Beyond The 11

Pay to play is not going to change the game in the US. Over the next four Tuesdays, four guests tell us what might.

Shaun Harris and Kevin Meredith preview the Season 1 guest series: former USMNT head coach Steve Sampson, youth development pioneer Tom Byer, brand strategist Misha Sher and ESPN and Soccer America journalist Scott French. Each guest leaves a question for the next.

New episodes every Tuesday from October 13. Extended conversations on YouTube at @SGP_id11.

Presented by ID11 and the ScoreUSA Foundation. Recorded at the Leatherby Center, Chapman University.

Show notes timestamps

• 00:09
   Season One, Part B: Introducing the guest series
• 00:50
   Steve Sampson: U.S. soccer history, the World Cup, and what comes next
• 02:26
   Tom Beyer: Youth development, culture, and building technical foundations early
• 05:20
   Misha Shear: Athlete branding, ownership, and empowerment
• 06:55
   Scott French: Sports journalism, storytelling, and the shift from print to digital
• 08:30
   How the four guest conversations connect
• 09:44
   Looking ahead: Season Two and a more global view of the game

The best American players aren't always the ones ending up in MLS academies. Shaun Harris and Kevin Meredith on what World Cup 2026 leaves behind for the United States, Canada and Mexico. Accountability, affordability and access. Pulisic's path abroad. Donovan and Howard on pay to play. And where the World Cup hospitality money should really go.

Extented version : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvkkJMjAVEs&t=192s

Want the rest of the conversation? The Full 11, our extended cut, is on YouTube. Next week: former US Men's National Team head coach Steve Sampson.

Presented by ID11 and the ScoreUSA Foundation. Recorded at the Leatherby Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Ethics, Chapman University.

Instagram: @SGP_id11 | @id11_media

SHOW NOTES :

Mbappé finished the tournament on 22 career World Cup goals. Messi finished on 21. The Messi and Ronaldo argument is over, and Shaun Harris and Kevin Meredith spend eleven minutes on what replaced it.

Position by position through the best eleven players of WC26, with a verdict on each: buy, sell or hold. Spain's record defence, Argentina's silent final, Rodri leaving Manchester City for Barcelona, Mourinho's first season back at Real Madrid, and why a competent number nine now costs a hundred million.

The extended cut, covering the eleven under-23 players who take over in 2030, is on YouTube only. @SGP_id11

Presented by ID11 and the ScoreUSA Foundation. Recorded at the Leatherby Center, Chapman University.
@SGP_id11 · @id11_media

Watch the full extended version on Youtube @sgp_id11.
https://youtu.be/J4rx5YCIR2A?si=Qz_ZF7ZXta6i2OYq

This one's like a Charles Dickens story for the World Cup. Shaun Harris (Group Sporting Director, ID11) and Kevin Meredith (Innovation Engineer, Adjunct Professor at Chapman University) break down the business architecture behind the 2026 World Cup, where the money actually flows, and what comes next for FIFA and global football.

From tickets to sponsorships. From match day to digital platforms. From host cities to betting operations. The business of the World Cup has fundamentally shifted, and the numbers behind it are massive.

What's the biggest change in World Cup economics?

#WorldCup #FIFA #SportsBusiness #FootballBusiness #Economics #2026

The 2026 FIFA World Cup has already given us plenty to debate.

From hydration breaks and VAR decisions to red cards, offside technology, refereeing decisions, political questions, and everything in between — we’re counting down the 11 biggest controversies surrounding the tournament.

In this episode of Beyond the Eleven, Shaun and Kevin take a rapid-fire “Take It or Leave It” approach to the moments that had the football world talking.

Which decisions were justified?
Which ones crossed the line?
And what could these controversies mean for the future of the game?

🎙️ Watch the 11-minute episode now.

Want the full conversation, context, and debate?

▶️ Watch the extended version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/K6nvNjRcHuI

Follow ID11:
📸 Instagram: @sgp_id11
🎥 Media: @id11_media
💼 LinkedIn: ID11
▶️ YouTube: @sgp_id11

#BeyondTheEleven #ID11 #FIFAWorldCup #WorldCup2026 #Football #Soccer #VAR #FootballControversy #SportsBusiness #SportsLeadership

Show Notes

• Shaun and Kevin count down the 11 biggest controversies surrounding the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
• The episode uses a “Take It or Leave It” approach to debate the decisions, incidents and issues shaping the tournament.
• FIFA’s Peace Prize decision and whether it crossed the organization’s own boundaries.
• World Cup seeding and whether FIFA’s format is successfully keeping the strongest teams apart.
• Mandatory hydration breaks and the balance between player welfare, tactical advantages and commercial interests.
• Cristiano Ronaldo’s three-match suspension and the decision to defer two matches.
• The attempted rescheduling of Mexico vs. England at the Estadio Azteca due to weather.
• VAR and semi-automated offside technology, including the Algeria/Austria and Iran/New Zealand controversies.
• The Sky Cam cable incident during England vs. Norway.
• Croatia vs. Portugal and the role of ball technology and VAR in a late-game decision.
• Argentina vs. Egypt and the controversial VAR review of a foul much earlier in the build-up to a goal.
• Argentina’s controversial red-card incident and how playing against 10 men changed the match.
• Balogun’s red card, the disciplinary process and the decision to issue a one-game suspension.
• The broader question of how technology, refereeing, discipline, commercial interests and governance are changing football.
• A look ahead to the next episode, focused on the business and financial side of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

FULL EPISODE NOW LIVE ON YOUTUBE : @sgp_id11

104 matches. 48 teams. Three host nations. One champion.

Thirty nine days after the final whistle, Shaun Harris and Kevin Meridth take eleven minutes to break down the first 48 team World Cup: what actually happened, what it cost, and what gets left behind.

In this episode:

• The group stage moments that stuck, from Curacao's first ever point to Cape Verde's arrival
• Vozinha's tournament, and how a goalkeeper turned one performance into a career change
• Mexico's nine points and zero goals conceded, and why the economic return may be the biggest of the three hosts
• Canada's first ever World Cup win, and the harder question underneath it
• The USA's 4-1 opener against Paraguay, and the ten changes that ended the run
• Africa's record group stage and why Morocco is now top of the list going into 2030
• 1994 versus 2026, the attendance record, and the American culture shift
• Best moment, biggest disappointment, and the surprise nobody predicted

Next week: the 11 Controversies of WC26, counted down from eleven to one.

Beyond the 11 is the conversation platform of ID11 Media. Conversations that change the game. The best 11 minutes in sport and business.

Presented by ID11 and the ScoreUSA Foundation. Recorded on campus at Chapman University, Leatherby Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Ethics.

Follow: @id11_media | @SGP_id11

Shaun and Kevin introduce Beyond the 11, the story behind ID11, and what is coming in season one. World Cup 2026 in the rear view, LA 2028 and the 2027 Women's World Cup ahead, and four guests who have seen the game from the inside. Eleven minutes, no filler.