37.640 you're kind of like keeping an eye out everywhere. Panama 0:01:37.640 --> 0:01:39.880 loves to leave it to the last dye and grasps. 0:01:40.440 --> 0:01:46.280 Then the dream scenario happens. The US loses and Panama 0:01:46.319 --> 0:01:49.640 scores with two minutes left in the match. 0:02:00.480 --> 0:02:03.000 And everyone just goes crazy. It goes crazy at the bar. 0:02:03.360 --> 0:02:09.200 You see the scenes in the stadium. It's just complete mayhem. 0:02:09.280 --> 0:02:12.840 But it's not over yet. The clock goes into overtime 0:02:13.120 --> 0:02:16.520 and the entire stadium is dying for the ref to 0:02:16.639 --> 0:02:21.839 blow that final whistle, when suddenly an intruder jumps into 0:02:21.840 --> 0:02:32.120 the field. It's a woman on the ground, surrounded by 0:02:32.160 --> 0:02:34.280 two policemen who are trying to help her up. 0:02:34.480 --> 0:02:38.040 This senora who goes onto the field to try to 0:02:38.120 --> 0:02:42.359 like help wind down, she like falls over and like fades. 0:02:42.760 --> 0:02:46.360 She's older, wearing pattern trousers, black flats, and a Panama 0:02:46.480 --> 0:02:48.519 jersey with a full head of gray hair. 0:02:48.720 --> 0:02:51.000 And so normally you see these like young guys are 0:02:51.040 --> 0:02:53.480 the ones that are like crashing the field. It's just 0:02:53.520 --> 0:02:56.160 added to the drama and the ridiculousness of it all. 0:02:56.200 --> 0:02:58.160 But I think the entire stadium. Just wanted to do 0:02:58.240 --> 0:03:01.560 everything possible to make sure that it stood. 0:03:02.639 --> 0:03:05.880 And you can say it worked because one minute later 0:03:06.160 --> 0:03:10.680 the ref ends the game and Panama makes history. They're 0:03:10.760 --> 0:03:22.760 going to the twenty eighteen World Cup in Russia. The 0:03:22.840 --> 0:03:25.760 lady who evaded security and ran onto the field would 0:03:25.800 --> 0:03:30.160 go down in history as a national hero aka Latia 0:03:30.200 --> 0:03:33.000 de las Alex, the national teams Auntie. 0:03:35.720 --> 0:03:38.760 Then they interviewed her afterwards and she was like, no clado, 0:03:38.960 --> 0:03:40.320 It's like I had to do my part. 0:03:41.920 --> 0:03:45.800 Fast forward to now and Panama qualified for the World 0:03:45.880 --> 0:03:50.040 Cup again this year, starting a brand new chapter in 0:03:50.120 --> 0:03:58.280 Danetti's life as a fan. From Futuro Studios, I'm Fernando 0:03:58.360 --> 0:04:01.760 Chavarri and this is a American Football, a show about 0:04:01.800 --> 0:04:05.800 soccer culture in the US and it's underdog roots. In 0:04:05.840 --> 0:04:09.520 this episode, we followed the Netsi's entry into ultimate soccer 0:04:09.560 --> 0:04:12.720 fandom and her journey to the game's biggest stage. She's 0:04:12.760 --> 0:04:15.440 one of the hundreds of thousands of fans who've had 0:04:15.480 --> 0:04:19.359 to jump through countless and unprecedented hoops in order to 0:04:19.400 --> 0:04:22.680 make it to this year's World Cup, a tournament that 0:04:22.800 --> 0:04:25.720 was supposed to be for everyone, has taken a lot 0:04:25.760 --> 0:04:29.960 more money and luck to attend in person sports lead 0:04:30.080 --> 0:04:33.120 and money lead sticker shock for FIFA World. 0:04:32.839 --> 0:04:34.599 Cup fans planning to attend matches. 0:04:34.680 --> 0:04:37.279 The twenty twenty six World Cup is set to be 0:04:37.600 --> 0:04:39.960 by far the most expensive ever. 0:04:40.360 --> 0:04:44.440 I think that was before we fully understood just how 0:04:44.920 --> 0:04:48.480 greedy FIFA was going to be. So absolutely, I was like, 0:04:49.000 --> 0:04:51.560 whatever it takes, I'm going to go, what do I 0:04:51.600 --> 0:04:52.360 have savings for? 0:04:52.520 --> 0:04:56.159 If not to do this like once in a lifetime thing. 