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00:05Monday morning in Miami, somewhere in Florida, and Ian Fletcher is on a journey.
00:19The 2026 Soccer World Cup is to be co-hosted by the US in competition with Canada and Mexico
00:25in what will be the biggest sporting event the world has ever seen.
00:32Ian's here because he's been recruited by FIPA, the organising body for world football
00:38which we're unable to name for legal reasons, to lead its 2026 Oversight team in Miami in
00:44a key new post of Director of Integrity.
00:55He's arriving at a moment when, in a divided world, sport means more to us than it's ever meant.
01:04And this is a post that's been specially created for him by FIPA's previous Director of Integrity,
01:09who left.
01:12Ian!
01:13Eric, hi!
01:14Welcome to Oversight!
01:16Very good!
01:17My god, who knew you were so big?
01:19We met on Zoom, for all I know, you are a pygmy.
01:21Yes.
01:22Turns out you are a giant!
01:23Well, I wouldn't.
01:23It's the modern condition.
01:25We are in each other's faces more than ever, but from the neck down, we are in uncharted waters.
01:29Yes.
01:30Well, it's very good to be here anyway.
01:32Let me introduce you.
01:33So, everybody, the special one is with us!
01:44I was just saying to Eric, it's great to be here and to see you all.
01:48Wow!
01:49Okay, so let me show you.
01:51We have your own desk for you, I think.
01:53Right.
01:53Emily?
01:54Yes.
01:54Eric van de Putrens is mostly Belgian, and is in Miami as FIFA Chief Coordinating Attaché
02:00from their headquarters in Zurich.
02:02Right, okay.
02:03So, here we are.
02:04Yes.
02:05We are in the very centre of things, yes?
02:07Yes, no, I mean, it's right in the middle, isn't it?
02:09Yes.
02:10Okay, so, welcome.
02:11So, I will leave you now.
02:13Apologies if I've taken too much of your time already.
02:15No, and in the meantime, if I need anything, I can ask Emily, is it?
02:18Yes.
02:19Yes.
02:20Yes, yes, yes.
02:39Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
02:46even though is based in Switzerland Ian's first task is to establish his
02:51place in a corporate culture which is irretrievably American okay great so
03:00shall we make some sort of start of course oh my god so British by 10 o'clock
03:04Ian is chairing his first-ever meeting of the oversight team strategic
03:08operations group or SOG so first of all I just wanted to say hi really and maybe
03:13introduce myself a bit hi yes and perhaps say something about the journey
03:17we're all on together great it's a crack squad of individual men or women chosen
03:22from soccer authorities right across the three host nations and assembled here in
03:27Miami to see what happens as some of you might know I was lucky enough to be
03:30involved in the 2012 Olympic Games in London oh my god so great the opening
03:34ceremony sure you have mr. being the queen for sort of a helicopter oh my god
03:38brilliant so just clarify guys it wasn't like she fell she was wearing a parachute
03:42okay well yes either way okay you have the queen coming out of the sky no yeah
03:46still pretty neat yes well anyway what I realize now that turns out to have been
03:51just base camp on the way towards an altogether higher and more momentous
03:54peak for sure so there are going to be challenging days on the way up yeah yeah
03:59hundred percent and we'll be relying on each other every step of the way but when
04:03we get to thank you when we get to the top which by the way we will I think the
04:07view is going to be pretty incredible for all of us can I just say that is so
04:11beautiful Ian yeah great stuff but anyway in the meantime with fewer than 200
04:18days to go to the opening game at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City the most
04:23pressing item in Ian's inbox is the official announcement of the semi-final
04:27venues on Friday it's a big moment both for the oversight team and for the two
04:31cities in question wherever they turn out to be and am I right in thinking that
04:35as of now ie today Monday we haven't finalized where those venues are oh my
04:40god nope we have not correct right guys do not get me started on this please no
04:45okay let's not my name is Gabriela de la Rosa and I am VP of Dixon narrative at 2026
04:50oversight so when you host a tournament like this what are you doing what you are
04:54doing is you are telling a story about who you are and you're telling this story to
04:57the world right yes so then in this case when you've got three host nations
05:01sure how do you decide which story you're telling okay for sure this is a
05:06challenge yes yes so I played 207 games for Club Deportivo Guadalajara in the
05:11Liga MX Femini I represented Mexico on the world stage 35 times I was CMO and
05:16the Federación Mexicana de Football Association for three years I am proud to
05:19be a Mexican woman right this is my story so this is a story I'm telling yes right
05:24yes I mean essentially it looks like we're down to a short list of three
05:27possible venues for two games which I have to say doesn't sound too difficult
05:31in principle good the idea of making a last-minute decision about something
05:35as crucial as the venues for the 2026 semi-finals is one of a number of
05:39outstanding projects bequeathed to him by Ian's predecessor as director of
05:43integrity I mean Owen perhaps with your logistics hat on do you want to just
05:47take us through the headlines with each of the options okay I mean if that's
05:50okay with you no sure okay I'll give it a shot so Vancouver LA and Miami three
06:01very different options here so Miami we know of course because pretty much see it
06:08out the window so I am Owen Mitchell and I am VP logistics and execution here at
06:13it well you know where we are I didn't choose that title by the way I have also
06:17been the chief operating officer at Canada soccer for the past eight years in case
06:22you're interested so basically you're responsible for the practicalities of
06:25the whole thing really Jesus I'm still trying to figure out how the coffee machine
06:30works I mean planning infrastructure transport everything I don't know I
06:33guess somebody must be hey maybe it is me in LA over there on the west coast what
06:40can you say 12 million people what they're all really doing there we don't know
06:44stadium functioning airport hotels palm trees so everything pretty much where
06:48it ought to be that is when parts of it aren't literally on fire oh my gosh and
06:53you discount the existence of the San Andreas fault our poor world right yeah and
06:59then Vancouver up there in Canada what can I tell you the BC stadium out there on
