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Is Canada ready to host the FIFA World Cup · DEEP INSIGHT

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Canada will face Cotter and Switzerland in the group stage
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: of the FIFA World Cup. Canada securest place in the
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: tournament as a co host with Mexico and the United States,
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  Speaker 1: with all three world leaders coming together for the World
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  Speaker 1: Cup draw in Washington, where forty eight teams learned their
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  Speaker 1: group stage opponents and heard a live performance of YMCA
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  Speaker 1: by the Village People. Team Canada kicks off his first
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  Speaker 1: match in the World Cup on June twelfth, with games
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  Speaker 1: being held in Toronto and Vancouver. Adam Vancouver and is
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  Speaker 1: the Secretary of State for Sport and Canada's FIFA SHRPA,
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  Speaker 1: which is a new title for you, mister Vancouverin.
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  Speaker 2: It's good to see you. Thank you for joining here today, Sir,
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  Speaker 2: nice to see it too, David, Thanks for having me.
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  Speaker 1: What do you make let's just talk about strictly the
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  Speaker 1: sports element of today. What do you make of the
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  Speaker 1: group with Cotter and Switzerland and then a group that
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  Speaker 1: I think Italy will emerge from. But what are your
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  Speaker 1: thoughts on the field that Canada faces in the early
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  Speaker 1: stages of next year.
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  Speaker 3: Well, it is really exciting that there is still play
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  Speaker 3: in tournament to happen to fully determine exactly what we're
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  Speaker 3: going to see, but Wales, Hertzegovina, Italy and Northern Ireland
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  Speaker 3: will play and the winner of that, you know, mini
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  Speaker 3: tournament will be our competitor for what will be the
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  Speaker 3: first match in Toronto on June the twelfth, And as
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  Speaker 3: you've prognosticated, it could be Italy, which would make a
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  Speaker 3: College Street a very very interesting place to be and
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  Speaker 3: certainly what is currently called Bimo Field a very interesting
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  Speaker 3: place to be. It'll be very exciting. I grew up
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  Speaker 3: in Oakville playing soccer. Most of my teammates were Italian,
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  Speaker 3: a huge Italian diaspora community right across the country, and
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  Speaker 3: like hosting a game like that in our country would.
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  Speaker 2: Just be so fun.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, there's six months to go until that game and
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  Speaker 1: then the other games that will be part of the
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  Speaker 1: World Cup. I mean, how ready is Canada? How on
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  Speaker 1: schedule is Canada to be ready for that? I mean
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  Speaker 1: want more do you as FIFA, SHIRPA and the government
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  Speaker 1: need to get done to make sure that the biggest
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  Speaker 1: sporting event in the world goes off without a hitch.
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  Speaker 3: Well, that's our top priority. We're very prepared. It's an
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  Speaker 3: excellent opportunity to host the World. Look, we've got thirteen
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  Speaker 3: matches between Toronto and Vancouver, six in too and seven
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  Speaker 3: out in Van. That is ten group stage matches and
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  Speaker 3: then two games on the Group of thirty two and
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  Speaker 3: then one in the Group of sixteen. We are prepared
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  Speaker 3: to host the World It's going to be an exciting opportunity.
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  Speaker 3: And I think that twenty twenty six is actually going
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  Speaker 3: to be the year of sport in and for Canada,
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  Speaker 3: between the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Milano Cortina
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  Speaker 3: in Italy, and then also we have the Arctic Winter
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  Speaker 3: Games happening at the same time as the Olympic and
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  Speaker 3: Paralympic Games up in Yukon White Horse. Then obviously we
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  Speaker 3: go into the five or six weeks of FIFA. The
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  Speaker 3: summer is going to be busy. It's the fifty year
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  Speaker 3: anniversary of the Montreal Olympics, which will culminate in the
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  Speaker 3: World Championships of Cycling in September in Montreal where amazing
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  Speaker 3: Magdalen Valier world champion will be defending her Rain but Jersey.
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  Speaker 3: It's a massive year of sport for Canada in twenty
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  Speaker 3: twenty six, and we couldn't be more excited to be
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  Speaker 3: hosting the World.
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  Speaker 1: Well, look, you're a former Olympian. I don't need to
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  Speaker 1: tell you what an undertaking it is that you're ready
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  Speaker 1: for these events, and there's often scheduling challenges and cost
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  Speaker 1: overruns and construction and you know challenges. I mean, what
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  Speaker 1: are the big things that when you look at the
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  Speaker 1: horizon you have left to get ready for these games,
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  Speaker 1: that Canada needs to get done to.
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  Speaker 2: Be ready for the FIFA World Cup.
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  Speaker 3: Well, first, David, I'd be remiss if I pointed out
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  Speaker 3: that I'm as much a former Olympian as you are
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  Speaker 3: a former Newfoundlander. It's a new Findlander always a new Findlander.
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  Speaker 1: Yes, fair point, fair point, My apologies.
