Pod Save the World - World Corrupt: Coming October 8th

Episode Date: September 30, 2022

Soccer is a game which has often been called “the world’s most important least important thing.” However this November’s World Cup, the most-watched sporting competition on the planet, forces fans to grapple with the complexities of a tournament which has been twisted into a public relations exercise for Qatar, a country smaller than the state of Connecticut, with a shocking human rights record, that has built the tournament’s infrastructure with migrant labor practices that have been likened to modern slavery. This dilemma is at the core of World Corrupt, a six-episode collaboration from Men in Blazers Media Network and Crooked Media. Starting October 8, Men in Blazers’ Roger Bennett and Pod Save the World’s Tommy Vietor will join forces to explore what it means to be a fan and a responsible citizen of the world while navigating a sports landscape that is increasingly being co-opted for geo-political and corporate gain.

be some can-can on the Chonsalise tonight. France are the champions of the world. This fall, billions of people will turn their eyes towards Qatar for the World Cup, international soccer's most prestigious competition, and a month-long source of ubiquitous joy for fans around the globe. It's a moment of redemption. But before a ball has been kicked, this gathering of the beautiful game already wears a heinous scar.

The tournament was awarded corruptly to a country with a shocking human rights record with migrant labor practices that have been likened to modern slavery. From crooked media and men and blazers, World Corrupts is a six-part series hosted by Tommy B. Tor and Roger Bennett that takes an honest look at the humanitarian and global impact of the 2022 World Cup. We have joined forces to create a special six-part podcast series exploring the intersection of two of our great passions, politics and football. And to come to terms with the fact that this year's World Cup,

the biggest event for the biggest sport on the planet is soaked in blood. And to understand how sports are used by autocratic governments to burnish their reputations and distract us from human rights abuses and all that corruption happening just off the field. This has never been more urgent. With the 2022 World Cup happening in Qatar and talk of Saudi Arabia hosting the Cup in 2030. And so what we hope to do over the course of the series

is to explore how this very World Cup was awarded in the first place, what Qatar hopes to gain from it, and ultimately how we, as fans, who use sports as an emotional release from a world that's too often dark and full of terrors, how we can watch, but also push to make things better. And we've enlisted some friends to help us along the way,

including a Justice Department employee who witnessed the bidding process for this World Cup, firsthand. And it was the most corrupt thing I've ever seen in my career, and I, you know, I spent a couple years working in New Jersey politics. Presidential Medal of Freedom and two-time World Cup winner, Megan Rapino, about the courage it takes for athletes to speak out. The regret of not saying anything is what is going to kill you and what's going to eat you a lot. Even more than that, we'll ask what, if anything, we as fans can do to drive real concrete change,

both for our actions during this World Cup and moving forward. Tommy, are you ready for this? Rod, I'm an Everton fan. We know a little something here about guilt and despair. Welcome to my world, Tommy V. It's my natural factory setting. Listen to World Corrupts

on the Pod Save the World and Men and Blazers podcast feeds.