07:06Falls Creek you can walk there from the sky train station and you hear the
07:10harbor seals calling out in English Bay when it comes to issues like the venues
07:15for the semi-finals Owen's job is to bring his wealth of practical experience and
07:19knowledge to bear for the benefit of the whole group right well thank you for
07:23that sure that's really helpful yeah right I mean this is a key decision in so
07:27many ways yep oh my gosh right I mean Sarah I mean from an environmental point of view
07:32absolutely so financially it's huge yes financially really we're not trying to
07:35save the world here right excuse me fucks sake we're not trying to save the
07:40world here that's exactly what we're trying to do well I mean should we okay
07:43and guys and we have not talked about Guadalajara yet yes right so Guadalajara
07:48yes so just a detail Guadalajara is not actually on the short list exactly this is
07:53what I'm saying it is not on the short list excuse my language here but like what
07:57is this like what the fuck is it just me or did we cover this we're not doing this
08:00for shits and giggles right excuse me honestly I don't know why we're even
08:02talking about this so I'm Nick Castellano I'm VP Business and Legal at 2026
08:07Oversight as well as at US Soccer so basically that's everything right the
08:10whole kit and caboodle you name it it comes through me right you want to be a
08:12bit more specific specific yeah you know maybe some examples listen I'm trying to
08:16save you time here what is this the Supreme Court I mean just looking at it
08:19with the opening game in Mexico City and the final in New York in other words in
08:23the US is there an argument that at least one of these semi-finals should take
08:27place in Canada which would mean Vancouver in this case obviously don't know me I mean I
08:32don't know does that help at all oh my gosh
08:43yeah yeah with the meeting over Ian has come to have a word with by chief
08:49coordinating attache Eric Vandiputrans who is visible in his office talking on
08:53his phone so Eric is busy right now yes
08:59he's actually in a meeting a meeting yes yeah no I just it's okay I just wanted
09:03to have a quick word if that's okay you know when he's finished sure if you could
09:06email me sometimes what no yes hi you are here yes you are still with us yes no I was
09:12just wondering if you had a moment a moment yes of course yes of course and
09:16then what is life but moments we must spend them wisely yes thank you Emily yes
09:20really she is a force of nature yes truly no in fact I don't know whether you
09:24remember this but I think there was some mention of me having an Emily of my own at some point
09:28absolutely yes yes I don't if you need to talk to Zurich about that no one has been in contact
09:33with you about this no not yet no so then I apologize I think we have good news here oh
09:38yes
09:39perhaps we can say watch this space right I will unleash Emily on this immediately right
09:43then we can say look out yes yes please in theory Eric acts as a conduit not just between
09:48Zurich and Miami but also vice versa and already even at the end of the first meeting we move
09:53forward the Vancouver decision yes then I think we can call this a result yes so I wanted to ask
09:58you about process on his first day in the job Ian is keen to get up to speed with who
10:03people are how
10:04things work and what that means and when it comes to the other semi-final LA or Miami yes so
10:09this so
10:10this email about this Miami day thing on Friday yes which am I right in thinking I'm supposed to be
10:15making some sort of speech at evidently so in which case first of all what is it exactly
10:20Miami day yes well yes exactly what is it so what we know is that Americans they love to have
10:27days
10:27right well then perhaps we can say this is something that is exactly what it sounds like
10:33right okay I hope that helps yes well personally I am looking forward to it good but with the semi
10:39-finals
10:39announcement coming on the same day I mean is that just a coincidence or is there something else
10:43going on here now yes exactly who can say right yes by the next morning it's a new day in
10:53downtown
10:53Miami it's D2 good morning oh yes going up yes well I mean I hope so anyway absolutely
11:06so I just want to say it's so great you're here Ian oh thank you that's truly well and it's
11:13so great
11:13you're sitting at Bill's desk you know right yes and you're British too right which makes it I don't
11:20know well I can't do anything about that actually it's kind of wonderful oh thanks anyway thank you
11:28okay so then the raw sewage is pumped from underground collecting tanks back up to ground
11:34level for treatment which separates water from what we call sludge okay yeah so that's how that happens
11:42wow that's awesome by nine o'clock VP sustainability and climate strategy Sarah Campbell is in a virtual
11:49meeting all of her own making so there are companies that specialize in the removal of fats oils and
11:56grease known as fog or otherwise high-strength waste from wastewater okay like they have tankers and they
12:04go all over the city literally sucking this stuff up out of drains wow I know right so so what
12:12we
12:12discovered is that if you add fog to the digester at the critical point the chemical reaction super
12:19charges the biogas production enabling us to literally double the production of gas and
12:25therefore double our electricity production right okay but here's where it gets interesting right
12:33absolutely my name is Sarah Campbell and I'm VP sustainability and climate strategy here at
12:382026 oversight essentially it involves putting the environment at the heart of everything we do to
12:43deliver a 2026 that's at the very least carbon neutral in an ideal world and I truly believe
12:49it's possible we would be putting carbon back into the environment as a net result of everything
12:53we do are you sure you don't mean taking carbon out of the environment excuse me otherwise absolutely
12:58right exactly I truly believe it's possible 33 million room nights in LA hotels last year a direct
13:06visitor spend of 24 billion dollars right and those are big numbers yes well their numbers this morning
13:11with one of the semi-finals already assigned to Vancouver the team is under pressure to choose between
13:16the last two shortlisted cities Miami and Los Angeles for the remaining game before the official
13:21announcement of venues on Friday I mean in the end I suppose what we need to consider okay okay okay
13:27so this is a no-brainer right well Los Angeles has eight matches already right hey Jesus they have a
