New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy is a huge sports fan. He's also one of the owners of NJ/NY Gotham FC in the NWSL.
The Governor returned to SportsJam with Doug Doyle to talk about FIFA World Cup Soccer and much more. He was guest in 2023 where he showed his love for all his Boston area teams like the Red Sox, Celtics, Patriots and Bruins.
Governor Murphy was instrumental in bringing the FIFA World Cup to the U.S. next year. The World Cup Final will be played at Met-Life Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ.
"The FIFA men's World Cup Final on July 19, 2026 will be the most watched, not sporting event, but event period in history. It's at the Meadowlands and just a huge deal for New Jersey and the region. New York City is our co-partner. They've been great to work with. I can't tell you how excited we are."
The tournament will be even bigger next year.
"Next year's tournament will have 48 teams for the first time ever. We've got eight matches at the Meadowlands. There are 104 matches in total, meaning 96 will not be at the Meadowlands. The fan fests that will build up in the region will be a huge deal. The biggest will be at Liberty State Park in Jersey City."
While Murphy won't be Governor when the matches take place, he's still excited to see the economic return to the Garden State.
"We will sell out every single seat in every market, regardless of the teams. Fans will flock here from around the world. We think the New Jersey-New York region will have one to two million visitors with the estimates of probably 3-5 billion dollars of economic activity, and 15-20 thousand permanent jobs."
The Governor is extremely proud that he and his wife First Lady Tammy Murphy got involved with NJ/NY Gotham FC years ago. Even though it wasn't a great financial move at the time, the team eventually evolved into a champion in 2023.
"Pretty darn special. I think we're the longest active owners of a professional women's soccer team. If anything we got in too early. The financial pain early on was fairly significant, but it was the right thing to do. I'm thrilled that Tammy has been the Chair now since my early days as Governor because I didn't have the bandwidth. She has taken, along with the whole team, Gotham to new heights.
Governor Murphy is no longer the majority owner of the franchise.
Governor Murphy has been to many major sporting events through the years, but one of his favorites was this year's FIFA Club World Cup Final. Chelsea defeated PSG 3-nil to grab the title before a packed Met-Life Stadium.
"I said to my wife that I can't believe we are in New Jersey watching Paris St. Germain against Chelsea in a game that counts".
He also mentioned Game Seven between the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers in 1981 when Larry Bird banked in a shot at the buzzer. Among the many Super Bowls he's attended, he particularly remembers the San Francisco 49ers beating the Cincinnati Bengals where Joe Montana took his team down the field at the end of the game, throwing a TD pass to wide receiver John Taylor.
You can SEE the entire SportsJam interview with Governor Murphy below.
