Sold Out: How Profit Undermines the World Cup and New York Basketball

The World Cup is starting on June 11th with matches across the United States, Mexico and Canada. 104 matches will be played, with the majority in the 11 venues across the US. But as this week’s openers get closer, chaos is spreading around visas, travel and the question of whether fans are even going to bother coming to the United States. Host cities like Kansas City, MO are relying on revenue from an increase in tourism to boost their local economies, with the city estimating 650,000 visitors over the next few weeks. Economists question whether the predictions on visitor count or economic impact will hold true as the Trump administration has instituted steep visa bonds for people from some countries, including Tunisia and Algeria, which will play in Kansas City.At the same time, the U.S. government has already forced the Iranian team to stay in Mexico, despite having its three games in June scheduled for Los Angeles and Seattle - requiring the team to travel across the border on game day. Customs and Border Protection also just denied entry to the only Somali referee, Omar Artan.Plus, we talk about Trump’s appearance at Game 3 of the NBA Finals and the NYPD’s response to a watch party in Bryant Park.Support the show