13:33quarter-final already they had the Olympic Games in 1984 the Olympic Games yeah I think that's different
13:37LA is LA we know what it is it is oatmeal and Monjaro what it is la la la land
13:43like the movie
13:43la la excuse me it's not la la la okay yeah la la right well you know I do not
13:48think we would
13:49end up getting into this Guadalajara is not on the fucking shortlist okay this is not about
13:53we are not going back there this is about the story we are telling and plus no it's not a
13:58fucking
13:58story Gabriella should we come back like what am I a fucking five-year-old don't answer that okay
14:03so we calculate that with the increase in stadium capacity from 30,000 to 45,000 for the tournament
14:11like there's a sweet spot for this technology right a microbiologist both by training and by
14:17temperament Matthew Jones is leading a flagship environmental project at the BMO stadium in
14:22Toronto where six of the hundred and four 2026 matches will be played and the good news is that
14:27everybody poops about a pound per day give or take right and great we calculate that if we can
14:33increase that by just a small market increase it right by just a small margin then we think the
14:41stadium could be completely self-sustaining which would be like a first wow all just by taking the
14:50city's fog and co-digesting it with our sludge oh my gosh yeah I mean for me with LA you
14:58had Beckham
14:59LA Galaxy 2007 8 the glory years yeah right yeah Steven Gerrard Robbie Keane Ashley Cole yes excuse
15:05me it's iconic it's showbiz okay so first of all Ashley Cole is not iconic okay well that's not what
15:10I'm saying is you got all these statistics right okay fine that's great I get it but I'm sorry but
15:16for
15:16me football is about emotion right and there's something about LA you know well and you can't put
15:22it into words no evidently not so I'm Phil Plank people call me Woody from Manchester originally
15:28you can probably hear that Warrington actually but over here nobody knows where that is so just say
15:32Manchester and I'm VP on pitch protocols for 2026 oversight I was playing football back in the UK
15:39at trials for all them athletic had a few games for the second team I actually played against Phil
15:43Neville once when he was coming back from injury so yeah beat that I mean Owen yep as VP logistics
15:49and
15:50execution right I did not choose that title by the way no but in that role anyway yeah where have
15:54you landed with this right so for me this whole thing I mean I'm Canadian what do I care it's
15:58like
15:59Vancouver and someplace else right no but really well and all in my gut I guess I would go Miami
16:05great of course as the semi-final debate continues it's beginning to look as if opinion in the room
16:10is now universally divided oh right Eric so apologies everyone what can we say when you are in the zoom
16:16where are you you are everywhere and you are nowhere yes yeah right so what is the score here
16:21do we have a result right yes well it's a good time to arrive actually looks like we might need
16:25a
16:25casting boat me yes I know I'm sorry what I cannot be involved I'm afraid I am the conduit only
16:31absolutely yeah especially with something like this right perhaps we can say cometh the hour cometh
16:37the man yes oh right yes by the end of the week it's Friday morning and Ian is on his
16:47way across town
16:48to the craftsman center for performative culture and arts for the Miami day thing whatever that turns
16:53out to be so why Miami in the end well someone had to make a decision I suppose yes but
16:58why Miami though
16:59why not LA right yes I mean LA is great obviously but in the end I mean what do I
17:04know I've only been
17:04here a few days but somehow it just feels oh actually I better just take this sure Gabriela hi
17:12no I haven't why Dallas and Atlanta what do you mean Dallas and Atlanta where the hell did they come
17:17from no I know where they are yeah I know we did but just when it looked as if the
17:23decisions on
17:24semi-final venues have been made suddenly there's the sound of goalposts moving yes I know it is
17:29yeah I know we have yes I know actually Gabriela can we come back into English for a second great
17:34gracias power of poop right okay meanwhile back at Oversight HQ Sarah is in a meeting with the
17:422026 social media team hashtag power of poop like we really like that totally yeah like dude okay
17:49they've been working on ideas for giving her wastewater future campaign more grippiness
17:53in a famously slippery social media world I don't know wastewater future just seems more I don't
18:00know I guess okay so this has got a pop right right right and truth is poop pops right sure
18:05totally I
18:06guess maybe we can just try it right sure totally you know see what happens right I mean if it
18:12doesn't
18:12work I guess so it's done I guess we could excuse me it's done I just posted cool okay sure
18:17like this
18:18is gonna be so cool right totally right right oh say can you see by the dawn's early light across
18:40town at
18:41the craftsman center for performative arts things are getting serious particularly since the oversight
18:47team have just received an email from Zurich ahead of the announcement this afternoon confirming that
18:52the 2026 semi-finals will be played in the cities of Dallas and Atlanta neither of which is anywhere
18:59near either vancouver or especially miami
19:06and
19:07the home of the brave
19:22i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it
19:30stands one nation under god indivisible with liberty and justice for all
19:39thank you guys truly may i invite you all now please to remain standing as i have the honor
19:48as mayor of the city of miami county of introducing the chair and founder of miami first enterprise
19:56daniel craftsman
20:00thank you thank you so much guys thank you guys please please be seated thank you thank you mayor santos
20:12thanks juan diego elected officials distinguished guests and other people thank you for being with us
20:20today
20:24so first of all i want to welcome members of the 2026 oversight team for taking the time to be
20:31with us
20:31here today welcome guys it's truly an honor for us to have you with us and i want to say
20:36a personal
20:36thanks to you for choosing miami this great city of ours and the soccer capital of the usa
20:49thank you for choosing us as host city for seven great games already
20:59what can i say you guys have made the right choices up to now and hopefully
21:07it's not over yet so i believe i'm right in saying eric is in atlanta eric's in atlanta yes exactly
