America's Cup

It’s finally here. On Thursday afternoon, Mexico and South Africa will kick off in the opening match of the 2026 World Cup.There are now signs of life: teams and fans are arriving, settling into their base camps, dealing with the heat, touring new environments… even baptizing planes. There is World Cup buzz in America.But fans are still locked out of matches due to unaffordable prices, and out of the country due to travel bans. There have already been detainments and denials at the border. There has already been a shooting near a team base camp.There will be football, and there will be problems. There always are, but the football usually seems to drowns out the noise. This year, it all depends how loud that noise continues to be.This has been a year-long project, and this is my final episode. (More on that to come.) I wanted to go out on a positive note by asking, amid all the darkness: Why does the World Cup matter? Why do we still celebrate it despite all the baggage? Why is it still worth having around?To summarize some of the themes of this project that’s now coming to a close, and to offer some hope, I invited a panel of guests to play us out: Sean Jacobs, professor of international affairs at The New School; Brenda Elsey, a historian of Latin America, soccer and gender at Hofstra University; and Simon Chadwick, professor of Afro-Eurasian sport, and sports business, based in the U.K.00:00 Intro06:30 Meet The Panelists07:45 Lightning Round10:56 Europe’s Fears12:08 Is This A Missed Chance?16:18 Global South Upset Potential20:00 Media Scrutiny of U.S. Vs Qatar24:54 U.S. Football Culture29:18 FIFA Meets Trump29:52 World Cup as Soft Power33:10 Authoritarian Comparisons35:30 Sportwashing36:31 What FIFA Really Is39:02 Hosting for Profit40:11 Diaspora World Cup Stories44:34 Identity and Fan Resistance48:25 Why the World Cup Matters Get full access to America's Cup at talibvisram.substack.com/subscribe

The American College of Sports Medicine recommends athletic activity should cease at 82 degrees Fahrenheit (28 degrees Celsius). But this weekend, temperatures will surge past 90°F (32°C) in Dallas and Houston. And we’re only in May. It’s fair to say many—if not most—matches this summer will be played in extreme heat.It’s just one of the climate concerns at this year’s World Cup. Some teams got relatively lucky and will play in air-conditioned stadiums; others will face sweltering urban heat, tropical humidity, and heat-exposed stadiums built with no concerns for shade.It’s no longer a question of whether players will play in blistering heat—but how. They will have to adapt to stay resilient and perform to the highest level in furnace-like conditions. Talib speaks to Douglas Casa, CEO of the Korey Stringer Institute at the University of Connecticut, who has consulted with teams on precisely how to do that. Get full access to America's Cup at talibvisram.substack.com/subscribe

Even at the best of times, highly populated mega-events are a public safety concern. Much more so at a paranoid moment when the host nation is at war, has a fair share of geopolitical enemies and a history of gun violence, plus an abundance of natural disaster hotspots.Way back in episode 1 of this podcast series—way back in September!—Talib welcomed former DHS staffer Juliette Kayyem to talk about the broad security challenges at the World Cup. In this episode, he delves deeper into some security logistics by speaking to Michael Martin, founder and CEO of RapidSOS, a company that works to enhance emergency dispatch efforts by connecting users’ smartphone data to these public and private security services—with the help of AI.They get into how that all works, especially on the large scale of the World Cup, how host city infrastructures play into the system, and what data privacy concerns we should have.00:00 Intro03:36 RapidSOS Explained04:41 Real Time Response Example06:26 Fixing Legacy 911 Data08:35 Where Data Comes From12:12 World Cup Host City Support12:48 Threats At Mega Events15:05 Medical Emergency Walkthrough17:44 Active Shooters19:30 Geopolitical Risk21:30 City Infrastructure And Crowd Modeling22:34 Evacuation Decision Flow26:21 Security Ecosystem Roles28:08 Drones for Rapid Response30:05 Privacy and Civil Liberties33:30 Natural Disaster Readiness36:28 Protests and Public Safety38:13 Visitor Safety Checklist Get full access to America's Cup at talibvisram.substack.com/subscribe

Last week, when the tiny island nation of Cape Verde chose Tampa, Florida as their team base camp, 48 of 48 of those camps were finalized. These FIFA-approved camps—training facilities and accommodations—are now set all over the country, from Boston (France), to Nashville (Japan), to Mesa, Arizona (Turkey), to San Diego (Switzerland and New Zealand).Securing camps was a months-long process, with both teams and facilities setting preferences, and factoring in aspects like travel and heat. Sweden got paired up with Frisco, Texas, a city north of Dallas that is one of the fastest-growing hubs in America.Talib speaks to Gloria Salinas and Josh Dill, economic development and tourism representatives, to discuss the city’s growth, its positioning as “Sports City USA,” how the unlikely Sweden-Frisco alliance came together—and what travelers from abroad might expect if they, like Sweden, choose Frisco.00:00 Intro01:36 Where Teams Set Up Shop02:20 Surprising Camp Locations04:26 Meet Frisco Leaders05:39 Frisco Growth and Industry09:14 Sports City USA Explained11:36 Cowboys Club14:46 Sports Tourism Strategy16:03 How Base Camp Bidding Works18:13 Travel Logistics and Budgets19:31 FIFA Rules and Community Events20:50 Heat Culture and Hotels24:32 Residents and Local Business Plans29:00 Hotel Demand and Visitor Mix33:31 Getting Around DFW34:21 Long Term Economic Legacy36:58 Where to Eat in Frisco Get full access to America's Cup at talibvisram.substack.com/subscribe

There may be no nation facing the brute force of a combination of America’s harshest policies in 2026, from visa bans to ICE raids, quite as much as Haiti. Pair that with being the recipient of Donald Trump’s most unfounded rhetoric, including that Haitians in Ohio were eating cats and dogs.Yet, Haiti has qualified for the second World Cup ever, and the first in 52 years. Lots of Haitian supporters won’t be able to come to support due to travel bans. And the coach, Sébastien Migné, reportedly has never step foot in Haiti due to safety issues.Haiti is the true definition of an underdog, both politically and athletically: The Athletic recently ranked the nation 48 of the 48 countries at the World Cup.Talib speaks to Sam Pierre, the executive director of the Haitian-American Caucus, to set the record straight. In a mire of mistruths, they discuss the realities in Haiti, the Haitian-American diaspora, what the World Cup means to the community, and working with the White House—and some of his answers may surprise you.00:00 Haiti Underdog Spirit00:35 Intro04:02 Meet Sam Pierre05:21 Haitian Diaspora06:49 Work And Success08:20 Haiti Reality Check12:45 History And Inequality16:39 World Cup Pride20:46 Travel Ban Fallout24:13 Who Can Attend Games25:10 TPS Explained Simply28:24 Trump Rhetoric33:06 Working With Government37:31 ICE Risks At World Cup41:49 World Cup Pride Moment44:57 Underdog Predictions46:44 Join Haitian Caucus Get full access to America's Cup at talibvisram.substack.com/subscribe