Welcome back to Business English Pod. With the World Cup underway, we’re taking another look at one of our lessons on English idioms related to football.

People have been competing in and watching some form of sports for thousands of years. Sports enduring popularity has helped it grow into a $2.3 trillion a year industry. And it’s expected to just keep on growing.

Among all sports, there’s one that is far and away the most popular, and that’s football, or soccer. Almost half the global population counts themselves as fans of the sport. So it’s no wonder that something this popular has impacted the English language.

Listen to any conversation in a sales meeting, around the water cooler, in the boardroom, or over drinks between colleagues and you’re guaranteed to hear idioms related to football. These idioms are so common that most people don’t think for a second about where they came from. They’re just a natural part of everyday language.

In today’s dialog, we’ll rejoin Marilyn and Karl, two colleagues at a publishing firm. They are talking about Karl’s interest in a job at the company’s Sydney branch. Karl is hoping Marilyn can help him decide whether to apply for the job.

Listening Questions

1. How does Karl’s wife feel about moving to Sydney?

Download: Podcast MP3>>>