21:32yeah no he's completely gone yeah if it wasn't clear what the miami day thing was about it is now
21:37so eric is not replying yeah right okay well his notifications silenced it looks as if the dignitaries
21:43at miami first have timed miami day deliberately to coincide with the announcement of the semi-final
21:49venues on the assumption that they'd got one but the problem for the oversight team is that apparently
21:54they haven't you know what this is well he's playing that audience like a violin out there well
21:58it's a shake down it's a layoff it's a ham and cheese sandwich yes well whatever it is oh okay
22:03yes excuse me oh right so we're busy yes sure okay thank you anyway the point is we can't stay
22:09in
22:09here essentially we're in a toilet and we're going to have to come out yeah nice one so when you're
22:13on
22:13the pitch attack is the best form of defense yes right without doubt the does that mean i mean is
22:18there
22:18anything we can give them instead well this is what i am saying so like what but i don't know
22:21really
22:22some fucking flowers you know just something as a kind of you know just to make it seem what you
22:26mean
22:26like the third place playoff final or something what excuse me yeah the third place playoff i'm
22:31just well hang on fuck's sake are you actually mad wait a minute okay i'm just saying the third place
22:35playoff final yeah right okay interesting yeah or fucking flowers
22:50okay here we go cool it's happening meanwhile back across town in the social media world
22:56events are unfolding literally irt but so like what is happening here okay so this is the power
23:02of poop right right totally right like hashtag power of power of poop right right hey so like who are
23:10these people who are they like who's shiny earwig okay like have they actually read like i don't know
23:16who shiny earwig is right it's mr beast like these are people who until a few moments ago had not
23:22heard of it mr beast wait no way what you're kidding no way oh my god it is it's him
23:27dude oh my god
23:28what what is happening mr beast jesus christ
23:35so yes we look forward to sharing the journey with you um as we count down to june the 11th
23:43to the start
23:43of the greatest sporting event on earth and to celebrating uh everything that miami can bring
23:50to that event uh in its uh many in various ways so yes thank you yes great that is so
23:58great to hear
23:59that from you guys truly uh okay so we have time for a few questions if anybody uh yeah hi
24:04judith go
24:04ahead thank you daniel judith jones channel 3 news florida hi hi so you're announcing the venues for the
24:11semi-final matches this afternoon yes obviously there's been a lot of speculation around that
24:17daniel made reference to the fact that miami is ready and standing by yes is there anything you'd
24:22like to say about that ahead of the announcement right yes okay thank you sorry question judith by
24:28the way yes so excuse me and you go ahead yes i mean obviously uh these are big decisions uh
24:33it's
24:34something we've given a great deal of thought to obviously i won't preempt this afternoon's announcement
24:39you wouldn't expect me to we'll have to wait and see what that contains but in the meantime i think
24:45i can say this well in fact i'm going to as i say we've given a lot of thought to
24:51this semi-finals are
24:52fine they're one thing they're great occasions but in the end they are semi-finals or as you would
25:01say uh daniel this isn't just any city this is miami yeah it's just the um yes uh the soccer
25:11capital
25:11of the us and so without giving too much away maybe miami deserves something better than that
25:21uh well well i don't know what if miami deserved a final all of its own i mean i don't
25:31know am i right
25:37miami first miami first miami first miami first miami first miami first miami first
25:47if it's starting to look as if ian fletcher might have survived his first week in miami
25:51as director of integrity perhaps the last thing he expected was a hero's welcome back at oversight hq
26:01and as things turn out he'd be right in not expecting that
26:11oh hi just thought i'd come in here for a bit absolutely me too what's happened out there i
26:18feel like i've missed something well you know don't tell me you've managed to save the world
26:22after all you know it's funny you should say that so i don't exactly know what happened here what's
26:27happened is that thanks to the power of the power of poop and a random like from global youtube
26:31superstar mr beast who is a real person incredibly 400 million people have become aware of sarah's
26:38wastewater future initiative when they were previously aware of virtually nothing 400 million
26:43followers 400 million i know right congratulations i know i mean that's incredible yeah so you want a
26:49high five high five uh yeah this has been some week right well yes maybe we didn't save the world
26:57i mean not today anyway but you gotta start somewhere right yes you gotta try yes i mean
27:01no it's certainly been a great week but if it's been some first week for ian it might not be
27:06quite
27:06over yet will oh yeah hi yeah what the hell are you doing here well yeah i don't know you're
27:12mental
27:14basically i don't care how fit you are the human body was not designed to run around at 85 degrees
27:19celsius
27:20yeah um excuse me absolutely sorry it just wasn't right and the truth is that's where we're all
27:24heading now unless we face up to this right 85 degrees celsius well okay yeah right so i think
27:29that's probably fahrenheit third point f**k's sake 85 degrees celsius i think you're pretty much on fire
27:34it's another week at f**kers oversight headquarters in miami and director of integrity ian fletcher
27:40is chairing a sudden meeting of the strategic operations group or SOG i mean first of all let's
27:45keep calm shall we i am calm yeah right one i mean essentially thank you emily yes you must forgive
27:51me
27:51but really i have no say in these matters right okay i mean basically what they're doing here is
27:56they're underlining something we know already yeah 100 the united nations health agency has shared an
28:01advanced copy of a forthcoming report on global heating which sets out the health risks associated
28:06with exercising in high temperatures this goes way beyond soccer sports oh my god without a doubt we're
28:12just the canaries in the coal mine here right si bueno so we need to kill this canary before it
28:17escapes yes
28:17what the report concludes that exercising in temperatures above 85 degrees fahrenheit could
