It was with a sense of anticipation that audiences entered the first of the upfronts at SBS.

The roar and rumble of feverish soccer crowds reverberated from the moment you stepped into the Hordern Pavilion, swelling in volume and intensity as you entered the presentation auditorium.

You didn’t have to be a genius to work out that 2026 was the return of SBS’s Jewel in the Crown — The FIFA World Cup.

Bigger than ever before — with 48 teams at the finals rather than the old 32 — the reach extends deep into the Australian communities of the 16 extra countries.

Soccer continues to grow as the world’s most popular sport, with 3.5 billion passionate supporters.

It is a true multicultural sport and we were left in no doubt that it should be nowhere other than SBS.

Former Socceroos John Aloisi and Andrew........

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