Ryveann: (00:50)
Well hello and welcome to episode eight of the first half podcast. I’m Ryveann Elizabeth and I’m sitting here with mr Pauly D and today we have an incredibly special guest, Eli from Copa90, huge. And how are you Paul?

Paul: (01:10)
I’m very well how are you?

Ryveann: (01:10)
I’m good. I have a bit of a Lindsey Lohan voice thing going on. I apologize. I had a bit too much fun this weekend.

Paul: (01:17)
That’s uh, it’s okay. I think it’s part of a, it’s part of what weekend festivities are all about. Uh, it was, it was, it was a big a, it’s been a big a week, big weekend as the last couple of days. Um, lots of football. But I mean honestly I think what’s dominating most of the headlines is what just happened with, uh, NBA legend Kobe Bryant. Uh, he passed away at 41 years old, died in a helicopter crash, um, with this 13 year old daughter and a few others. And that’s definitely um, weighed heavy on myself, on the sports community around the world. It’s really one of those things. Uh, I guess it’s an age thing. I’m not 100% sure. I know we have notes on the whole, on the show and like what we wanted to sort of do with this, but it’s, um, it’s definitely hit really close to home. I think that’s, cause I have a daughter, you know, I mean obviously he was an NBA super, you know, superstar. There was a lot of talk in the news recently about the records being broken. He just recently had done some stuff with the MLS and they’d launched a, I think it’s a body armor. I think it’s, you know, like an electrolyte drink.

Ryveann: (02:31)
Yeah. In celebration for the 25th year of the MLS.

Paul: (02:32)
In association with the MLS and he was a huge football fan. So the football community is all over this as well. Speaking about it. I mean, you know, the, the pro, the top pro athletes obviously, um, they crossover, all the sports, I mean they all sort of intermingle obviously when they get to a certain level. Um, but I mean he lived in Italy for his, you know, majority of his childhood. He was an AC Milan fan. He was a, I think a bar set fan. He was a football fan. I mean,

Ryveann: (03:04)
and he was always so involved in the community in California, in sports anyways, generally…WNBA, LA Galaxy

Paul: (03:10)
Yeah, He was, he actually became a big fan and I think it was in 2007 when Beckham sort of came on board and came to the U S and came to the galaxy, which definitely launched a friendship with them. But also, you know, I think really for him, I remember being a football fan and being from it, living his life basically as a youth in Italy playing football. You’re playing both. I played basketball and soccer. Yeah, he played both in Italy. And I think I saw there was an interview somewhere where he was saying like, he thought he was going to be a, you know, like one of the next pro footballers and then you realize he was six three and it’s sort of just, you know, he became, it didn’t work, but it’s, um, it’s sort of, it’s sucky like, and I don’t know how else to say it, but it’s, it’s definitely bothered me. And I think it’s, again, it’s the child thing. It’s the, there was other,

Ryveann: (04:02)
I think it, yeah, it hit me harder this morning because when I saw that there was actually like all in all this three teenage girls with, with Gigi, like, eh, two teenage girls and Gigi and they were all on the same basketball team and so, and they’re both moms of the two other girls also passed. So it was pretty, it was a pretty debilitating story this morning and the news and,

Paul: (04:21)
yeah, and you can imagine a mother and you can imagine sort of just again, I think it’s, you know, I know we live in a world that everything gets hyped up really fast and everything is major news. But this is like, again, I wasn’t even a Colby fan. Like when I say I wasn’t a Kobe fan, I grew up with him, my age group and your age group as well, we all grew up with him.

Ryveann: (04:39)
Exactly. I mean, every, everybody I saw online yesterday, it was just an absolute shock because as it was like, their childhood hero, their childhood hero. Um, he was, he was such a force and he was so encouraging and he was, he was there and he was, he was there for the sport and the love of the sport. And he was there for like women’s sports and he was there.

Paul: (05:02)
And specifically for women’s sports with his daughters. And I think what’s interesting too is he’s, uh, an athlete, a pro athlete. He was a pro athlete that, you know, made mistakes in a lot of pro, a lot of people. Everybody makes mistakes. It’s not just athletes. And he tried to, you know, he changed that. You make mistakes, you’re human, you move forward, you don’t do them again and you do better. And you sort of, I don’t want to say a tone, but that you, you put the extra time into things to sort of set things back. Right. On course.

Ryveann: (05:36)
Yeah. And I feel like too, like you’ve got now, like so many daughters and so you change when you like being a dad is also a huge component in, in life.

Paul: (05:45)
Huge. And so, so I found out, so not, I found out. So I again, I’ve been consuming a lot of content and the reason that he was taking helicopters. So a lot of people say, Oh, you know, that’s a sort of a rich person thing and all that. And then I guess, you know, it’s not, obviously if you’re taking a helicopter, it’s not, but it wasn’t private the while it was private, but there was a lot of people on board. And actually funny enough in Uber in Europe, I remember seeing those on your Uber app. You can order helicopters, which is, that’s just madness. But the reason he took the helicopter was so that he could do everything. So his take was, I will get to point a to B with the helicopter in 15 minutes.

Ryveann: (06:27)
Ya, like LA, the traffic there is stupid….

Paul: (06:30)
But that’s why. So for him it was about eliminating the time waste so he could get time with his family. So he would do training in the morning helicopter, then do all this media stuff and then he would heli, you know, you get back to pick up his kids and drive to get them. And he was like, that’s why he did it. And that’s why he took it. Again, it doesn’t, it’s not about excusing a not or explaining why he was in a helicopter or not. I mean, people travel all over the world all the time in helicopters from point a does it because it really does speed stuff up. This like the story sucks and it’s, you know it, you wake up today and it doesn’t matter how many days ago this has happened, it’s just like it’s heavy and it’s cause he’s young and because there were kids involved and because there was, you know what, another 50 60 years of his life still ahead. And I guess it’s a reflection time, you know, it seems to be also that time in the year where things were a little darker. It’s a little grayer. Everybody’s a little more like, okay, so now we’re going to do, you know, now we’re going to do the hard time of winter. That’s really what it is. This is that. Okay. Again gotta do February, March, it’s going to be, the weather is going to be odd everywhere in the world.

Ryveann: (07:40)
You’re already stuck inside listening to your own thoughts…

Paul: (07:40)
inside listening to the first half podcast….