28:24involve potentially serious risks to life and advises strongly against it wherever possible which could
28:30rule out a number of venues at a stroke including mexico city where the opening game and ceremony are
28:35due to take place i don't know where they get this figure from 85 degrees well i suppose because what
28:40do they know about football they make it up i mean looking at average temperatures here looks like
28:44that would take out guadalajara too right uh okay well i mean what are you gonna do it's hot down
28:49there okay by the way it also looks like it would take out new york new york yep okay there
28:55you go are
28:56you kidding that's insane exactly these guys are based in geneva what the fuck do they know about heat
29:04meanwhile ian's recently arrived assistant will humphreys is hard at work familiarizing himself with his new
29:09environment yes so i'm will and i like worked with ian fletcher at the bbc in london pretty cool somehow
29:18will was ian's assistant back at the bbc and now he's found himself here in miami for reasons that are
29:25nothing to do with anything yes so my sister really likes tennis players right yes so she was going out
29:31with this guy like i don't know like he's a coach in this big tennis club in miami and like
29:34he was going
29:34to get me a job right well as a tennis coach a tennis coach yeah yeah so like i can
29:40play tennis
29:41but like i can't really serve right okay yeah i know crap no but my parents were like i could
29:45come
29:46out here and live for my sister and finally make something of myself right yeah but they actually
29:50said that yeah yeah but when i got here there was like this note in her kitchen like they'd gone
29:55to
29:55australia australia yeah i know they both had he'd gone to so what happened then yeah so i was going
30:02to
30:02go back but then my parents were like no we know this guy eric eric yeah and he's at miami
30:08oh your
30:08parents know eric van der putrens yeah i mean so how yeah i don't know yeah oh like i think
30:14it's
30:15something to do with horses horses yeah i think so yeah right so the last tournament was in qatar
30:21right yes right basically a furnace right oh my god so how the hell did that work back in the
30:25meeting
30:26room the discussion is halting up yes i mean eric yes as someone who was involved in the whole qatar
30:31you
30:31know the adventure yes right from the beginning i think exactly so is there anything we can learn
30:36from that that could help us here well so actually i think qatar is a different circumstance right it's
30:41a special case uh there is a saying in arabic fissahra kolo shayun mumkin hunaka shayun ferimal
30:52right in the meantime uh what we know is in the stadiums it was cool and it's kind of a
30:57miracle yes
30:58perhaps uh we can say the qataris they had something right okay yeah oil so one of the
31:04things i sometimes say is that problems can be solutions waiting to happen really oh my gosh
31:08but you actually say that yes i mean that's so beautiful jesus okay so it feels like we're looking
31:13at a pretty big solution here right well exactly yeah 100 percent hey well hey yeah you okay what
31:28yeah no cool yeah so i was just wondering if like there was a desk i should sit at okay
31:32yeah wait are
31:34you actually on the system yet yes second um you're wearing a visitor's lanyard what yeah i know you're
31:40crap okay uh what is your last name yes one will i'm like ian fletcher's assistant okay so like that's
31:47your first name yeah so like what's your last name oh yeah cool yeah humphreys okay yeah humphreys yeah
31:56cool okay so you're not on the system okay
32:01okay cool thanks wait where are you going but yeah i don't know yeah uh you have to be on
32:07the system
32:07right like you can't be a visitor forever okay okay so do you have any photo id with you photo
32:13id
32:13yeah like um i don't know like uh yeah no worries yeah cool okay
32:20oh yeah no hang on a minute
32:24yeah no crap
32:34okay okay cool here we go okay so that's me okay okay okay
32:44it's another sunny morning in miami ian fletcher has been here for three weeks now and for the moment
32:50he's still living in a hotel morning mr fletcher yes hi morning how are you today uh yes i'm fine
32:58yes thanks great just on my way out right so i wasn't sure if you got our message
33:02yes i did yes i'm afraid i didn't quite understand it yes so your card was declined when we tried
33:07to
33:07raise payment for your breakfast today right yes so it was declined right i don't know if you have an
33:12alternative card you want to use uh yes well i mean i've got my credit card i suppose great that's
33:18perfect but actually though uh i mean i'm pretty sure breakfast is included in my you know in the
33:23right yeah so okay i don't know if you want to talk to someone about that yes i mean i
33:27sort of am
33:27doing aren't i right would you excuse me for just a second yes okay
33:40this morning with breakfast theoretically behind him and a busy day almost certainly in front of him
33:45he's ready to be somewhere other than where he is okay so i think it would be an idea for
33:52you to
33:52talk to someone about this right in the meantime your credit card payment went through and what i
33:57can do for you is we can offer you the south beach deli breakfast deal on a discretionary basis the
34:02south
34:02beach deli breakfast deal right that is something that we can do for you for now until you're able to
34:06sort things out right okay it's actually quite nice you know what actually i don't really have time for
34:12this at the moment okay perfect have a great day you're all set great thanks
34:20so i'm walking along the street here in miami like this literally could be anywhere but it turns
34:25out it is right here in my meanwhile social media thought leader madison flynn thread analyst zach
34:31linksfeld and sentiment curator mia so are in the social media space assessing the early results of a
34:37serious brain dump they've had uh this is my buddy lenin hey lenin hey right and this is my bad
34:43sister
34:44mia say hi to the world mia hey okay that's enough right right right welcome to the far corner
34:49far corner far corner thanks for being they've come up with the idea of launching their own channel
34:55in addition to 2026's official online presence aimed at connecting with a younger us social media audience
35:01and driving them towards the idea of soccer as like a thing he's perfect he's perfect hey man
35:08all right congratulations you're on the far corner excuse me so we're asking people today what we want
35:12to know who is going to win the 2026 soccer world okay right who's going to win it i don't
