Business of Sports: Trump's World Cup guy

This week we have an interview with Andrew Giuliani about what he's doing in his role as head of a White House task force that's helping to organize the 2026 World Cup. We also get into ballpark food (it might make you hungry) and a twist on the start of the Premier League.

As always, send us any feedback, tips or ideas here. If you aren't yet signed up to receive this newsletter, you can do so here.

Locker Room

The Pohlad family has pulled the Minnesota Twins off the market in favor of adding limited partners instead. Behind the scenes, the Twins hoped to sell to Justin and Mat Ishbia before MLB Opening Day. The Ishbia brothers were interested but chose to strike a deal with the Chicago White Sox. After that happened, the team continued conversations but interested buyers weren't pleased with the asking price. Now the team will stay with the Pohlads. — Randall Williams
At the CBS media event this week, CBS Sports CEO and president David Berson said he's in favor of the push by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to add an 18th game. "Every time a change has been made like this, it's gone over very well," said Berson, who oversees the longest tenured media partnership with the league. Player safety would also have to be addressed, he said. While Goodell has been in favor of one more game, it's unclear where David White, the interim executive director for the NFLPA, stands. — RW
Villareal fans are planning a demonstration ahead of Friday's match against Oviedo in Spain's La Liga in response to plans for the club to play an attractive fixture against Barcelona in Miami on December 21. The plans have already been decried by Football Supporters Europe who say they are appalled by attempts by leagues to move regular matches to another country. (Italy's Serie A is contemplating moving an AC Milan match to Australia.) This week Villareal said it would compensate fans for the loss of the game and would also pay some travel expenses if they travel to the US for the match. The plans to move games overseas still need the permission of UEFA and FIFA. — David Hellier

Trump's World Cup Guy

Hi, it's Vanessa. I recently attended an event in Washington where Visa announced presale tickets for the 2026 World Cup would begin in September. Among those who spoke was Andrew Giuliani. The son of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani is the executive director of the White House World Cup Task Force.

Since Giuliani was appointed to this position in May by US President Donald Trump, we've been wondering what he's doing. So I asked about his role in helping put on an expanded tournament that increased teams to 48 from 32.

Andrew Giuliani, center, during a FIFA Task Force meeting at the White House in Washington. Photographer: Francis Chung/Politico/Bloomberg

First, I wanted to ask about how your appointment was met with criticism and charges of nepotism because your father was Trump's lawyer? But also noting that you worked in the first Trump administration as a sports liaison, helping pro leagues restart during the pandemic.

The thing you learn about criticism is everybody's got an opinion and they're welcome to their opinion.

You've talked about this task force being focused on things such as safety, security and transportation. I understand the federal government will take on different roles in each category. Where will the task force have the biggest impact?

The safety and security piece, we take more of a lead role in it. Task force partners are the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense, the FBI and Department of Justice.

Given Trump's immigration policies and the current wait times for visas, there's concern that foreign travelers will be deterred from coming to the US for the World Cup. And there are examples such as Iran. The country has qualified for the World Cup, but the US has suspended visas for most Iranians. What do you make of that?

[With Iran,] they'll have to be conversations between the president and some other task force members about it. I don't want to get ahead of those conversations because they've just been initiated, but I'm sure you'll see more to come.

There is also a big question about how teams and fans will travel between the US, Canada and Mexico, which are all co-hosting the World Cup. How's that going to work?

You're going to have a team, let's say that's going to start in Houston. They're going to go to Monterrey. And then they're going to play in Dallas. And then they might play in Mexico City where they could cross the border up to four times, depending on what role you end up having. So for some of the countries that generally get single entry visas that might have to be refined specifically for the World Cup.

What's your overarching goal for this event?

Making sure that the largest World Cup in history is also the greatest in history.

(Editor's note: This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.)

ICYMI

Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville, who also co-owns English club Salford City, said US investors will continue to buy into the country's clubs. (More than a third of the 92 professional teams in England's top four leagues already have some form of US ownership.)
About five months after an investment group reached a deal to buy the NBA's Boston Celtics, the league's owners approved the $6 billion transaction. The holdup? They needed to secure a couple more billion.
A firm founded by the former captain of New Zealand's national women's football team is seeking to raise about $50 million to buy clubs in Europe.
Football transfers in Europe are getting so big, hitting $5 billion this summer, that finance giants Apollo Global Management and Blackstone are looking at funding debt deals so clubs can keep spending.

America's Pastime

Hey, it's Kristina. I cover the food industry and took a look at what's happening with cuisine at US sporting events.

While Americans are increasingly becoming health conscious at home, only 3% of people said the healthiness of food or drink was their top priority when choosing what to eat at sporting events.

Health came in last place out of 11 options, trailing concerns such as how long it would take to order food and its taste, according to a Sodexo Live survey of more than 2,000 people in the US and Canada. (Sodexo Live serves 30 million people food annually at 140 venues, including sporting events, concerts and arenas.)

Across US stadiums and arenas, there's no shortage of options with lots of calories. Below are some fan favorites.

While most research about consumer preferences shows that "health is only continuing to trend in importance," sporting events fall into a different category from daily life, said Kate Thomson, vice president of marketing at Sodexo Live. "It's very much a special event. The priorities shift."

In focus groups, some people said they view sporting events as "the one time they get to eat the orange nacho cheese sauce," she said.

Hot dogs smothered in toppings at a baseball game at Nationals Park. Photographer: Jonathan Ernst/Getty Images

About half of people attending sports events opt for classic items like hot dogs and chicken tenders, Thomson said. The other half is divided between people drawn in by buzzier, more Instagram-ready items like its Hong Kong bubble waffle, which is filled with pudding and topped with things like Oreos, and fans seeking local favorites.

Premier League's Gambling Ties

Hi, it's Aaron. For those of us who follow the Premier League, today is a glorious day. After a long, hot, and — apologies to the Club World Cup — mostly football-less summer, the nightmare is finally over. The Premier League is back and kicks off Friday.

Read Story: How Gambling Firms Took Over Premier League Shirt Sponsors

In one way, it is a very special season: the final time clubs will be permitted to have gambling companies as their main shirt sponsors.

It's a big deal because in recent years gambling companies have taken over Premier League shirts. To see just how ubiquitous they've become, I collected data on every game-day shirt sponsor since the league's inception in 1992. This season 11 of the 20 clubs have gambling sponsors, which is tied with last season as the most by any single industry in the league's history.

But as our article notes, gambling's takeover of the league was only the latest and biggest boom for shirt sponsors. Maybe another one will follow.

BJ88 sponsorship on the Bournemouth kit in Bournemouth, England. Photographer: Michael Steele/Getty Images

For many fans, banning these sponsors will be a welcome change. Debate about whether it's appropriate to advertise gambling on matchdays aside, few crave to have their beloved clubs associated with a random jumble of letters and numbers for an incorporated entity with little to no domestic footprint.

In fact, four Premier League Clubs — Fulham, Bournemouth, Burnley, and Wolves — are sponsored by gambling websites owned by the same company that exited the UK market entirely after being fined by the country's regulator, resulting in the bizarre circumstance where local club supporters couldn't patronize their club's sponsor's product even if they wanted to.

What will fill the void next season? Experts say it is too soon to tell because so many clubs are trying to get one last payday from the gambling brands rather than begin the transition.

They may — gasp! — make slightly less money from shirt sponsorships. But one potential benefit is that with more charming sponsors perhaps they'll sell a few more kits.