Ryveann: (07:44)
Right? Poor souls!

Paul: (07:47)
So anyways, so I, so it’s just something that I know, again, it’s, it’s, it’s not football, um, focus conversation, but it’s major news. It’s a human that was very, you know, football minded, loved it. Um, super fan did play it and it doesn’t matter. It affected me and affected you and it effected as we can see a lot of people around the world. And so it’s, it’s an important thing to bring up and it’s important to sort of, uh, to recognize that I’ve never met him. I’ve only seen clips of him. I’ve grown up around him in the sense that he was on the TV but still affects me. And it’s, people don’t realize that all the time that how TV or media or things in front of you affect you …

Ryveann: (08:37)
Especially if you grew up with somebody like idolizing somebody and they really were a part of your life in your world somehow. Um, actually yesterday, uh, I didn’t actually get to open them, but I was, I, I, I saved the links. There was a few different psychologists all over talking about how it’s, it’s normal and okay to be grieving, um, for like star athletes or, uh, big people in the news

Paul: (08:59)
because you, you transit and you, and you, I think you, you absorb that and then you put your own personal stuff in it and that’s exactly what it is. And so that allows you, that’s why we’re talking about it. So it allows you to agree a little bit. It allows you to be like man. Okay. And then you sort of take stock, right. And that’s really what it is. So anyways, it’s, it’s a sad and, uh, you know, our, our feelings and thoughts go out to that family and all the other families that are dealing with this, this tragedy and, you know, I don’t know good vibes out in the universe to sort of, uh, flip the switch. He’s actually, um, a little bit in the football world. Uh, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth funds, which basically the government, Saudi government, uh, is looking to buy new castle United,…

Ryveann: (09:54)
It’s the crown Prince’s a investment fund.

(09:58)
Yeah. So basically what it is, you can call it whatever you want. It’s basically the country, the government, and they’re looking to buy a new castle for 45, 445 million sort of dollars or 340 a million pounds. And I mean, Newcastle’s been on the block forever. Um, it’s been ready for sale forever. And the question that I had to ask, I wanted to see if you, what you thought and I’d love later on if people want to chime in about this, is what does that mean for the club? What does that mean? I mean, forget like, yeah, they buy and they throw a lot of money and does it, is it a bigger deal? Is it a bigger deal when a country buys a club in another country? You know, it’s not, it’s not a private investor. It’s not like Coca Cola.

Ryveann: (10:41)
Yeah. I mean, uh, Abu Dhabi bought man city in 2008. They invested over like $1 billion now in infrastructure and the team. And I, I think that whether it’s a business or a person, it can, it can look bad one way or another too. It’s not like, it’s not like your team has been having the easiest of reputation with their, uh, your.

Paul: (11:07)
Our Russian superstar?

Ryveann: (11:08)
Not a great good look for like some, so he’s accused of a lot of wrongdoings. So whether it’s a country or a business or a single person. I think that at the end of the day, to me what really matters is that I think that whether it be the EPL or any other league or um, that if your country, your business, you as a person are under investigation in any way, shape or form for any human rights violations or like war crimes, I do not think you should be allowed to sell that to somebody that’s like under investigation Like the league should be like, no, any league should be like, no, you are the leading sport worldwide. I feel like you are some of the most influential things in the world. I don’t think you should be allowed to sell to….

Paul: (12:01)
It’s a tricky one because then you can go about the world cup.

Ryveann: (12:06)
I mean, …. ya…

Paul: (12:07)
I know, but it’s, it’s sort of, it all makes sense. Right? And it becomes a, it’s a, it’s a, it’s murky waters.

Ryveann: (12:16)
and it is business shell companies and anything could be, you know, but a lot of stuff that’s going on all the time. A.

Paul: (12:21)
And again, I’m not saying a pro or con, I’m just trying to get a conversation going.

Ryveann: (12:27)
Ya exactly….So that’s how I personally feel. Obviously there’s, like you said, there’s a lot of different ways of seeing. I mean, Abu Dhabi has done great things for Man City. So maybe if there’s a huge cash flow in for, uh, a Newcastle, that might mean great things for the community at the end of the day…That’s great

Paul: (12:50)
of course it will.

Ryveann: (12:52)
Exactly. But at the end of the day, I always feel like you need to moral and legal reasons behind it.

Paul: (12:58)
And then that goes for a lot of things. And I’m not, and I’m not, I’m not making light of it. I’m not making light of your answer. And I’m saying it’s one of those things where…

Ryveann: (13:06)
There’s a really dark tone on this episode.

Paul: (13:08)
It does, but so what, that’s what it is. But yeah, I agree. I know. I want to, you want to liven it up, you know, but it’s sorta, it is what it is for this month and this time. And there’s just, it’s just being one of those. Yeah, it does. We want me to tell you like it honestly …

Ryveann: (13:25)
Guys I don’t know if anyone knows but as we’re recording it is gray, rainy, slushy, gross. So that’s how we pretty much feel inside.

Paul: (13:32)
Yeah. And again, it’s just been a heavy couple of days, so it’s just, you know, what’s, at least we haven’t, you know, on the first step podcast we’re going to have an amazing, amazing, so that’s very exciting. And he’s a definitely energetic and smart as all hell. And it’s going to be, he’ll be the bright spot in today’s sort of,

Ryveann: (13:50)
I can’t wait!

Paul: (13:51)
Uh call outs because um, this isn’t our show without the call out. Part of this is the one, one of the things we’d like to do is call out an artist or a, a a fashion designer or a musician or just somebody that is doing something within the community of football or has some sort of link with a brand has done something really cool that I, that we’ve seen on, on social media or online somewhere that we really want to highlight. And so today we’re talking about Craig Green, so he’s a British fashion designer. This gentleman with the Copa Mondial shoe CoLab with Adidas that just showed in a Paris fashion week… Sick. Right. I mean that’s shoe culture and obviously football shoe culture in general is just obviously off the chain.

Ryveann: (14:41)
The colorful stitching really did it for me. Like it’s different. It’s nice.