35:19know who is
35:20so who's in it whoa who's in it yeah no way we don't know who's in it no so everybody's
35:26in it right
35:27okay yeah like everybody yeah okay cool like you got literally 48 countries to choose from okay 48
35:34yeah right right right i don't know just pick anyone okay four excuse me yeah yeah who's four
35:44so okay seven 23 yeah 23 yeah okay like this is like a rough edit like i'm still working on
35:51it right
35:51yeah right right right so what do you think like honestly like we could put like a different track
35:55under it like maybe some rico nasty or yeah right right okay so you're rico nasty you're cool yeah
36:02okay so this is not a youtube channel okay like i don't even want to watch that and i just
36:06did right
36:19right will well oh hey yeah
36:23hey i found you yeah i wondered where you were yeah no i'm here yes could i ask you to
36:28do something for
36:29me yeah cool yeah i mean if you're not too busy at the moment well yeah no worries yeah cool
36:32i'm about
36:33to go into a meeting in the meeting room okay what i was thinking was if you could wait a
36:36bit and then
36:36bring me in a coffee in about 10 minutes time okay cool a coffee yes you know from the machine
36:41cool
36:41actually no five minutes actually okay and that might be better yeah it's better yeah you know maybe
36:45a couple of biscuits or something you know okay i mean that would be great okay cool so what like
36:50into
36:51the meeting yes okay no you don't have to say anything you don't have to knock or anything you just
36:56bring it in and then go out again that's all yeah if that's okay okay cool
37:08right okay first of all thanks to emily for collating these yeah exactly so bravo emily and
37:13thanks to everybody for taking part no absolutely some really interesting ideas here yep we can take
37:17them in any order absolutely yeah who the put hats meanwhile in light of the united nations health
37:22agency report on global heating which suggests that some 2026 venues may now be officially too
37:28hot to safely exercise in ian has invited members of the strategic operations group or sog to let go
37:35with some ideas i mean shorter games if we start there perhaps i mean obviously that's a very simple idea
37:41yep i mean so phil yeah so from a player welfare point of view i mean physiologically once you call
37:47temperatures gone above a certain level it's game over basically what so basically you're never going
37:51to cool down again right we're only just understanding what those kind of temperatures
37:54do to an athlete's body yes your electrolytes are totally out of whack for a start well indeed
37:59and so then in this scenario then right so in this scenario like if you shortened each half by
38:05five minutes for every degree above 80 degrees okay yeah or you know or something this would be a
38:12way of reducing that risk right five minutes for every degree above 80 i mean obviously you'd have to
38:17work out like formula obviously yes yeah because i was going to say a sunny day in monterey you're
38:21pretty much going to be back in the dressing room as soon as you kicked off right okay okay
38:25well i was just okay okay so we are not moving the opening game to canada okay okay this is
38:31not
38:31going to happen sure okay fine okay so that's a couple of ideas we've got through already so that's all
38:36good yeah 100 so the idea here was that we put a vibe under the whole idea of the look
38:43right right right
38:44a vibe right right so how is that happening here right right but like that's because the people we
38:47actually met didn't know about soccer right well right yeah right totally back over in the social
38:52media space the team is still busy assessing their learnings it's starting to look as if they may have
38:58to think laterally at the very least so like think like what the whole taylor swift travis kelsey
39:02thing did for the nfl right like oh my god she shows up at the super bowl she's on screen
39:06for
39:06literally 30 seconds right suddenly it's like the whole world is nfl crazy right so we need to like
39:10taylor swift 2026 here right okay right they know that if the idea of putting a vibe under the idea
39:17of the world for a potentially huge untapped social media audiences to work they're going to have to
39:23figure out how to do it so we got like sabrina carpenter to date like kristen pulisic okay or maybe
39:27like tyler adams yeah tyler adams like i could totally see that okay so first off that's not gonna
39:31happen right actually tyler adams is dating sarah schmidt right like they have a two-year-old son together
39:35okay so if he was dating like sabrina carpenter it's like can you imagine it's like boom okay so
39:40this is not okay okay okay okay this is not okay sabrina carpenter is not gonna date tyler adams
39:46okay sure right and the whole taylor swift thing right that happened right like it's over taylor swift
39:50is 37 right like she's basically 40. this is about creating our own moment right here right and our
39:55audience is out there right right totally they're out there and they're totally into soccer they just
39:59don't know it yet yeah right right so these guys are young right they're elite athletes for the most
40:04part they're not going to drop dead for the most part they know that we know that everybody knows that
40:08so we have them send a waiver to that effect before they get here right it is what it is
40:12right
40:13excuse me uh well it is what it is it's hot what are you gonna do it is not what
40:17it is it is not what
40:19it is yes i mean no what the does that mean yes well it's interesting isn't it i mean sarah
40:23from an
40:23environmental point of view absolutely uh will yes come in i mean from an environmental point of
40:29view sir sir i mean i don't know if you want to take us through the absolutely back in the
40:33strategic
40:33operations group or sog everyone is aware of the importance of coming up with a response to the
40:39united nations health agency report on global heating ideally before either the report itself
40:44is published or the world heats up still further it's like what are we saying here right our problem
40:50is the earth is heating up and our solution is we have everyone sign a piece of paper to say
40:54they're
40:54happy to die okay no look so this is not the story we are telling here look no one's gonna
40:58die here
40:58right you say that well and also i can say uh at this moment in general terms for zurich with
41:04this
41:05tournament death is not a good place to be right yes absolutely right so thanks but gradually as the