0:04:56.760 --> 0:04:59.120 Has it been worth it? I'm going to let our 0:04:59.120 --> 0:05:02.080 producer and the escabalero answer that question. 0:05:11.880 --> 0:05:15.039 Dantzi Len was born in Panama City, but she moved 0:05:15.080 --> 0:05:18.119 to California Central Valley with her family when she was five. 0:05:18.400 --> 0:05:21.600 Panama's home, Panama is like my heart. 0:05:22.120 --> 0:05:25.119 Full disclosure that Netzi works with US at for Tudo, 0:05:25.480 --> 0:05:29.240 where she does fundraising and runs the membership programs. Her 0:05:29.320 --> 0:05:32.680 Panamanian mom met her American dad, who was stationed there 0:05:32.760 --> 0:05:35.400 during the US invasion of Panama in nineteen eighty nine. 0:05:36.200 --> 0:05:36.719 She says the. 0:05:36.760 --> 0:05:39.520 Greatest gift her parents gave her was sending her to 0:05:39.600 --> 0:05:41.560 Panama to see family every summer. 0:05:41.920 --> 0:05:45.040 I can remember like being on the plane arriving at 0:05:45.040 --> 0:05:46.480 Tukumen and just. 0:05:46.520 --> 0:05:50.279 Like a sigh, like a I just loved it. 0:05:50.600 --> 0:05:53.039 She stayed at her grandma's house and then spent the 0:05:53.040 --> 0:05:54.800 summers hanging out with her cousins. 0:05:55.240 --> 0:05:58.880 So those trips during the summers were what kept me 0:05:58.920 --> 0:06:02.520 connected to my Panamanian heritage, to my family. 0:06:02.960 --> 0:06:05.800 Those summers also put soccer on the Nazi's radar for 0:06:05.839 --> 0:06:09.520 the first time because every four years they overlapped with 0:06:09.560 --> 0:06:12.920 the World Cup, and neither of her parents cared about 0:06:12.960 --> 0:06:17.400 sports much less about soccer, but her cousin, Luigi did. 0:06:18.040 --> 0:06:20.360 My closest cousin, Luigi a Meres Chavez. 0:06:20.720 --> 0:06:23.400 He is two and a half months older than me, 0:06:24.040 --> 0:06:27.400 and we are both only children and a family that 0:06:27.480 --> 0:06:31.279 has like a lot of kids, and so despite being 0:06:32.040 --> 0:06:35.719 far away and like you know, we've always been very close. 0:06:36.320 --> 0:06:37.679 He's like my brother. 0:06:38.160 --> 0:06:46.240 Oh yeah, no, Luigi was and is a huge fan. 0:06:46.920 --> 0:06:48.120 He also played soccer. 0:06:48.400 --> 0:06:53.320 His room growing up was like plastered with Barcelona. 0:06:53.440 --> 0:06:55.640 He for some reason is a Dutch national fan. 0:06:55.720 --> 0:06:58.159 I'm not even sure where that comes from, but he 0:06:58.279 --> 0:07:00.280 also had those posters growing up. 0:07:00.760 --> 0:07:03.440 One summer during the France ninety eight World Cup that 0:07:03.520 --> 0:07:06.880 Natzi remembers Luigi being sent home early from his elementary school, 0:07:07.279 --> 0:07:10.600 Argentina was playing and it happened to be the principal's 0:07:10.600 --> 0:07:12.080 favorite team. 0:07:12.120 --> 0:07:16.160 Like what is That's not a thing that would happen 0:07:16.520 --> 0:07:19.520 in my elementary school in Presno right. 0:07:23.120 --> 0:07:26.000 Over the years, as she got older, that Neetzi stopped 0:07:26.000 --> 0:07:28.920 spending her summers in Panama, but she started to follow 0:07:28.920 --> 0:07:31.480 the World Cups on her own. In the early two thousands, 0:07:32.080 --> 0:07:36.280 Panama never qualified, so she'd root for the Latin American teams. 