Paul: (14:44)
Yeah. And the mic, I always love when football ends up in high fashion. That to me, I know at this point anyways, bleeds to get, let’s be honest, it’s all together street fashion from you know, Supreme and Louis and get like, it’s all, it’s done. It’s all mixed together. I think Dior and like jump man, like it’s, it’s all mixed

Ryveann: (15:05)
There was about 10 how many pairs? My gosh, there had to be at least 10 pairs of sneaks released at Paris fashion week for men like Dior collabs with um, Nike, like Jordan’s, a bunch of different stuff. Uh, I looked at them. I honestly was, um, Craig’s was definitely my favorite collab with Adidas was like the nicest, most stylish collab I saw so far.

Paul: (15:31)
So I would, I would suggest for anybody to take a look at Craig green and check out his page and he’s, his hearing. His fashion is definitely intense.

Ryveann: (15:41)
art exhibits all over the world too, in different museums.

Paul: (15:43)
They’re intense, I don’t think I could wear any of that, but the shoes I could see when people take a look, you’ll understand. Like this is square fabrics. This is some like hardcore flappy flap stuff, but it’s the shoes sick. Yeah. And so that’s how we’re bringing it up today. Um, and on that depressing note, but very exciting shoe conversation. Um, I think we definitely need to get to our guests. We’ve, we’ve transported in from around the world and we’ve managed to capture him for 10 minutes on his footballing voyage in the universe. Very exciting.

Ryveann: (16:21)
So let’s bring on Eli from Copa90. Talk to you guys next week. Bye.

Second Half

Paul: (16:50)
It’s the second part of the first half podcast, and we have a very special guest today, Eli, you are the man about town. You are mr football in a lot of people’s eyes. I’m telling you this, there’s a lot of people that think that you are somebody who knows a lot about the culture, but that you are parachuted into what it really means to understand the connection between culture and the game. In places all over the world. And so we’re super excited to have you. I don’t know how the hell you landed in Montreal and that you’re sitting here talking with us, which is fantastic and really is a, it’s a great, it’s great to have you here. And then more or less we want to talk to you about a little bit about you and what you’re doing and what you’re up to and some of the things that you’re, you’re working on, you’re about to, you know, come out with, are things in the past that really no turn you on. So maybe you could tell some people that don’t know who you are. Uh, a little bit about yourself, a little bit about your background.

Eli: (17:50)
Yeah. Um, okay. Well, uh, I’m a presenter and a director, a online series called Derby days. We’ve, I’ve actually got a couple of different series for a football network called COPA90. Uh, we basically believe that football is about more than the 90 minutes. We’ve been saying that for the last six and a half years now. We really, we would like to turn the cameras off the pitch and facing into the stands. I won a competition with them in May, 2013 to go to the Brazil confederations cup. They needed a new host. I made a video, but basically it was a worldwide search and I pitched it. I didn’t really care about sport. I care about how, how much, this is a, it’s not an anthropological study for me.

Paul: (18:25)
Does that go for all for all sport or ?

Eli: (18:27)
I don’t like any other sports? I really needed to stress that because lot of people, I’m like, I don’t care. I don’t like sports. I’m not watching football. I’m into film and music and other stuff. I don’t have time for other sports. Um, so that’s like, yeah. The first thing you need to get about me, I don’t, I don’t like football for sport. It is the most beautiful sport in the world. I adore the sport, but I don’t really, I don’t, when I watch the match, I watch honestly 10 minutes max. Unless Messi is playing , I don’t really don’t really care. But um, uh, so for me, um, I, I basically pitched that that on my bedroom walls there was no pictures of players that I don’t even know that many players. It’s all fans, fans from Sunderland fans, from Argentina, fans from Africa, Asia and every corner of the globe. Cause that’s where the games played and loved. And so that one with a job in Brazil that went well enough, I was there for five weeks. They flew me to England for the full time job. That was a series called Derby days where we went to the biggest Derbys. Uh, the first one was in, jeez, October, 2013 and since then, I mean that was a 10 minute episode. It’s now going to episodes that go for an hour long. The, you know, the match is only five minutes. We really delve into the culture of the places. Got another show called the real international break where we delve into the, the international break and why it’s so important. Maybe not in the big major European nations, but in places like we’ve done every continent. We’ve gone from ivory coast, Argentina to Costa Rica to jeez Japan, Bosnia, Montenegro, Mexico, and we go there. I’ve gotten that series and I’ve got a whole bunch of other little shows.

Paul: (19:58)
Is that, because in, in, in concerning that specifically that break, is that because it’s more of a, it’s a reset for all these countries or is it sort of a, it’s a moment in time where it’s because it’s sort of get their house in order now.

Eli: (20:09)
it’s because the world cup is the single most important social phenomenon of the modern age and it is a three year marathon to get there. And for a lot of countries you don’t understand it. And Canada is a fascinating example where it doesn’t matter yet, but for a lot of countries to get there, I mean the World Cup qualifiers are the most important football tournament in the world. Bar none more, more important than the tournament.

Paul: (20:31)
Is that because of financial reasons?

(20:33)
No not for financial reasons because again, the world cup is this most important social phenomenon of the modern age and everyone wants to be part of it. The World Cup qualifiers have started a war in 1969 between El Salvador and Honduras. The World Cup qualifies have stopped a civil war in the ivory coast in 2006 the world cup qualifiers affect economies. If your team qualifies, ask anyone in Italy ask any bar in Italy how much they were affected in 2018 with no football. Ask anyone anywhere. The World Cup qualifies a single handedly the most important football matches in general.

Paul: (21:07)
and that’s why that answer, that’s what that series is about.

Eli: (21:11)
We’re so obsessed with the money driven glamour of club football, but at the heart of what football is is players going back playing where they come from, the language they speak, the accents they have, the culture they understand and represented and taking their team. It’s a three year journey to play three games. The World Cup is only three games. The World Cup qualifies for me is there’d be old and indoor football. It is beyond money and club and it is just about literally like I’m from here, I play, you can buy anyone from anywhere. Now we all know as we all know that that’s how it works and that’s all well and good. But that’s not at the heart of football. Football is about for me supporting the football team is about where you come from. And so with club football where you can really pick any one and you can play for anyone, you can only play for where you come from for the vast majority of cases.

