First Touch '26

February 19, 2026 — Newsletter #24

Introducing First Touch Weekly:

Today is the introduction of Kickback Soccer Media’s First Touch Weekly, our premium 2026 World Cup podcast, covering the biggest stories across global soccer—from players and matches to politics, culture, host cities, the fan experience, and beyond. Hosted by Susannah Fuller and David Gass alongside a rotating cast of journalists and experts, the show delivers smart, inclusive analysis and deep dives into everything shaping the road to and through the FIFA World Cup 2026—and continues beyond the tournament as a weekly destination for what’s next in the global game.

This week’s episode dives deep on the talks of 2026 boycott with Alex Abnos, the little known “almost” of a 1986 World Cup in the U.S. with Michael Lewis, and the case of the fake gold medals for a South Korean soccer team.

Listen here (Apple) or here (Spotify) or wherever you find your podcasts!

Remembering a Random World Cup Legend Every Week:

Uruguay’s Sebastian Abreu! A panenka to qualify for the World Cup? That’s legendary.

Headlines :

The biggest story of the week is the dire financial crisis facing the 2026 World Cup.

Yes, you read that right…a financial crisis? How is the most lucrative event in human history suffering from a cash problem. Well, FIFA makes pretty much all of the money from the World Cup, while host cities are responsible for everything from security to transportation improvements. 

Those costs number in the tens of millions for every city, and the local organizing committees are provided limited commercial inventory to sell to offset those costs. Here are examples:

• Foxboro, MA is refusing to sign licenses for the World Cup matches at Gillette Stadium and threatening to cancel them due to an unpaid $8m security bill.
• Kansas lawmakers are reviewing a State of Disaster decleration. Yes, Kansas thinks they need to declare a state of disaster to acquire the necessary funding for infrastructure spend through federal dollars. 

We sure hope the lasting legacy for the 2026 World Cup isn’t the dichotomy between tickets so expensive locals can’t go to the match, and infrastructure costs so onerous cities can’t pay for them.

What we can get excited about is more announcements of national team training camps!

• Ivory Coast will base camp at the Philadelphia Union’s facilities in Chester, PA.
• The Tartan Army will descend upon Charlotte to catch a glimpse of their heroes on the Scottish national team. 
• Australia has selected the Oakland Roots/Soul’s facility.

Tickets:

The final FIFA lotteries are over, as are the series of various bank special offers.

Good news, though. The exclusive ticket windows were so limited in supply that banks like Chase Sapphire are giving points to customers who complain about the promotion.

Newsletter Halftime: Let's Do Some Trivia!

A medal switcheroo and a curse for South Korea that puts the Curse of the Bambino to shame. From this week’s First Touch Weekly, South Korea’s fake medal scandal that has cursed the team for decades:

A Thing We're Excited About:

The Round of 32!

Yes, we know this is new and perhaps seems excessive. We ask you, however, the following — what is your favorite round of the NCAA Tournament?

For us, nothing beats a number one seed going down against an eight or a nine, and the endless slate of do-or-die matches.

We can’t wait to see whether France and Argentina can hold off plucky teams from around the World as they get their best chance ever of taking down a giant.

No better place to introduce this round than in the U.S…

A Way Too Early Ranking of Upsets to Watch:

5. Argentina

4. Brazil

3. Spain

2. France

1. England (of course, they’re the whole reason we did this list)

Road to '26:

Brazil, France, Croatia, Colombia…you don’t have to wait until the summer to see the world’s best play in the U.S.! 

Road to ‘26 kicks off this summer with the best players in the world competing on your doorstep. 

Go to Roadto26.com to sign up and get early updates around upcoming match announcements and pre-sales, and to purchase for March’s matches.

Don’t sell your car for a soccer ticket this summer. See the world’s best play in Road to ‘26!

• You can listen here on your preferred platform in our “Kickback ‘26” feed found on our Linktree here.
• Follow us on Bluesky, Instagram, TikTok or YouTube @firsttouchksm
• Find our links at kickbacksoccer.com!