0:07:36.760 --> 0:07:39.400 In twenty eleven that Natzi moved to New York City. 0:07:40.240 --> 0:07:43.400 There she had more access to international matches and even 0:07:43.440 --> 0:07:46.920 more access to her roots. Every now and then, Panama 0:07:46.920 --> 0:07:49.560 would play in Philadelphia or in New Jersey, and she 0:07:49.560 --> 0:07:51.880 would convince friends to get on a bus and go 0:07:51.920 --> 0:07:52.520 with her to the. 0:07:52.480 --> 0:07:57.040 Games, because it's so rare to even come across Panamanians, right, 0:07:57.120 --> 0:07:59.960 like we're a tiny country, and so like, yes, I 0:08:00.000 --> 0:08:03.280 I love the game and would have fun watching them, 0:08:03.280 --> 0:08:06.520 But it was also just about like interacting with other Panomania. 0:08:06.560 --> 0:08:10.120 It's like just getting a little sense of being home. 0:08:13.480 --> 0:08:16.440 In twenty thirteen, two years after that, Natzi moved to 0:08:16.480 --> 0:08:19.680 New York, she met a Colombian friend who invited her 0:08:19.680 --> 0:08:21.920 to watch a game at Legends, a sports bar in 0:08:21.960 --> 0:08:25.520 midtown Manhattan. If you want to catch almost any game 0:08:25.560 --> 0:08:28.640 from anywhere in the world, Legends is the place. 0:08:29.360 --> 0:08:35.319 The basement is covered ceiling walls with jerseys and scarves 0:08:35.440 --> 0:08:36.760 from all over the world. 0:08:37.440 --> 0:08:40.480 There the Nantzi found a community that gathered to watch 0:08:40.559 --> 0:08:44.360 all sorts of different games. We're talking from Colombian league 0:08:44.400 --> 0:08:47.840 matches to international games, where fans brought their banners and 0:08:47.920 --> 0:08:49.040 drums and. 0:08:48.960 --> 0:08:51.840 It's just this really fun atmosphere. 0:08:51.679 --> 0:08:55.120 At Legends that Netzi also learned about the heartbreak that 0:08:55.160 --> 0:08:58.679 comes with true fandom. In a twenty fourteen world could 0:08:58.760 --> 0:09:02.600 qualify against the US. Panama was up to one until 0:09:02.600 --> 0:09:07.360 the very last minutes. Victory was just within grasp, and 0:09:07.440 --> 0:09:08.520 then an. 0:09:08.320 --> 0:09:13.160 Extra time the US scores like two goals like bam, bam, bam, 0:09:13.400 --> 0:09:15.400 and it all just falls apart in the last couple 0:09:15.400 --> 0:09:15.800 of minutes. 0:09:16.080 --> 0:09:19.000 There forget a draw. 0:09:19.200 --> 0:09:24.200 It's a win for the US and Panama can stunned disbelief. 0:09:25.120 --> 0:09:28.240 What just happened is like big, big high to the slow. 0:09:28.720 --> 0:09:31.680 It was the first time that Nancy was overtaken by 0:09:31.679 --> 0:09:35.080 this grief shared by sports lovers all over the world. 0:09:36.200 --> 0:09:39.400 Not knowing what to do next, that Nancy walked towards 0:09:39.400 --> 0:09:41.880 one of the corners of the bar and she cried 0:09:41.920 --> 0:09:42.680 her eyes out. 0:09:44.320 --> 0:09:47.360 Not so fun memories of crying in the corner of 0:09:47.440 --> 0:09:52.199 legends that night after victory was ripped from her hands 0:09:52.200 --> 0:09:54.400 in the last minutes that night. 0:09:54.840 --> 0:09:57.840 As that Nancy wiped off her tears on her Panama jersey, 0:09:58.240 --> 0:10:01.480 she fully transformed into a true diehard fan. 0:10:02.040 --> 0:10:23.000 My relationship with soccer today is just one of dedicated fantom. 0:10:14.480 --> 0:10:18.960 After the break, despite the tears, that Nezzi's fandom keeps growing. 