Paul: (21:53)
Those cases where you might say where there’s, there’s a young, there’s a youth player that uh, yeah, no, no, no. I know. But that’s, but that’s funny cause that’s something that’s, that’s becoming more and more prevalent with, with people having, you know, four nationalities playing time and then that opens up the door. Well I might play here, I might not. And then becomes the.

Eli: (22:12)
FIFAs really clamped down on that. And um, it was a problem in the, I’d say mid two thousands, but it’s really being clamped down upon.

Paul: (22:20)
Which is a good thing, right?

Eli: (22:21)
Yeah, definitely. Absolutely. But like again, that’s, that for me is like a blip on the, on the radar. of what the World Cup qualifiers are. For me, it’s like the most important thing ever.

Paul: (22:30)
So you’ve been to how many world cups?

Eli: (22:34)
2 only 2. I’ve done 80 countries in five years. I’ve done probably every league, every major league, most major second divisions as well done the world cup done the euros than the Asian cup.

Paul: (22:47)
Of all those major competitions. Is there one that you feel, uh, on a commercial versus cultural level hasn’t gotten too lost in the commercialization or is that an impossible because it really is money driven? I mean, it’s a business. I mean sport is business, right? So …

Eli: (23:04)
I’d say the world cup qualifiers again, but.

Paul: (23:07)
as raw as it can possibly be…

Eli: (23:09)
it’s just as genuine as can be because just the pie there, 11 people on that pitch come from a come from the same place. Everyone in the stands comes from.

Paul: (23:18)
and no matter where they’re from in the cities towns or whatever, they’re all coming together. For one common goal.

(23:23)
and they’re like giving up the, they’re like, it’s a bloody inconvenience. Like having to go in the Argentine episode, one of the fans says it like Neymar has pushy private jets from Balsa. Okay but when he was in Balsa or when he’s in Paris to go down to Nant to go down to Marceil to go up to Lil, it’s you have to fly to Ecuador and place 6,000 feet in the air. You have to, you have to have army surround the new because they want intimidates you in this shithole stadiums where the fans can literally touch you and you have to do that to get, to earn the right to make a world cup and every nation has to do it. And you know, 2022 it goes, starts such three years earlier. For me, it’s the most fascinating thing. Like it started with Butan playing Sri Lanka a year ago. The World Cup qualifiers for 2022 Canada kicks off next in March, 2020 it’s a two, it’s a three year tournament again. The Premier League you play in a league, you don’t win. Oh, we’ve got, next year …NO you miss out, you have to wait another seven years.

Paul: (24:19)
But as America, England, or any of these teams, uh, or Germany, are they getting any of these stadiums in any of these games where they’re, it’s not like in Latin America where they’re playing, right.

Eli: (24:32)
but they still sell out every game because football is so loved there. But they don’t, it’s more of a general, like we’re going just to watch it, but we know we’re going to qualify, but right. Look at American man. They lost in some shit hole stadium… Can, I swear? Some shit. Whole stadium in, in Trinidad, they’ve got knocked out. They got knocked out by Trinidad. It’s, it’s fascinating because it’s like, it is, we keep a slog. No one has the right to go to a walkup. Liverpool, Everton, Arsenal. Everyone has is in the premier league every year. You just, thereby, you’re just there. That’s your business. That’s your job, that’s your job, that’s your job. No one’s allowed. Not as much. That’s the job though. But the clubs are just there by default. You need 20 clubs that every time and no one has to qualify except for the, let’s say the three teams to championship. But the world cup, besides the host, everyone has to do a three year slog in random countries, in awful conditions, in two games in a week in between club to get there. And so hence, huge teams like the United States miss out the United States missed out on the world cup. Italy missed out on the world cup. Argentina qualified by the skin of their teeth.

Paul: (25:34)
Dutch keep missing.

Eli: (25:35)
Dutch keep misisng but they’re back in now and they’re going to win. You heard it here first. Dutch are gonna win the euros.

Paul: (25:41)
Is what you’re calling.

Eli: (25:42)
I call it. They’re so good and it’s so good. I think so here.

Paul: (25:47)
Ok we heard it here first. That’s fantastic. We’ll put that. All right. Amazing. So it’s really something like that. Um, yeah. Okay. Um, what, what got you in this, I mean, were you studying in school and anthropology? Were you, were you in, in the field that turned you into film and then got you filming the football? Like, I mean, what was the, what was the path? Did you play football?

Eli: (26:10)
No.I played sport. I played a lot of like indigenous sports to Australia by the spoken AFL. So unique. Um, I was balled up and raised on AFL. There’s no football on my family. Like real football. I used to hate football. I used to call it soccer. And then, um, ah, it’s really long. So how much time you have, but basically like again, I was always fascinated with the world and travel and I was obsessed of America. And with the NBA and this and this. And then in Australia, football’s on an absurd hours. The best football, the European football, the world cup. Right. But in 2002, when I was 11, the world cup was, uh, the world cup was in Japan and Korea, which meant 4:00 PM. I just flipped on. It’s a longer story than that. There’s a mate of mine. He, um, there’s a couple of cool kids who I knew who liked soccer and I could never understand why they liked the stupid sport. Again, I’d been brainwashed myself cause like, cause your parents, my parents, but my grandfather got frostbite at a Dortmund game sport in his local team or compared to German like so it’s like actually football was always in my blood. I just didn’t find out till later. But um,

Paul: (27:08)
did you dive into that? Did you actually go check out on that lineage and see.

Eli: (27:11)
yeah, I checked. It was really cool. Um, but uh, the point was the walkup came around and I always go back to like, I’ll never forget like the first game Senegal beat France. And I remember this kid who I thought was really cool. His dad rocked up outside. We had like a school dance get in the car Senegal’s beating in France and I was like, and he just jumped in the cars like sending goes before what even is a synagogue? Is that a dish? I don’t even know what synagogue was. I’m like, if it means so much to this kid who I think is cool in his family, I went home and watched it. I remember the news the next day, Senegal beat France and the opening game, it was a national holiday and for me who wasn’t really into, I was always in the sport for social reason. I was like, wait, how can one game mean a national holiday? Like no one goes to work. No other sport has that, let alone for one game they didn’t even win anything. They just won the game. And then from that day on, I said like from that day, you know you got 31 days of football and I watched every game and for me the moment when a Brazilian who plays for a French team, scoring against English team in Korea, sold out stadium and I’m Australians in here like, and then next hop they got, who’d they play next? Turkey. I think it’s like, it was just like all at once. It’s like this is the world in one cultural movement. This is all I want in life.

