FIFA and the most beautiful game in the world
After flying ten hours to make it to Miami, Florida I was very excited to get a head start on networking for the 2026 World Cup in the US, Mexico and Canada. A World Cup Year is always special and in this case, now witnessing it from a professional standpoint and not just a fan, the 2026 World Cup is particularly special. It is the first World Cup to be held in three countries, a huge shock after the smallest World Cup ever in Qatar.
We got up and ready and took a bus through Miami to take us to the newly appointed TOC. TOC stands for Tournament Operating Centre. This is where the entire World Cup is organised from and where the most important people sit if you want access to footage, players or coaches. We were able to hear many key note speakers explain their exact roles in the industry as well as the tournament, but what was also fascinating was finding out how they got to where they are now.
I had been looking forward to FIFA the most because as an international organisation they hire from all over the world and are well equipped to provide Visas and work permits regardless of nationality. Especially looking at work in the US as a non-US citizen at the moment, that was quite the perk. They also gave insights into how far in advance people apply to work for the World Cup. Obviously with the 2026 one we were way too late, but the 2030 World Cup in Spain, Portugal and Morocco is something I am now seriously considering. I could really picture myself working with a national team as their FIFA appointed coordinator. This was a position I had not previously known about so to me this entire day was very insightful and I would count it as a great success.
NBA and Legends Night at the Heat
After the day had been spent at FIFA the evening saw us attending our very first NBA game, however some of us (not naming names) arrived early on Saturday and ended up being bored on Sunday so they booked last minute tickets to a different Miami Heat game and ended up going twice in the one week we were State-side.
Kaseya Centre, the Arena where the Heat play, is right by Bayside in one of Miami’s most beautiful districts. It was a two minute walk from our hotel and probably the most convenient Arena I have ever been to. Stay tuned for Day 4 where we got an exclusive tour of the whole arena and got to see behind the scenes with the Heat’s press officer.
The scheduled game we attended was between the Miami Heat and the Atlanta Hawks. It also happened to be their 2006 Legends Night as 20 years ago the Miami Heat won the title with basketball legends the likes of Antoine Walker, Shaquille O’Neal and Dwyane Wade. The entire winning team was in attendance that night and was honoured during the halftime break. The Hawkes sadly wiped the floor with the Heat so that was a little disappointing to witness.
After the game we got to go onto the court and each throw a free-throw. This, whilst fun and very memorable, was a rushed experience and had been sold to us as more exclusive than it ended up being.
Overall the Miami trip was off to a brilliant start!