0:10:19.640 --> 0:10:23.439 Panama eventually qualifies for the World Cup and she gets 0:10:23.440 --> 0:10:27.240 a shot at fulfilling a dream more. When we come back, 0:10:50.160 --> 0:10:55.000 We're back with American football. I'm Fernande Charvari producer, Andres 0:10:55.080 --> 0:10:57.840 Cavalguero is going to take us into the Nezzi's journey 0:10:57.920 --> 0:11:01.760 for the next big thing, making her new World Cup 0:11:01.840 --> 0:11:03.040 dreams come true. 0:11:04.320 --> 0:11:07.559 This experience of falling in love with soccer made Danetzi's 0:11:07.559 --> 0:11:10.680 connection with her cousin Luigi stronger, even though they lived 0:11:10.760 --> 0:11:14.800 more than two thousand miles apart. When Panama finally qualified 0:11:14.800 --> 0:11:17.679 for a World Cup back in that twenty seventeen game, 0:11:18.080 --> 0:11:21.679 the one with the anti rushing the field. Danetzi immediately 0:11:21.760 --> 0:11:22.560 texted Luigi. 0:11:22.880 --> 0:11:27.120 I remember being in contact with him because he was 0:11:27.120 --> 0:11:29.679 just telling me how crazy the whole city was going. 0:11:29.960 --> 0:11:33.200 And the president actually declared the next day a national 0:11:33.200 --> 0:11:37.760 holiday and so schools were closed because everyone was partying 0:11:37.840 --> 0:11:38.760 in the streets. 0:11:39.160 --> 0:11:42.520 Then and there a seed was planted. If Panama is 0:11:42.559 --> 0:11:45.640 finally qualifying for World Cups, maybe they could go to 0:11:45.640 --> 0:11:49.120 one together one day. Panama didn't make it to the 0:11:49.200 --> 0:11:52.080 last World Cup in Guitar, but the twenty twenty six 0:11:52.200 --> 0:11:56.400 year felt different. First because FIFA had announced their expansion 0:11:56.440 --> 0:12:01.040 from thirty two participating teams to forty eight. Second, the 0:12:01.120 --> 0:12:05.320 three strongest teams Panama usually competed against the US, Mexico 0:12:05.360 --> 0:12:09.719 and Canada automatically qualified, which increased the odds for them 0:12:09.760 --> 0:12:11.360 to get back into the World Cup. 0:12:11.760 --> 0:12:13.640 And so there's just a sumptule like, well, of course 0:12:13.640 --> 0:12:15.800 we're going to like if we don't qualify this year, 0:12:15.960 --> 0:12:18.599 like and also an expanded feel like what are we 0:12:18.679 --> 0:12:19.160 doing here? 0:12:19.240 --> 0:12:19.400 Right? 0:12:19.600 --> 0:12:24.199 And it's sober Panama is going to the World Top 0:12:24.440 --> 0:12:26.760 for the second time in their history. 0:12:27.720 --> 0:12:30.040 Okay, well, we're going to do everything possible to actually 0:12:30.160 --> 0:12:33.600 go to a game, right, Like that's the dream. We're 0:12:33.600 --> 0:12:38.000 in our mid to late thirties now and have the 0:12:38.040 --> 0:12:39.920 ability to like actually do this. 0:12:40.800 --> 0:12:43.200 A few months after Panama qualified to the World Cup 0:12:43.200 --> 0:12:46.319 twenty twenty six, Luigi created a group chat for those 0:12:46.360 --> 0:12:50.679 who were interested in looking for tickets, like all the Flags. 0:12:50.960 --> 0:12:53.080 They were about a dozen people in this group chat, 0:12:53.360 --> 0:12:57.880 mostly from Luigi's circle, but the core group was Danezzi, Luigi, 0:12:57.960 --> 0:13:00.000 his wife, and his friend from high school. 0:13:00.520 --> 0:13:03.240 What are even the options? I go to games? And 0:13:03.280 --> 0:13:06.360 it's like very easy. Normally you just go on the 0:13:06.360 --> 0:13:08.840 website or go on one of the ticket resellers and 0:13:08.920 --> 0:13:11.040 like you grab your ticket. But it was very clear 0:13:11.040 --> 0:13:12.880 from the beginning that this was just like a whole 0:13:13.000 --> 0:13:20.400 other beast. 0:13:19.720 --> 0:13:24.880 So Luigi took the lead. He was the one on 0:13:24.920 --> 0:13:27.600 top of what dates the first round tickets would be released. 