Paul: (28:21)
One in, in one tight space in one moment.

Eli: (28:24)
And that was, I never looked back. And then, um, yeah, I was studying, uh, I was actually studying from television and uh, fashion journalism. And then I won. Right.

Paul: (28:36)
And then they just threw you into what you’re doing?

Eli: (28:37)
got the job and got the visa.

Paul: (28:39)
You have any hobbies, anything?

Eli: (28:44)
Again, a lot of people surprised, like, I don’t really like to talk about football too much on the weekends. Like I didn’t go to games and stuff like that cause it’s my work. It’s like,

Paul: (28:50)
well, you’re there. It’s like people that are working pubs and restaurants normally don’t go out. They’ve had enough. They spend all their time there. Right.

Eli: (28:57)
It’s so true. So I, I’m really into my music. I’m into my film, music.

Paul: (29:01)
Anything special film recently that, uh, caught your fancy. That’s a, that’s a blockbuster or something that’s indie. You don’t do, you don’t do, you don’t do star Wars and the Avengers.

Eli: (29:13)
fucking hate that stuff much to my flatmates chagrin. No, but it’s like each to their own mate. That’s our thing. But now I’m into my dramas and yeah. Cliche in the economy. I’m a film student. So French Film, Xavier Dolan, we’re in Montreal. Okay. One of my heroes. Was filming here.

Paul: (29:35)
It’s amazing. Yeah. Yeah. Music. What do you got? What are you listening to right now? Something that’s a old school, new school, stuff that you love right away. That pops in your head right away.

Eli: (29:44)
well, it’s in the air, uh, you get emotional. but like, uh, I’m also listening to like Thom York, the latest Tommy York album.

Paul: (29:53)
Do you go to concerts since you’re a music guy?

Eli: (29:58)
I don’t really have time, but like constantly going to like football matches. So a million percent when I get time.

Paul: (30:06)
But would that be something that you might look into doing? Sort of what you do with Copa 90 and maybe move that into either music or film and sort of a behind the scenes sort of,

Eli: (30:17)
I won’t be doing football forever. Just like right now.

Paul: (30:19)
it’s one of, it’s one of, it’s one of your many pieces. Nobody ever does anything forever.

Eli: (30:24)
That’s true. Adam does wildlife.

Paul: (30:27)
Okay. There’s a few people that are definitely, you know, that’s their thing.

Eli: (30:31)
My big thing is I just want to start up as a like this football, it’s like, it’s like a conscious enough like I don’t really like, I think football is amazing, but like this modern love football, I love how much other people like football. I don’t really like, I think that was everything. But I also like, I don’t have a team. everyone’s always like, you can’t be suitable for it. I’m like, well no. I’m like, actually I’m such a big fan that I can’t have a team cause I fucking just love it all.

Paul: (30:57)
I totally respect that. That’s very, that’s, I would almost think that would have to be the stance you have to take while you’re parachuting around in all these locations.

Eli: (31:05)
For my safety alone..

Paul: (31:07)
I mean, you just can’t support so-and-so while you’re, well, we’re not going to talk to you. We’re not going to hang out with you. Yeah, that’s totally, that’s amazing, huh? Yeah. So listen, one of the main themes on this show and sort of that surrounds us is North America and can North Americans really taking what it means to be a football fan, a soccer fan. Will the sport grow in the same respects as it’s grown all over the world or the way it is seen? And, um, and it’s embedded in the communities all over the world because North America and North Americans, you know, not native to these lands are relatively new and hockey. Let’s use hockey as an example in Montreal and Toronto. In Canada, let’s just say that’s the sport. It doesn’t matter what you, we can get into the stats and other time. But people you know, keep using, and we’ve used it on the show as well, that there’s more Canadian boys and girls playing soccer, you know, but the new immigration and it’s just, it’s an easier sport to play. It’s cheaper to play so and so forth. But that doesn’t change the fact that culturally you’re still not seeing cars with stickers. That’s, you know, with their clubs. People aren’t getting tattooed, aren’t wearing the jerseys, aren’t watching them as much all over the city. Don’t shut down for big games. Like my question is there might, there are some cities, again, like I’m, I’m not trying to, I’m just, I’m talking to you in a general, I’m not saying it’s not crazy in LA or in Seattle or in Montreal or in, I’m just saying that in general it’s not, when you watch the news, sports news or news, it’s never brought up. It’s never brought up. It football is not put in into the sports pack unless one of the teams has gone far enough that they have to make mention.

Eli: (32:57)
I follow. I follow North American soccer very, very closely, very closely. Right. Everything you said I a hundred percent get what you’re saying and that is just the fact that like when you’ve got the fabric of a culture it is just going to take, it is going to take literally generations for that to be like for the news caster who is still 46 years old. He probably can’t even pronounce, you know, half the names of the names on the team. Right. Um, so like it’s like it’s going to be a generation thing and yes you are. It’s not, it’s not mainstream yet, but it is a bourgeoning niche. Online, there is probably just as much talk about in Australia, right? For instance, the slope, the newspaper, we don’t get enough coverage. I’ve just done a two page thing. It’s going viral on Twitter right now where basically in newspaper they did the decade of women’s sport and how much it’s arisen and how amazing it’s been, they did the AFL, they did the cricket, they did the rugby, all these other stupid Australian sports. The, arguably the best footballer in Australia and the best people in Australia, and I could be the best female football in the world is Sam Kerr who’s an Aussie. She’s just signed for Chelsea thinks in Brazilians, might know. I’d say most people online right now it says the best footballer in women’s game. She is absolutely everything. She’s Nike’s highest paid athlete in Australia in general of any sport. She is. She is amazing. She didn’t even make it to the pages like it’s actually insane. It was a two page spread on women, female athletes on the rise, she’s the biggest, she’s arguably the biggest female footballer on the pitch. Obviously she’s not a Rapinoe and rightfully so, but she, Chelsea just signed her…She’s, I think she’s the highest paid footballer in the world right now. Female footballer with this new Chelsea deal and she didn’t get mentioned.

