December 5, 2025 • 8 mins
Alex Lasry, CEO, FIFA World Cup 26 NYNJ Host Committee discusses how the area is preparing for the fanfare and how the World Cups helps local economies. He speaks with Bloomberg's Romaine Bostick.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
All right, Well, we're just a few months away from
one of the biggest scoring events in the world, the
FIFA World Cup, and that will draw for that World
Cup just wrapped up a little bit earlier today at
the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Joining us live from
New York is Alex Lazri. He's the CEO of the
FIFA World Cup twenty twenty six New York New Jersey
Hosts Committee. Alex, great to have you here and of
(00:21):
course where our viewers don't know, most of these games
will be played, of course in the New York, New
Jersey area. Talk a little bit about the potential impact
that that's going to have for the local economy here.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Well, the impact of these games on the local economy
is going to be massive. I mean, we're looking at
over three billion dollars of economic impact, millions of fans
from around the world that are going to be coming
right here to our region, and I think the potential
legacy is even bigger. Right. What we want to do
is show the world that if you want to have
the premier sports and entertainment event, you want to do
(00:54):
it in the biggest stage right here in New York,
New Jersey.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
I am curious, Alex about this idea of having all
of these national visitors coming to the US, particularly at
a time where there's been a huge crackdown in immigration
and a lot of concerns about how welcome some of
these people are going to be when they start to arrive,
and assuming they do arrive, are they going to be welcomed?
Speaker 2 (01:13):
They are, and we're going to make sure they are
because we are really excited to welcome the entire world
to our region. And that's what the benefit of this
World Cup is and what makes this World Cup so unique.
The economic impact of this World Cup has a lot
to do with the millions of visitors who are going
to come to this region to participate in the World Cup.
And I think what's unique about a World Cup is
that most people that come aren't going to the stadium
(01:35):
to go to a game. They're coming to come to
our fan fest, come to our fan village, come to
all of our activations, and just be part of the
World Cup experience. And that's what we're really excited about,
to welcome the entire world right to our region.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
And you think about that, welcoming the entire world, do
you think about where this is being held. MetLife. MetLife
of course can handle a lot. It's hosted a Super
Bowl before, for example, how will this final compare to that?
Speaker 2 (02:02):
For example, this final is going to be the biggest
sporting event, maybe even the biggest event in human history.
We're looking at If you think about the last the
last World Cup Final, it was viewed by the same
amount of people as the last thirteen Super Bowls combined.
So if you think of you know, American football as
our sport, football is the world sport and we're going
(02:22):
to be having the eyes of the world upon us
for this final. So this is going to be the
biggest event that we've ever hosted out out pacing a
Super Bowl, Taylor Swift concert, you name it. This is
going to be the biggest event we've ever had, and
we're going to show the world that if you want
to have a sporting event or anything on the biggest stage,
you got to do it right here in New York,
New Jersey.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
Well to your point, I mean, this is the world's game.
We're talking about the US market, and it feels like
everyone growing up in the US plays soccer in some form.
Do you think about soccer's popularity though in the United States,
I mean, what do you think the stakes are here
when it comes to raising the profile of the sport domestically.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
I think our hope for this World Cup and the
legacy for this World Cup is doing the for football
what you know the Dream Team did for basketball around
the world, Right, it inspired a generation of basketball players,
and now you've had like the last six MVPs not
being from the United States, And I think our hope
for this World Cup is that it inspires a next
(03:23):
generation of athlete. Right You're going to have a bunch
of six seven eight year olds who are going to
be feeling the energy seeing the best players from around
the world competing on the biggest stage, and hopefully it
inspires them to go play football and to go join
the US men's national team to make us the strongest
team in the world. When you look at the ninety
nine Women's World Cup, you know, those images and that
(03:45):
energy led to the women's national team being the most
impressive and biggest powerhouse in women's soccer. So I think
we're hoping for the same thing for this World Cup.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
And absolutely you talk about the formation of MLS back
in ninety six coming out of the ninety four World
Cup and exactly all the attention that Americans, who traditionally
ignored soccer certainly gave it. It gets to the question, though,
Alex as well as to sort of what is the
international cooperation going forward? And I don't mean at the
at the high end World Cup level, but do you
think we're going to see maybe a little bit more
(04:17):
symbiosis between say the leagues here in the United States
with those the big powerhouse leagues in Europe and the UK,
et cetera.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
I think you're already seeing a lot of symbiosis, right
You're having Premier League teams playing in European teams from
all over the you know, from all over Europe playing
in the United States. You know, we just hosted the
Premier League series am met Life. We just have the
Club World Cup right here in you know, the finals
and the semi finals right here in MetLife Stadium. So
(04:45):
I think you're already starting to see kind of an
expansion of of football from around the world, you know,
really partnering with with us in the United States. I think,
you know, kind of the next step and next stage
is for the growth of the MLS to continue, the
growth of the NWSL to continue, and also maybe you know,
you start to see some of these other leagues doing
(05:05):
what US leagues have been doing. Right when you look
at the NBA and the NFL playing regular season matches overseas.