0:13:28.200 --> 0:13:31.400 Since the FIFA group draw hadn't happened yet, buying tickets 0:13:31.400 --> 0:13:34.520 in the first round meant spending serious money for a 0:13:34.559 --> 0:13:36.000 game they might not even care about. 0:13:36.280 --> 0:13:40.200 We wanted to see our team play and so we 0:13:40.200 --> 0:13:41.680 weren't going to take that rest. So it was about 0:13:41.679 --> 0:13:44.560 waiting until the second round. And the second round was 0:13:44.640 --> 0:13:45.760 this lottery system. 0:13:46.320 --> 0:13:49.520 FIFA has been implementing the lottery system for a while now. 0:13:50.200 --> 0:13:52.840 It's supposed to help ensure fans can buy tickets at 0:13:52.880 --> 0:13:56.640 face value before they shoot up, and it seemed perfect 0:13:56.720 --> 0:13:59.199 for that Nancy and her cousin. The max number of 0:13:59.240 --> 0:14:02.800 tickets they could have apply for was four. But one 0:14:02.880 --> 0:14:06.280 important thing to clarify, this wasn't the type of lottery 0:14:06.320 --> 0:14:10.480 where winning meant getting free tickets. Winning meant having a 0:14:10.559 --> 0:14:13.600 chance to purchase the tickets for the specific game you wanted. 0:14:13.800 --> 0:14:15.680 We've got to skip all the way to Group L 0:14:16.080 --> 0:14:19.280 where Panama will go in in position four, and there 0:14:19.320 --> 0:14:21.800 have been the same group as England and Croatia. 0:14:24.240 --> 0:14:27.160 By the end of twenty twenty five, the FIFA group 0:14:27.200 --> 0:14:31.200 stage draw for the World Cup happened. Panama would be 0:14:31.240 --> 0:14:35.200 playing against Ghana and Croatia in Toronto, and then facing 0:14:35.280 --> 0:14:38.760 England and New Jersey. Now that the Netzi and Luigi 0:14:38.800 --> 0:14:42.320 had more details on Panama's three guaranteed matches, they could 0:14:42.360 --> 0:14:45.840 apply for the games they wanted. The group also had 0:14:45.880 --> 0:14:48.440 to figure out how much money they were willing to spend, 0:14:49.040 --> 0:14:51.040 especially in a World Cup shaping up to be the 0:14:51.080 --> 0:14:53.320 most expensive tournament in history. 0:14:53.600 --> 0:14:55.920 If you've heard anything about the World Cup, you have 0:14:56.160 --> 0:14:59.080 probably heard about those ticket prices. Who in their rate 0:14:59.160 --> 0:15:01.840 mind decided that the ticket prices for World Cup games 0:15:01.880 --> 0:15:04.680 are normal. I'm not dropping a band to go to 0:15:04.760 --> 0:15:06.800 one game to give you a sense. 0:15:07.280 --> 0:15:10.240 Tickets are more than twice as expensive as the last 0:15:10.240 --> 0:15:14.040 World Cup in Qatar, and that's taken into account all 0:15:14.120 --> 0:15:17.560 matches or seating categories. Part of the reason for the 0:15:17.600 --> 0:15:22.360 exorbitantly high ticket prices FIFA's use of variable pricing, which 0:15:22.400 --> 0:15:26.080 is also known as dynamic pricing. This is a system 0:15:26.160 --> 0:15:29.120 where ticket prices go up and down based on demand, 0:15:29.720 --> 0:15:32.560 and it's being applied across all sports in the US, 0:15:33.040 --> 0:15:37.040 much to the disappointment of fans and commentators. Dynamic pricing 0:15:37.160 --> 0:15:38.720 is what you see in Super Bowl, It's what you 0:15:38.720 --> 0:15:40.800 see in the NBA, is what you see in MLBA 0:15:40.880 --> 0:15:41.280 and so on. 0:15:41.320 --> 0:15:43.080 You can't even afford to go to the damn game. 0:15:43.160 --> 0:15:44.440 So it is ridiculous. 0:15:44.480 --> 0:15:47.400 If anything should be illegal, dynamic pricing should be legal. 