How the 1994 World Cup Transformed the Business of Football Forever | Odd Lots

The last time the World Cup came to the US was 1994. Before then, the World Cup was an enormously popular event with surprisingly limited commercial significance. The 1990 tournament in Italy, for instance, lost money for broadcasters. But that all changed in 1994, when American companies sought to make their mark in the form of advertisements and sponsorships: firms like McDonalds, Mastercard, and General Motors saw the potential to reach a global audience through one of the world's most watched sports events. On this episode, we speak with Joey D'Urso, a freelance sports journalist and author of the recent book, More Than A Shirt: How Football Shirts Explain Global Politics, Money and Power. We talk about the changes from the 1994 World Cup and this year's competition, which is being held jointly, by the US, Canada, and Mexico. We also talk about other surprising stories of corporate and geopolitical influence in football.

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