I think the hope is that, you know, we can
start to do that with football and that'll really expand
the game and continue to grow the sport.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
I know you're basically just in charge of what's going
on here in the New York, New Jersey area, but
we should point out obviously these games are going to
be spread out in other cities as well as other countries,
including Mexico and Canada. What are the discussions that you're
having with your counterparts in those cities and countries with
regards to what they're doing and maybe sharing some interest
and advice as to what maybe you can do as well.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
We're all trying to share best practices because the fan
experience in one city is going to directly affect the
fan experience in another. And so what we want to do,
especially here in the United States, but all across North
America is we really want to put on an incredible
show and we want people from around the world who
are coming here for possibly the first time, or CEOs
of other companies coming here who are looking to maybe
(06:03):
create jobs and invest We want them to see the
United States, especially as as the place to do that.
And so the fan experience in Atlanta or Miami or
Dallas is going to directly affect the fan experience that
you have in New York, New Jersey. And so we're
trying to make sure that we're all in communication, all
talking about what we can do to make sure that
(06:24):
everyone coming to the United States has an incredible experience,
because I think that the studies that I've seen are
saying that the World Cup could have an over thirty
billion dollar economic impact for the entire United States, expecting
over six million visitors. So this is this is a
very big deal, not just for our region, but for
the entire country.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
And you know, you think about an event like this,
I have to imagine a lot of it, you know,
falls on the state governments, the local governments. But talk
to us about the relationship with the federal government. How
much you know, buy in and participation you need from
that level of government in term of putting on something
on this scale.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
You can't put on an event like this without coordination
and buy in from your state, local, and federal government.
And when I look at the planning and all of
the conversations that I've been involved in and all the
preparations that we've made, the connectivity between federal, state, and
local has been truly incredible. Right. I think we're actually
(07:23):
seeing a putting a side of politics to make sure
that these games are successful. And if you look at
you know, kind of the next ten years here in
the United States, this is really the decade of sports,
and the World Cup is kind of the kickoff of that.
Right We've got the World Cup in twenty six, the
La Olympics in twenty eight, We've got the Women's World
Cup in twenty thirty one, and then the Salt Lake
City Winter Olympics in twenty thirty four or thirty six. So,
(07:49):
you know, this is the decade of sports. We are
the first one, and so we really have to make
sure that we put on a great show to you know,
I think really set the tone for what these mega
sporting events over the next ten years are going to
look like.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
Absolutely, Alex really appreciate your time on this Friday afternoon,
that is Alex Lazri. He is the CEO of the
FIFA World Cup twenty six New York, New Jersey Host
Committee
All right, Well, we're just a few months away from
one of the biggest scoring events in the world, the
FIFA World Cup, and that will draw for that World
Cup just wrapped up a little bit earlier today at
the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Joining us live from
New York is Alex Lazri. He's the CEO of the
FIFA World Cup twenty twenty six New York New Jersey
Hosts Committee. Alex, great to have you here and of
(00:21):
course where our viewers don't know, most of these games
will be played, of course in the New York, New
Jersey area. Talk a little bit about the potential impact
that that's going to have for the local economy here.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Well, the impact of these games on the local economy
is going to be massive. I mean, we're looking at
over three billion dollars of economic impact, millions of fans
from around the world that are going to be coming
right here to our region, and I think the potential
legacy is even bigger. Right. What we want to do
is show the world that if you want to have
the premier sports and entertainment event, you want to do
(00:54):
it in the biggest stage right here in New York,
New Jersey.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
I am curious, Alex about this idea of having all
of these national visitors coming to the US, particularly at
a time where there's been a huge crackdown in immigration
and a lot of concerns about how welcome some of
these people are going to be when they start to arrive,
and assuming they do arrive, are they going to be welcomed?
Speaker 2 (01:13):
They are, and we're going to make sure they are
because we are really excited to welcome the entire world
to our region. And that's what the benefit of this
World Cup is and what makes this World Cup so unique.
The economic impact of this World Cup has a lot
to do with the millions of visitors who are going
to come to this region to participate in the World Cup.
And I think what's unique about a World Cup is
that most people that come aren't going to the stadium
(01:35):
to go to a game. They're coming to come to
our fan fest, come to our fan village, come to
all of our activations, and just be part of the
World Cup experience. And that's what we're really excited about,
to welcome the entire world right to our region.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
And you think about that, welcoming the entire world, do
you think about where this is being held. MetLife. MetLife
of course can handle a lot. It's hosted a Super
Bowl before, for example, how will this final compare to that?
Speaker 2 (02:02):
For example, this final is going to be the biggest
sporting event, maybe even the biggest event in human history.
We're looking at If you think about the last the
last World Cup Final, it was viewed by the same
amount of people as the last thirteen Super Bowls combined.