0:15:47.720 --> 0:15:50.600 This World Cup is the first time FIFA is adopting 0:15:50.640 --> 0:15:53.680 this pricing system, and even the Mayor of New York City, 0:15:53.720 --> 0:15:55.920 so Run Mamdani, has come out against it. 0:15:56.560 --> 0:15:59.120 The tickets can be resold on official fecal platform with 0:15:59.200 --> 0:16:01.080 no price coup That means you could buy a ticket 0:16:01.080 --> 0:16:03.240 for sixty bucks and sell it with six thousand dollars, 0:16:03.320 --> 0:16:05.600 And unlike the last three World Cups, there's nothing set 0:16:05.600 --> 0:16:08.960 aside for residents. Well, this all means the biggest sporting 0:16:08.960 --> 0:16:11.040 event in the world is happening in your backyard and 0:16:11.080 --> 0:16:12.040 you'll be priced out of it. 0:16:12.480 --> 0:16:15.760 We're talking the cheapest tickets for basic group stage matches 0:16:16.040 --> 0:16:18.560 that have ranged from around one hundred and forty to 0:16:18.640 --> 0:16:22.160 more than one thousand dollars, not to mention the higher 0:16:22.240 --> 0:16:25.920 seating categories for playoff games. A seed at the final 0:16:26.240 --> 0:16:29.360 could cost well over ten thousand dollars. You want a 0:16:29.360 --> 0:16:33.120 front row seat thirty three thousand dollars. It's been a 0:16:33.160 --> 0:16:35.120 real blow for fans like that, Nancy. 0:16:35.640 --> 0:16:38.800 It's too much like tickets have just never been this expensive. 0:16:39.240 --> 0:16:41.680 There are fans like complaining about how there was not 0:16:41.840 --> 0:16:45.360 fan level prices. How you know, there's all this stuff 0:16:45.360 --> 0:16:48.080 here in New York about like transportation to the games 0:16:48.720 --> 0:16:51.200 and them upping the price, and it's. 0:16:51.080 --> 0:16:54.160 A pretty penny. A round trip train ticket between Penn 0:16:54.160 --> 0:16:57.160 Station and MetLife will cost one hundred and fifty dollars. 0:16:57.800 --> 0:17:01.119 Shuttle bus tickets will cost eighty dollar dollars round trip. 0:17:00.960 --> 0:17:03.240 One hundred and fifty dollars to get to met Life 0:17:03.360 --> 0:17:07.360 when that normally costs twelve dollars. Right at every corner 0:17:07.440 --> 0:17:12.080 they're trying to get money, whether it's FIFA or whether 0:17:12.119 --> 0:17:14.919 then it's like the local cities too, just trying to 0:17:14.920 --> 0:17:15.800 make the most of it. 0:17:16.160 --> 0:17:18.280 The cost of the train ride was cut down to 0:17:18.400 --> 0:17:22.200 ninety eight dollars after public backlash, but it's still an 0:17:22.200 --> 0:17:26.400 inflated price. Many thousands of fans had to abandon their 0:17:26.400 --> 0:17:29.320 plans to attend the World Cup because it was just 0:17:29.560 --> 0:17:33.040 too expensive. But the Neetsi and her group had decided 0:17:33.040 --> 0:17:35.879 they'd be willing to pay around three hundred and fifty 0:17:35.920 --> 0:17:39.240 dollars each for a group stage ticket, a lot of 0:17:39.280 --> 0:17:42.479 money for an everyday person, but probably the cheapest they 0:17:42.480 --> 0:17:45.720 would get at the time, and they definitely wanted to 0:17:45.760 --> 0:17:49.080 avoid the crazy resale market, so they applied for the 0:17:49.119 --> 0:17:52.320 ticket lottery and they waited for what felt like an 0:17:52.320 --> 0:18:00.399 excruciatingly long time. The Netsi remembers seeing many other fans 0:18:00.440 --> 0:18:03.480 on social media who were on the same boat waiting 0:18:03.520 --> 0:18:04.280 for a response. 0:18:04.720 --> 0:18:07.040 People were also saying, like, if you haven't gotten the 0:18:07.080 --> 0:18:09.880 email yet, you could go into your profile and look 0:18:09.920 --> 0:18:12.480 inside this one little section of the page, and. 0:18:12.560 --> 0:18:14.840 Therefore you could deduce if you got it or not. 0:18:15.359 --> 0:18:18.560 Danetzi recalls Luigi sending her videos of him trying to 0:18:18.640 --> 0:18:26.120 navigate through FIFA's website to find out if they'd won. Finally, 0:18:26.359 --> 0:18:29.959 more than a month after entering the lottery, the news arrived. 