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  Speaker 3: I am very very optimistic about our ability to host
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  Speaker 3: big things because we do it all the time. We
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  Speaker 3: hosted a G seven recently, we hosted the PanAm Games
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  Speaker 3: and the Women's World Cup in twenty fifteen. We hosted
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  Speaker 3: the Olympics back in twenty ten, nineteen eighty eight and
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  Speaker 3: nineteen seventy six. We are good at this. As a country,
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  Speaker 3: We're a welcoming nation. We have the capacity and the
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  Speaker 3: ability to host the world and when we do we
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  Speaker 3: see good things happen. We create jobs, we create opportunity,
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  Speaker 3: We create diplomatic opportunities for both our international partners but
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  Speaker 3: also our corporate partners, particularly our would be corporate partners.
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  Speaker 3: And at a time like this, when we're looking to
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  Speaker 3: make new friends and create new partnerships and create new
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  Speaker 3: jobs in Canada, this is a perfect timing for you know,
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  Speaker 3: our country, our nation, not just the cities of Vancouver
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  Speaker 3: in Toronto, but FIFA twenty twenty six is going to
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  Speaker 3: have a positive economic output right across the country from
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  Speaker 3: Saint John's all the way to Victoria, all the way
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  Speaker 3: up to white Horse.
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  Speaker 1: Well, you know, it is a complicated time to be
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  Speaker 1: hosting this because, unlike the Olympics, Canada is sharing the
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  Speaker 1: hosting of this with the United States and with Mexico.
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  Speaker 1: The trade issues with the United States are one thing.
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  Speaker 1: There are also challenges with immigration in the United States.
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  Speaker 1: People will be wanting to cross back and forth over
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  Speaker 1: the borders to attend different events and compete in different events.
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  Speaker 1: A country like Haiti where there is a full on
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  Speaker 1: travel band to the US.
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  Speaker 2: They made the World Cup, They're.
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  Speaker 1: Going to be part of this tournament. Has the government
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  Speaker 1: of Canada gotten and sought assurances from the United States
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  Speaker 1: on how this will go because you're hearing warnings from
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  Speaker 1: groups like AMNCY international raids happening potentially during this and
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  Speaker 1: it's a live issue for a lot of people.
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  Speaker 3: Well, you're right to point those things out, David, and safety,
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  Speaker 3: security and the success of FIFA twenty twenty six is
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  Speaker 3: my top priority in the top parority of our government.
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  Speaker 3: So we're looking forward to making sure that that all
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  Speaker 3: comes true. But we're also going to be in solution
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  Speaker 3: mode between now and late July, and when three countries
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  Speaker 3: are working together in solution mode, we can only see
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  Speaker 3: positive outcomes from our relationship. Look, the Canada US Mexico
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  Speaker 3: trilateral relationship is the strongest one in the world.
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  Speaker 2: It always has been and it will continue to be.
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  Speaker 3: And the FIFA World Cup is already bringing our world
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  Speaker 3: leaders together. I saw Presidents Shinbahm and Trump and Prime
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  Speaker 3: Minister Mark Karney sitting together talking and enjoying what was
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  Speaker 3: a great ceremony today and with smiles on their faces,
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  Speaker 3: and you know at.
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  Speaker 2: Times they're even dancing.
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  Speaker 3: So it's a great opportunity to come together to discuss
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  Speaker 3: our important priorities that are mostly mutual and coming together
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  Speaker 3: to discuss what we need to do together in order
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  Speaker 3: to create more success for the people of our countries.
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  Speaker 3: And certainly the international visitors during this football tournament are
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  Speaker 3: very very important.
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  Speaker 1: But made are these issues that are being discussed as
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  Speaker 1: part of this right because these are great veins where
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  Speaker 1: people travel back and forth to the different cities to
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  Speaker 1: follow the games as best they can. And we know
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  Speaker 1: about the challenges with Canada going to the US just
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  Speaker 1: on vacation because of the trade issues, but you know,
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  Speaker 1: if you're from a different country and come here, there
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  Speaker 1: are extra layers of complications potentially. I just wonder, you know,
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  Speaker 1: as FIFA sure, but it's just something that is being
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  Speaker 1: talked about at the organizational level to ensure that there
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  Speaker 1: aren't any.
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  Speaker 2: Challenges when we get into this next year.
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  Speaker 3: Well, sport is I think our most important nation building project,
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  Speaker 3: and it is also not just a nation building project,
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  Speaker 3: but it's also a diplomatic opportunity for our countries. So
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  Speaker 3: as we see our world leaders come together, we're seeing
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  Speaker 3: like their staffs and their counterparts interacting in a really
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  Speaker 3: positive manner. So as we build up Canada using sport
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  Speaker 3: as a vehicle for that positive momentum, that optimistic worldview,
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  Speaker 3: and frankly that peace building occasion that we all look
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  Speaker 3: forward to. And we see an Olympics and a Paralympics
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  Speaker 3: and a World Cup happening all in the same year,
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  Speaker 3: I think it's a very very exciting and optimistic time
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  Speaker 3: for the world to, you know, to focus more on
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  Speaker 3: what we have in common, which is a love for sport,
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  Speaker 3: physical activity, camaraderie, culture, which are all things that are
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  Speaker 3: celebrated at the World Cup.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, well, Adam vancouverdin my apologies for seeing former Olympian.
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  Speaker 1: I appreciate that as a status for life.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, I'll never call you.
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  Speaker 1: A no no, I get it. But anyway, thank you
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  Speaker 1: for your time today, sir, and good luck with all
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  Speaker 1: the work I had on the World Cup.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks very much, David, nice to see you.