41:11meeting progresses they're managing to eliminate possible options one at a time so i know no one
41:16wants to wait where did you get those yeah no second the peanut butter candies where did you get them
41:21yes so i couldn't find any biscuits right biscuits yes indeed i found them in a drawer right well look
41:28should we so that is not okay okay like things are put in drawers for a reason right yeah i
41:32know
41:32yeah crap yeah well thanks will yeah okay so i know no one wants to hear this but someone has
41:42to be
41:43the unpopular one in the room right yeah well from an environmental point of view our only option here
41:48the only way we ever solve this is to cool the earth down right yeah truly and the sooner we
41:54all face
41:54up to this the better for all of us i mean i'm sure that's almost certainly true sir i mean
41:57of course it
41:58is but i just wonder you know as something to aim for in the next three months right i just
42:03wonder
42:03if cooling the earth down might be a bit this is our moment right fact is we've got our work
42:07cut
42:07out installing simultaneous flush urinals in the stadiums as it is so this is not a joke okay no no
42:13of course i'm sorry no do not delete that do not delete it
42:36it's yet another sunny day in miami and ian fletcher is arriving at 2026 oversight hq for another thursday
42:44morning but if elements of his new world are beginning to feel familiar there are still things
42:51he's gradually discovering about it okay so this is it right this is it okay right right i can't
43:09believe this is happening meanwhile across town the social media team have come to a location somewhere
43:15else in miami in a state of excitement okay okay set what ready go okay so okay action okay so
43:21i was
43:21gonna say that right okay sure yeah totally okay action it's gonna be so cool so hey so we are
43:28here
43:28in winwood miami which is pretty cool but what's really cool is that in that building behind me like
43:33literally somewhere inside that studio right now is drum roll please mia drummer right so i can't do that
43:41okay inside that studio is selena gomez that's right thanks to a random post on instagram they've
43:49discovered that actor singer icon producer game changer and social media phenomenon selena gomez is
43:56in miami for a photo shoot to accompany the release of her new range of opinions in their search for
44:01a
44:01way to up launch the far corner on an unsuspecting social media world this could just be the opportunity
44:07they've been waiting for we're going to be asking her this question which current us soccer player would
44:11you most like today right like that's what we want to know right that's the question yes okay so
44:16she's in there like she's gotta come out right oh hey guys hey hey welcome to the far corner getting
44:22one of the world's most influential icons to appear and say something about soccer on a social media
44:27channel that hasn't officially been launched yet isn't quite as straightforward as it sounds you guys
44:32filming okay so there's no filming here right right okay so this is not okay excuse me we have every
44:38right
44:38to be here don't provoke him ma'am please what did you just say um did you just call me
44:43ma'am i'm asking
44:45you not to provoke my colleague okay so we're shooting this right uh we're shooting it so actually you
44:50know what no like maybe this is not a great idea right okay cool okay okay okay okay let's be
44:56calm here
44:57friend so i am not your friend miss please miss okay so you literally cannot do this okay this is
45:03not okay
45:03okay okay okay i think they can what yeah totally yeah right right right
45:11now we are not saying that you cannot play football in these cities in july right no yeah right how
45:16you
45:17want to use this data is up to you and anyway we don't have the power to do that no
45:20but you strongly
45:21advise against it yeah we do yes that's correct for the reasons that we talked about absolutely yeah
45:26100 yeah right back over at oversight hq the united nations health agency's executive director
45:32of temperature professor gisela fuchs has joined the strategic operations group from geneva to take
45:38them through some of the increasingly hot button issues in their forthcoming report on global heating
45:43and health yes and i think the question now is how best to use the valuable data in the report
45:47to help
45:47and inform us in delivering the best possible tournament going forward absolutely yeah right sure yeah nice one
45:52okay so forgive me doctor but oh so just to be clear with your neck i'm not actually a practicing
45:57physician i am a professor of medical science okay fine well i'm not a doctor either so i guess that
46:02makes two of us i guess so so forgive me professor and excuse my language here but speaking as a
46:07lawyer
46:07once like this gets out there in the public domain like what the so what i can say to you
46:12is that
46:12we feel it is our duty to publish these findings absolutely no of course well great good for you so
46:17just out of
46:18interest uh professor eric van de bitrance here oh yes hi by the way this is such an important report
46:23yes thank you yeah so uh am i right in thinking with this kind of data there is usually a
46:28margin
46:28for error yes so there's always a margin of error with all data of course of course exactly so so
46:34uh i was wondering uh what would it look like if we were to move the red line up by
46:39a degree or so
46:40what right uh so unfortunately you cannot just move the safety line around well no exactly so that is
46:47not how this works absolutely so then this can be what we call a speculative question in this moment
46:52i'm sorry this is a wait a minute what is happening here oh yes interesting actually how are you doing
46:59that well exactly so emily right here is kind of a no no no but this is my screen i'm
47:04sharing it with
47:05you of course of course you can't do that you can't do that no one is moving the red line
47:09uh look eric
47:10i think what we see is that if we increase the margin of error by just i will ask you
47:14to put the red
47:14line back exactly where it was please yes yes of course won't believe it sir right absolutely yes
47:21so whilst that's happening uh shall we just use this moment to take a break you know just five
47:25minutes to stretch our legs and get some air absolutely yeah nice one if that's okay with oh
47:30yes i know i think she's gone right okay yeah i know she has yes yeah i know 100
47:38five percent hi hi i might just pick up a quick coffee yeah feels like it might come in handy
47:45somehow