0:18:30.480 --> 0:18:33.000 Luigi and his best friend from high school won the 0:18:33.040 --> 0:18:39.919 tickets for the Panama versus Ghana game in Toronto. Danetzi, Luigi, 0:18:40.200 --> 0:18:42.840 their whole group were going to the World Cup. 0:18:43.400 --> 0:18:46.119 I'm very lucky that we were able to get the 0:18:46.119 --> 0:18:50.080 lottery tickets, just pay face value for them. I would 0:18:50.119 --> 0:18:53.000 say that the process to getting to the World Cup 0:18:53.000 --> 0:18:58.240 has been frustrating and like annoying at every turn. There's 0:18:58.280 --> 0:19:00.640 kind of been this additional thing. 0:19:02.920 --> 0:19:05.679 And the NITZI hasn't even had to deal with ticket 0:19:05.720 --> 0:19:10.320 related issues other fans have been facing, for example, reports 0:19:10.359 --> 0:19:13.760 of people who bought resale tickets being notified days before 0:19:13.800 --> 0:19:16.840 the games that their tickets would be refunded because they 0:19:16.840 --> 0:19:20.840 could no longer be delivered to them. No further explanation followed. 0:19:21.320 --> 0:19:23.399 It feels a lot of this like bait and switch. 0:19:26.880 --> 0:19:30.080 In May, the New York and New Jersey Attorneys General 0:19:30.200 --> 0:19:33.600 announced the opening of an investigation into FIFA for its 0:19:33.640 --> 0:19:37.600 ticket handling and pricing and after reports that fans were 0:19:37.640 --> 0:19:40.680 misled about the location of the seats they had purchased 0:19:40.840 --> 0:19:42.720 a New Jersey's MetLife Stadium. 0:19:43.040 --> 0:19:46.960 It does take away from it, right, we've known FIFA's corrupt, 0:19:47.240 --> 0:19:49.240 we didn't know the extent to which they were really 0:19:49.240 --> 0:19:52.000 going to try to make this North American World Cup 0:19:52.359 --> 0:19:56.200 something very different from recent ones. I mean, for better 0:19:56.280 --> 0:19:59.119 or for worse, Like we were always gonna go thinking 0:19:59.160 --> 0:20:01.399 about the game as well and just you know, maybe 0:20:01.400 --> 0:20:03.280 being able to be a part of history in that way. 0:20:03.920 --> 0:20:07.240 But the NATZI would soon understand just why more than 0:20:07.240 --> 0:20:10.119 a million fans across the world have put up with 0:20:10.160 --> 0:20:13.960 the price gouging and the lottery weights and the overall 0:20:14.000 --> 0:20:19.000 indignity of handing your hard earned money over to FIFA 0:20:19.640 --> 0:20:23.840 standing in a packed stadium for national anthem on full blast. 0:20:32.560 --> 0:20:55.720 That's all coming up after a break. It's American football 0:20:56.080 --> 0:21:01.200 and Fernando Charvali. Before the break, Danizzy had finally secured 0:21:01.320 --> 0:21:05.320 World Cup tickets, so I'm gonna let producer andres Caabagierro 0:21:05.640 --> 0:21:06.520 finish her story. 0:21:07.960 --> 0:21:10.920 Panama is a small country of about four point six 0:21:11.000 --> 0:21:14.480 million people, and they're still so new to World Cup 0:21:14.560 --> 0:21:18.719 level competition. There are very few moments where soccer fans 0:21:18.720 --> 0:21:21.439 like Danetzi get to be on a stage this big. 0:21:21.880 --> 0:21:24.119 I'm just really proud of where I'm from. 0:21:24.400 --> 0:21:27.400 I talk about Panama all the time people probably think 0:21:27.400 --> 0:21:27.760 could be. 0:21:28.080 --> 0:21:30.520 And this time is