Paul: (34:30)
And that’s equated because the sport itself is not,

Eli: (34:33)
Traditional powerhouses still don’t accept it but those people are dying out now. Whilst they don’t, can’t compete in the traditional outlets on the traditional outlets, online football. I mean it’s not just local football that, um, trans as much as any other sport. It’s the prem. It’s the champions league. Right. I said there’s certain facets. There’s three things. For me, it’s migration. Okay. It’s the internet because in the old days, let’s say it’s the 90s and you’re in Montreal,

Paul: (35:00)
you can’t watch any college that I used to have to drive up Saint Catherine street to a bar that would record them on DVDs. I would leave my job, like I would leave my shift, I would get in a car, I would go up and in this back room, so sketch, you would call them up the day before, say, are you going to have the England match? Or we would have whatever the football is that you want. There was a couple of guys that knew about this and you would say, I want that game. You would pay for this DVD. You are, you’re obviously not getting to, you wouldn’t getting updates. Right. There was no way to find out what you could, I mean you could find out, but you really, it easy not to today. You have to shut off everything in the world and put on blue blockers to not get your answer. Drive up, get that DVD, get your food, you get home and you just sit there and watch. It was so amazing,

Eli: (35:48)
but who was recording it.

Paul: (35:50)
They would in this back room of this pub. They had about maybe 50, uh, recorders recording all these games for different people and they were just churning out. It was crazy.

Eli: (36:00)
But kids these days they don’t know the struggle. haha!

Paul: (36:03)
The kids. No, but that’s the, but you’re right. And this is where you’re going with this, right?

(36:09)
It’s migration. And that’s the number one thing which is converting everyone. Everywhere you go, the game, FIFA, every kid plays it. It’s the easiest game to play. Every kid whose dad tells him that’s a game for whatever. Some of you is obsessed with it because again, I’ve always said this for people like business. If you’re into sport, football is for you. There’s no, I’m not into football. No, no, no. You just don’t under, you just haven’t learned what football can give you. You haven’t found Avenue, whether it’s on the pitch and beautiful passes may be like, I like contact. Well then maybe you should see what happens off the pitch in some places. People can follow for all different reasons, not just for the sport, whether it’s aggression, whether it’s the, the, the tactics of Italy, whether it’s the physicality of this. There’s so many footballers and no one can. It’s on a model. It’s not one thing. So therefore if you’re into sports and everything you love about what, give me your sport, I’ll find that in football and it’s tenfold. The most of them comes down to the passion, feeling like you’re part of something football. Nothing will make you feel like you’re part of more than a world cup or champions league final or whatever. So it’s just like a lie. Just you’re be an ignorant, but they used to be able to contain the ignorance. You can’t contain the ignorant stuff for the next generation.

Paul: (37:11)
I think that, I think, at least for me, most people that I’m speaking to when I speak to them about, yeah, I’m not so into it or I’m kind of into it ….

Eli: (37:18)
How old are they though?

Paul: (37:18)
their thirties forties but they’re not willing to do the 90 minutes and they can’t stand the flip flopping. They can’t stand and do they do zero, zero. I know, but it’s something. So this all goes back to your three staples. Your three pillars of what you’re saying is part of these are things that suck if you don’t want to let it in. If you don’t want to let football in and you don’t want to see it in those, in the, in, in those different veins and those different paths that you, you mentioned you’re not getting into it because the, the larger media at hand isn’t feeding it to you either. Yeah. Right. And that, so that’s part of it. But that’s maybe a part of why it might or might grow. I know this is what I’m trying.

Eli: (38:04)
to an extent, but I still think that like the young generation it is because the younger generation aren’t reading the news. Younger generation are online. Every single rapper is wearing a football kit right now.

Paul: (38:13)
Crazy. Like I, it’s blowing my mind.

(38:16)
It’s, it’s, it is mainstream for the younger audience and this whole like again, I used to argue with them, the icons and there’s no, no, I bet you love baseball. I bet you love cricket or whatever sport you into. Again, like whatever fault you find in football or I’ll find it in your sport or whatever you love about your sport. I’ll find it in football so maybe they haven’t, it hasn’t been passed down. It’s, but it hasn’t been passed down. It doesn’t pass down or they choose an ignorance. Again, I was someone who hated it for ever. I can’t tell you how people come up to me Ozzy’s here. Like I used to think you were crazy, like how much you hate other sports in Australia and how much you just think you’re a conspiracy theorist. But I realized like how much shoved on me. The hate this game, the, the terminology we use, you know, I, it’s a very deep conversation, but the most popular book our kind of hero of football or soccer in Australia was a guy called Johnny Warren who both for the 1974 team, his biography of bestseller, one of the most loaded books, it was called Sheilas, Wogs and Poofters cause that was the name of the sport for football. No offense. That’s how they, that’s how, and that was the terms. Yeah. So Sheila’s the term for a woman, wogs was a derogatory term for people from a post world war countries and poofters…. We all know what that is. And it was like you play that sport for them. And so he made that his book, he is our icon. He is our Pele is our everything and he fought for our game. And you know, people now wear that shirt with pride and say, yeah it is that it’s for all of those people and everyone else. And it was, you know, they used to cut up glass, you put them on floor, this on the pitch. They, there has been deals done, backroom deals done by other leagues to make sure football gets pushed down and doesn’t get seen because people, again, if you’re smart, if you’re are smart and you work in the sports business, you understand like we can compete with all these other sports. We cannot, it’s no coincidence that football is only ever only getting bigger and other countries it’s popular… and in what I like to call third world football in nations like Australia, New Zealand, America and Canada. It’s the fastest growing sport and you’re like, you’re just like, again, I’m really, I’ve told you, I’m really indicated in soccer. I think it’s a, I think it’s the most fascinating story because it is the, it is. It’s this, it is stupid. What? This country can’t even make the hex. It is stupid. I love it when I’m like, like there’s no excuse. There’s no, there isn’t.

Paul: (40:26)
. Well, I’m going to give you one. The CSA, listen to me, the governing body of Canadian football has to be reconfigured.

Eli: (40:37)
Why?

Paul: (40:38)
Everything has to be reconfigured. The way the money comes from the government, the way that money gets distributed to, no, you’re already shaking your head?