47:45yeah nice one yeah no it's good in there i like it whilst the un health agency's key data and
47:50professor
47:51fuchs are being reset both phil and ian have come to the kitchen to breathe for a moment and think
47:57about
47:57other things i was going to ask you something phil actually sure i mean if you don't mind for sure
48:04yeah no go for it i was going to ask you about bill shepherd all right yeah i mean what
48:08happened to my
48:09predecessors obviously nothing to do with me but i was just curious yeah yeah so no the thing with bill
48:17he was a nice guy right he was too nice that was his problem i mean it could have been
48:21an accident
48:22right you know i mean yes he used to spend quite a lot of time up there you know phone
48:26calls and
48:27take his coffee out there with him out where you've not been up to the roof terrace yet the roof
48:31terrace
48:31yeah no i didn't know there was one i know you should go up there it's nice you know nice
48:34view a bit
48:35of fresh air right no it's great and as i say it could have been an accident but saying that
48:39for me
48:40to be fair i mean yes he was a fit guy but for me you'd have to be going some
48:44to clear that wall right
48:51okay so you drove this car into a ditch over many years okay so the way forward is for you
48:56to get
48:57out of the car the break in the meeting is a good opportunity for people to catch up with things
49:01that might have got away from them as well as for leg stretching and breathing no i haven't finished yet
49:06not to try to bribe our precious daughter a beautiful young woman who is trying her best every single
49:13day and who i love more than anything else in this world because to try to turn her against me
49:18because i
49:18will not have that okay i will not have that but it seems that in one way or another this
49:23is a day on
49:23which people are feeling the heat hi oh hi it's nice up here right good to get a bit of
49:30fresh air
49:30for five minutes absolutely right well that was a great idea of yours oh well i don't know but you
49:37know sometimes when you walk away from something and then walk back towards it again you know
49:45okay well uh just to say this is none of my business but oh no no i knew this would
49:52happen
49:53it's fine no no no it's not no answer it it's just an estate agent and estate having a real
49:57estate agent
49:58so you gotta answer it right well no no no i mean it's right good really truly you do not
50:05have to do
50:06that oh no no no no no it's just i mean i'm staying in a hotel at the moment which
50:10is fine but i'm
50:11looking at apartments okay at least i think i am but after this experience i'm not quite so sure
50:15right real estate agents right yes well don't get me started yes anyway but in the grand scheme
50:22of things you know the grand scheme you know there are more important things right yes
50:31so the way you got to the temperatures for each of the cities is the mean average between the
50:36highest daily temperature and lowest daily temperature in each case right that is correct yes
50:40before too much longer the strategic operations group meeting is back underway and in the break
50:45vp logistics and execution owen mitchell has got granular with some of the data in the unha report
50:52on global heating so in the real world there's there's actually a range of daily temperatures
50:56above and below that line for each of the cities exactly yes right so here's the thing i don't know
51:02it's
51:02just an idea but how would you feel about representing that range of real world temperatures in your
51:07graphic here uh i'm sorry i don't uh so it'd be the exact same data in fact it'd be more
51:13data
51:14actually you'd include the outlying highs and lows okay so but i guess what you would end up with
51:19is a zone instead of a line a zone oh my god right which i don't know might be yes
51:25oh my god a zone
51:26which i don't know might be helpful so you mean in effect no no it's happening again
51:31like it or not it looks as if the kind of big solution that had seemed impossible only an hour
51:36ago might now be literally staring them in the face instead of it being above the safety line
51:41it would end up being in as it were in the safety zone instead right no you cannot do this
51:47why not
51:48this is my screen it is my line it is my data ian's challenge now is to pull things together
51:54and reset
51:55the debate in a way that keeps everybody on side regardless of which side they're on i mean just
52:00to underline the scale of ambition here is there a version of this if we could find a way of
52:04framing
52:05this so that you and your team were happy professor fuchs so first of all and to repeat it is
52:09not my job
52:10to be happy or excited no well great so you pretty much nailed that but is there a version of
52:14this in
52:15which we as come together with the unha at a critical moment for the planet oh my gosh working
52:20together to raise awareness of the connection between a warming environment and global health
52:24ian that's so great using the power of soccer as the driver and an event on the scale of 2026
52:29as the
52:29moment to finally reset the narrative around this whole thing exactly this is what i am saying what
52:34i mean it feels like there's a real opportunity available to us here if we can just somehow seize it
52:39yeah and if that doesn't work hats
52:49eventually in one way or another it's the end of another day hi yes hi yes that was such a
52:55great
52:56meeting yes i will say i'll be honest with you i was not comfortable with the way things were going
53:00well no but that is such a terrific place to get to in the end well yes let's hope it's
53:05been quite a day
53:05right yes right so i was thinking about your search for an apartment all right well you right i'm not
53:11sure if this would be of any interest to you but i had an idea kind of out of nowhere
53:15okay so it's a
53:16long story but i know of somewhere right like i say i don't know what you're looking for well me
53:21neither
53:21really but i will say it's a nice place in a great location i mean it's none of my business
53:25but um
53:26when you say you know of somewhere like i say it's a long story yes but it's there anyway i
53:31thought
53:31i'd mention it right and by coincidence it looks as if there could be an apartment somewhere in
53:36sarah's life that might just fit perfectly in ian's okay well thanks that's i mean sure no think about
53:42it i must say the no real estate agent part sounds appealing right right yes who knows in the grand
53:48scheme of things it could work out for everybody right yes yes
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