different from all the other Panama 0:21:30.560 --> 0:21:34.000 matches than Netsi's been to in the past, one because 0:21:34.040 --> 0:21:37.520 it's a World Cup, but most importantly because she gets 0:21:37.560 --> 0:21:43.719 to live this dream next to her cousin Luigi. In 0:21:43.720 --> 0:21:47.120 a voice message Luigi sent the Netzi before leaving Panama 0:21:47.200 --> 0:21:49.320 to meet her at the World Cup, he told her 0:21:49.359 --> 0:21:53.240 he was very happy it was happening, especially after all 0:21:53.240 --> 0:21:57.840 that had gone through to find tickets. He said he 0:21:57.880 --> 0:22:01.560 was looking forward to celebrating goals and even crying together. 0:22:07.200 --> 0:22:12.320 I'm just so grateful knowing that I am going to 0:22:12.359 --> 0:22:14.840 have this like once in a lifetime experience with the 0:22:14.880 --> 0:22:17.360 person that I would most want to do this with, 0:22:17.720 --> 0:22:20.600 and just the fact that like everything has aligned to 0:22:20.960 --> 0:22:24.359 make this possible, you know, like all these different things 0:22:24.359 --> 0:22:27.080 like winning the lottery, not having to pay extra like 0:22:28.280 --> 0:22:32.800 it just feels like this was meant to happen. It 0:22:32.880 --> 0:22:36.679 means everything to be able to share this with my cousin. 0:22:44.720 --> 0:22:47.480 Once in Toronto, Dantzi in her group stayed at an 0:22:47.520 --> 0:22:50.360 Airbnb in the outskirts of the city to avoid paying 0:22:50.359 --> 0:22:54.199 one thousand dollars a night closer to downtown. Then the 0:22:54.320 --> 0:23:05.280 day of the game against Ghana arrived, Danetzi donned her 0:23:05.280 --> 0:23:09.000 Panama jersey, her nails painted red, white and blue, the 0:23:09.040 --> 0:23:12.240 color of the Panama flag. She marched with Luigi and 0:23:12.359 --> 0:23:15.400 thousands of other Panamanian fans through the streets of Toronto, 0:23:15.880 --> 0:23:24.680 dancing and chanting things like make way, the Panamanians are coming. 0:23:24.480 --> 0:23:30.520 And she was filled with a hope so familiar to 0:23:30.600 --> 0:23:32.040 soccer lovers across the world. 0:23:32.520 --> 0:23:34.080 I would love to see us win a game. 0:23:37.720 --> 0:23:48.040 In students, at the game, Danetzi and Luigi stood side 0:23:48.040 --> 0:23:51.200 by side in the red jerseys and traditional Panamanian hats 0:23:51.600 --> 0:23:55.760 also known as sombrero pintalo It's a hand painted straw hat. 0:24:00.960 --> 0:24:04.520 Then the moment they had imagined for so long, when 0:24:04.560 --> 0:24:08.680 Panama's national anthem began playing the one they knew would 0:24:08.680 --> 0:24:23.960 make them cry. During that first game against Ghana, Panama 0:24:24.040 --> 0:24:27.240 had very close chances. They were tied for most of 0:24:27.280 --> 0:24:31.000 the match until the very last minute when Ghana scored 0:24:31.320 --> 0:24:33.480 to win. It won to zero. 0:24:37.440 --> 0:24:42.119 I can't believe this is happening. Moments happened to this 0:24:42.320 --> 0:24:50.440 team a final man. 0:24:55.280 --> 0:24:57.879 Panama may not have lived the fairy tale story of 0:24:57.920 --> 0:25:01.320 surprising Ghana, but they put up a good fight and 0:25:01.520 --> 0:25:04.160 the fact that they made it to this massive stage 0:25:04.600 --> 0:25:08.800 says something important about the growth of Panamanian soccer and 0:25:09.440 --> 0:25:13.760 witnessing that made it all worth it for the Netzy. 0:25:19.600 --> 0:25:23.440 Panama's last game was against England, and the Netzy landed 0:25:23.440 --> 0:25:26.640 tickets to it without having to pay resale prices, which 0:25:26.720 --> 0:25:31.720