So if you think of you know, American football as
our sport, football is the world sport and we're going
(02:22):
to be having the eyes of the world upon us
for this final. So this is going to be the
biggest event that we've ever hosted out out pacing a
Super Bowl, Taylor Swift concert, you name it. This is
going to be the biggest event we've ever had, and
we're going to show the world that if you want
to have a sporting event or anything on the biggest stage,
you got to do it right here in New York,
New Jersey.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
Well to your point, I mean, this is the world's game.
We're talking about the US market, and it feels like
everyone growing up in the US plays soccer in some form.
Do you think about soccer's popularity though in the United States,
I mean, what do you think the stakes are here
when it comes to raising the profile of the sport domestically.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
I think our hope for this World Cup and the
legacy for this World Cup is doing the for football
what you know the Dream Team did for basketball around
the world, Right, it inspired a generation of basketball players,
and now you've had like the last six MVPs not
being from the United States, And I think our hope
for this World Cup is that it inspires a next
(03:23):
generation of athlete. Right You're going to have a bunch
of six seven eight year olds who are going to
be feeling the energy seeing the best players from around
the world competing on the biggest stage, and hopefully it
inspires them to go play football and to go join
the US men's national team to make us the strongest
team in the world. When you look at the ninety
nine Women's World Cup, you know, those images and that
(03:45):
energy led to the women's national team being the most
impressive and biggest powerhouse in women's soccer. So I think
we're hoping for the same thing for this World Cup.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
And absolutely you talk about the formation of MLS back
in ninety six coming out of the ninety four World
Cup and exactly all the attention that Americans, who traditionally
ignored soccer certainly gave it. It gets to the question, though,
Alex as well as to sort of what is the
international cooperation going forward? And I don't mean at the
at the high end World Cup level, but do you
think we're going to see maybe a little bit more
(04:17):
symbiosis between say the leagues here in the United States
with those the big powerhouse leagues in Europe and the UK,
et cetera.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
I think you're already seeing a lot of symbiosis, right
You're having Premier League teams playing in European teams from
all over the you know, from all over Europe playing
in the United States. You know, we just hosted the
Premier League series am met Life. We just have the
Club World Cup right here in you know, the finals
and the semi finals right here in MetLife Stadium. So
(04:45):
I think you're already starting to see kind of an
expansion of of football from around the world, you know,
really partnering with with us in the United States. I think,
you know, kind of the next step and next stage
is for the growth of the MLS to continue, the
growth of the NWSL to continue, and also maybe you know,
you start to see some of these other leagues doing
(05:05):
what US leagues have been doing. Right when you look
at the NBA and the NFL playing regular season matches overseas.
I think the hope is that, you know, we can
start to do that with football and that'll really expand
the game and continue to grow the sport.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
I know you're basically just in charge of what's going
on here in the New York, New Jersey area, but
we should point out obviously these games are going to
be spread out in other cities as well as other countries,
including Mexico and Canada. What are the discussions that you're
having with your counterparts in those cities and countries with
regards to what they're doing and maybe sharing some interest
and advice as to what maybe you can do as well.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
We're all trying to share best practices because the fan
experience in one city is going to directly affect the
fan experience in another. And so what we want to do,
especially here in the United States, but all across North
America is we really want to put on an incredible
show and we want people from around the world who
are coming here for possibly the first time, or CEOs
of other companies coming here who are looking to maybe
(06:03):
create jobs and invest We want them to see the
United States, especially as as the place to do that.
And so the fan experience in Atlanta or Miami or
Dallas is going to directly affect the fan experience that
you have in New York, New Jersey. And so we're
trying to make sure that we're all in communication, all
talking about what we can do to make sure that
(06:24):
everyone coming to the United States has an incredible experience,
because I think that the studies that I've seen are
saying that the World Cup could have an over thirty
billion dollar economic impact for the entire United States, expecting
over six million visitors. So this is this is a
very big deal, not just for our region, but for
the entire country.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
And you know, you think about an event like this,
I have to imagine a lot of it, you know,
falls on the state governments, the local governments. But talk
to us about the relationship with the federal government. How
much you know, buy in and participation you need from
that level of government in term of putting on something
on this scale.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
You can't put on an event like this without coordination
and buy in from your state, local, and federal government.
And when I look at the planning and all of
the conversations that I've been involved in and all the
preparations that we've made, the connectivity between federal, state, and
local has been truly incredible. Right. I think we're actually
(07:23):
seeing a putting a side of politics to make sure
that these games are successful. And if you look at
you know, kind of the next ten years here in
the United States, this is really the decade of sports,
and the World Cup is kind of the kickoff of that.
Right We've got the World Cup in twenty six, the
La Olympics in twenty eight, We've got the Women's World
Cup in twenty thirty one, and then the Salt Lake
City Winter Olympics in twenty thirty four or thirty six. So,
(07:49):
you know, this is the decade of sports. We are
the first one, and so we really have to make
sure that we put on a great show to you know,
I think really set the tone for what these mega
sporting events over the next ten years are going to
look like.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
Absolutely, Alex really appreciate your time on this Friday afternoon,
that is Alex Lazri. He is the CEO of the
FIFA World Cup twenty six New York, New Jersey Host
Committee
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