Eli: (40:44)
El Salvador was a third world war torn country. I’ve had this argument with everyone. There’s, there’s no, there’s no reason to not, not only have you not made the walk up since I think it’s 82, you haven’t made the hex since I think, I think it was the 2002. It’s an absolute anomily. Normally the ones I hear is the weather. Iceland qualified ….I’m going to give you the ones I hear by Canadians …You’ve got three MLS teams, two of which have the, in the top 10 attendances, uh, in the MLS. Toronto FC are the Bashan of soccer culture, and now they’re fantastic on the pitch and off the pitch. You’ve got, you’ve got you’re quite a well at worlds. You’re got your country with money. You’ve got the facilities. Sure. The weather excuse doesn’t work. The money excuse doesn’t work. The soccer culture. That excuse doesn’t work. You’ve got that money.

Paul: (41:32)
Excuse me. The excuse can be an issue then if it doesn’t get fed around properly,

Eli: (41:36)
how to Trinidad and Tobago?

Paul: (41:38)
Trinidad Tobago is taking part of their GDP. They’re taking their bigger chunk of this cash and they’re putting it towards football.

Eli: (41:44)
I say this allegedly Trinidad to Tobago, arguably the most corrupt football organization in the world. Hence they’re run by Jack Warner.

Paul: (41:49)
He had a problem.

Eli: (41:52)
I’m telling you, you’ve got Vanuwatu made it to, there is no excuse that they can’t even make it to the hex. Canada have Alfonso in the last qualifies.

Paul: (42:02)
So then maybe it’s just time.

Eli: (42:06)
No, no. What I’m trying to say though is the reason I’m so fascinated by Canada is because it is a complete anomaly in the, in the world football. You’ve got this first world country with an incredible migration from all around football nations with a football culture, with the facilities, and they can’t even make it to the like the playoffs.

Paul: (42:23)
I’m going back only to Trinidad because this is what you brought up. What is the main sport? They’ll talk about there.

Eli: (42:28)
cricket.

Paul: (42:30)
and then.

Eli: (42:31)
soccer.

Paul: (42:32)
Right. Here? Canada. What’s the first?

Eli: (42:35)
Hockey.

Paul: (42:36)
Second?

Eli: (42:36)
Probably basketball a moment maybe.

Paul: (42:40)
Third?

Eli: (42:40)
CFL.

Paul: (42:41)
American NFL. ..then CFL…then Baseball.

Paul: (42:46)
Yeah. Then soccer.

Eli: (42:47)
Cool. New Zealand rugby, right? Cricket, right. Rugby league. Probably netball.

Paul: (42:53)
Soccer doesn’t, soccer doesn’t go before netball?

(42:55)
Not, New Zealand’s really big. Really, really big. Okay. Let’s go three again. They still made it to a walk up in 2010 again, you can’t even make it to the hex. It’s actually insane. Again, look at the women’s team. Look at the women’s team. Fantastic. Incredible. Yeah. Incredible. Incredible. Christine Sinclair. High school school and woke up is to, they’re brilliant.

Paul: (43:16)
They’re super fun to watch.

Eli: (43:17)
So. Exactly. So again, you can’t have a successful team. And I get, I’m not blaming, I’m sure my whole thing is like, I think [inaudible] and I’m not defending Canadian soccer, but it is just this insane anomaly that you’ve got a team that is so object objective, objectively, objectively hopeless. Like you beat the States the other day. That was impressive, but six months ago, because a lot of Canadians…. I think it’s fascinating. I think it’s, I want to follow them. I’m pitching a documentary about following them for March, when before that in the gold cup, I think it was your lowest ever moment in the gold cup. You are knocked out in the group stage by Haiti. Haiti. Yeah. You want to talk about money? , I don’t think it’s anything. I think it’s sometimes you just got to go. I would say it’s kinda like spurs. It’s like what the fuck? Just handle it like we, it’s like the Canadian national team is truly one of the most, it’s like the Cubs in baseball before they want it. They’re like, sure. It’s almost like there’s a curse like,

Paul: (44:13)
and they just have to break that once.

Eli: (44:14)
They just have to break that again. But I find that fascinating, so I’ve always followed it and I, I think Canada is a really fascinating example because it’s like by all accounts, Canada should have a really, really big football coach and we’ve seen it from Vancouver, the Whitecaps TFC. Again, Montreal impact. You’ve got Thierry Henry now coaching, you’ve got.

Paul: (44:31)
we’re talking about three markets in a giant country. Right. That’s not going to be your answer for Canada to make the,

(44:38)
yeah, but it’s, it’s got to be better. You’ve got to make the hex the heck. Did you get what I’m saying? The hex, I already got USA, Mexico, Costa Rica. They’re your three big boys. Then you’ve got probably Jamaica. Okay. Maybe you still got two more. And those two are boys, Honduras and Panama. Panama has come up. But what I’m saying is like, it’s like there’s just, I remember w was it the one before that? 2014 where basically the only way you weren’t going to make it is if you lost five nil and then you went and lost five nil to someone. Like it was like what is wrong with this team? And like we were sitting, hold on hold on, remember what happened at the pub the other morning? Who’s the coach of Canada’s national team? All three of you. You and the two others?

Paul: (45:17)
I got it.

Eli: (45:18)
No you didn’t.

Paul: (45:19)
I said John Herdman right away.

Eli: (45:20)
No, you didn’t.

Paul: (45:20)
it took me two minutes. I didn’t look it up. I, it came into my head remembering you said, who said that? And I said, okay, give me some credit.

Eli: (45:27)
I’ll give you some but It took you two minutes. Every other country if I ask what’s your national team coach? Boom. What do you mean? I mean, we can do that. We can do this 10 and 11 it’s insane. Like no one knows. It’s not a go at you cause I know how much you love and watch football.

Paul: (45:40)
I get it.

Eli: (45:42)
if anything it’s more of a sign of like people who are….

(45:46)
I know but I that’s part of the way we ingest football and it’s the way that we look at other stuff in Europe. Okay. Myself, so while I’m in America,

(45:57)
most American soccer fans are still obsessed with Europe as well.

Paul: (45:59)
Absolutely. But you see what they do EPL in the USA, those big jams.

(46:03)
I’m saying is there is no other country on earth who probably doesn’t know the national team coach straight away or can’t name the sudden 11 especially big soccer fans. I think Canadians have to ask themselves a question like why don’t we get behind our national like I think there’s, like I’m saying, it’s an anomaly. I literally think if you gave me 99% of countries, everyone who is into football in that country can tell you their coach and Canada is the only one. A I’m not questioning your knowledge of football, It’s more like Canadian football fans, why aren’t you obsessed with your national, there is something completely absurd. Unlike any other country and you should, you guys should be so proud. You’re so diverse. I Alfonzo Davies, the keeper from Serbia.

Paul: (46:48)
Here’s my question. North America, is football culture going to be what it’s like around the world? Is It just a matter of time.

Eli: (46:54)
No, no, no, no. It won’t. But it will be its own thing and it’d be its unique thing, right? You can’t, because the way North Americans consume sport, right? You call your clubs franchises and you think it’s okay to move cities and you don’t, you can’t understand… What about the fact that like sitting to get like people in, in England, like the concept of you sitting together is unheard of. You people think I’m joking. I’m like, you will be arrested if you celebrate and you’re not in that end in most cases. It’s unheard of like no, no, you’re the away fans. That is actually your section. It’s tribal. It really is trible and it’s becoming less and less because believe it or not, football is going the way of the Americans because that’s where money is or the North Americans where it’s more a commercialized at the end of the day it’s, and it had to be because it was the 80s were out out of hand, however much. There were parts that I enjoyed. It was out of hand. Yeah, but like Americans like can’t conceive like they do that. Like you can be in trouble if you walk down the wrong street. People would tell me, red Sox, Yankees, come on man. It’s like, no, like it’s been, I’ve been places where, I mean like it’s truly like you will be arrested if you wear those colors in the city center that day. Like people don’t understand. However is in Europe, it’s Europe, South America. Parts of Africa, Asia even you’re on. But it can never be because, and in many ways it’s good. It’s nice, it’s nice that you can sit there but in many ways you miss out because when you’re sitting there and like I just, it’s just like I said, that’s why I only watch football because it’s like, I like the tribalism. I don’t like violence. But I like the tribalism. I like this feeling of it’s like us vs you and like us in this block can affect the game because we are all one and you in that tiny block can all affect one and that’s an and change the holdup. And until you’re calling your Clubs franchises and you’re like doing what you do, it’s just, it is what it is. You know to each their own.

Paul: (48:39)
All right, here’s what we’re going to do. 12 questions, it’s going to be rapid fire very quick. Super fun. Super easy stuff. So 12 questions we’re going to down you answer. Okay. What’s your favorite sport?

Eli: (48:58)
Football.

Paul: (49:01)
What song or band would you want blasting as you walk into a stadium as you enter?

Eli: (49:11)
Uh, this song called Forza pick Kia fossa. Piquillo from Moscow leads for YouTube and it’s amazing. It’s a song that’s a team in Mark in Italy. It’s, they, they sing this one song, and everyone bounces. SHA LA LA LA LA.

Paul: (49:25)
Favorite footy or sport team,

Eli: (49:30)
Australian national team. I can Name the coach If anyone wants to know….

Paul: (49:36)
Favorite athlete. Dead or alive.

Eli: (49:40)
Oh, I mean, again, it’s like saying like…

Paul: (49:43)
Favorite athlete dead or alive?

Eli: (49:47)
As a footballer, it’s Messi, but as a, because he is unheard of but to me personally, Mark Bresciano.. But Messi he’s not even an athlete. He’s an alien. So …Mark Bresciano

Paul: (50:04)
Favorite breakfast item?

Eli: (50:06)
Fruit loops with cold milk. I wasn’t allowed as a kid.

Paul: (50:17)
Favorite drink? Alcoholic or non alcoholic.

Eli: (50:19)
Oh, that’s interesting. Um, it’s really lame. Like, Oh, things like classic Coke with ice. It sounds random. I know. Like talking about something that’s like …

Paul: (50:31)
It’s the world’s drink! Tea or coffee?

Eli: (50:32)
Oh, coffee.

Paul: (50:34)
Dream trip. If you haven’t already taken it.

Eli: (50:37)
I’ve taken it. Brazil world cup. So it was so cool. Yeah.

Paul: (50:41)
Favorite condiment.

Eli: (50:44)
That’s a great question!, Uh, chimichurri.

Paul: (50:50)
Oh yeah? Good. Pretty good. Yeah. Fantastic. Alright. Pajamas or no pajamas?

Eli: (50:57)
Yeah. Don’t worry about it man. But pajamas, the subject. What does the pajamas [inaudible] means? Are you in the nude or nude? But I’ve got like, yeah, not with pajamas. It’s like fully kit and some basketball shorts.

Paul: (51:09)
I didn’t ask what. Okay, so not the birthday suit. Favorite social media to look at or watch right now. Either sports or not sports or something.

Eli: (51:19)
It’s always Twitter. So it’s sort of, it’s a problem. Yeah. I don’t really, I could delete everything but Twitter is fucking addictive. It’s political.

Paul: (51:26)
Superstition. You have one?

Eli: (51:31)
Yes. Many.

Paul: (51:32)
Give me one.

Eli: (51:34)
Uh nah, it’s personal. I’ve got too many superstitions

Paul: (51:43)
Okay. Uh, soccer. You calling it soccer or football?

Eli: (51:48)
Football till I die but I always make an exception here.

Paul: (51:51)
You can’t ….do you …football till you die. That’s good. Yeah. Okay. I really appreciate it. We really appreciate it. This was absolutely, we could have talked for hours and hours…

Eli: (52:00)
Lets do it again sometime.

Paul: (52:00)
Absolutely. I really appreciate your time on this.

Eli: (52:03)
I feel like we barely scratched,

Paul: (52:04)
and there’s about a thousand things you talked about I wanna dive right into, it was greatly appreciated man.

Eli: (52:09)
What you’re doing is really special with all of you guys and it’s really special. It’s cool man. It’s like, it’s guys like you Paul and girls like you Ryv who are going to really like change the game and like this is a long, this is a long term project. I know stuff like this. It’s gonna inspire the next gen. and make people feel it. So you guys should be really proud. An honor man. Like I love the city as you know. So like I’ll be back in. I’d love to do part two.

(52:30)