Money, it is often said, has ruined football.(常言道，金钱毁了足球。) Staging the men’s World Cup mostly in America, a country that has produced so many great businessmen and so few good footballers, was supposed to mark the triumph of big business over the beautiful game(① **来源与含义**：'the bea...). True, the ticket prices are extortionate(过高的，敲诈性的). And the tournament often feels like a Silicon Valley conference circa(大约（用于日期）) 2016: this year referees have cameras strapped to their heads and each player has his own “digital twin(数字孪生)”, whatever that means.
常言道，金钱毁了足球。在美国（一个培养了无数杰出商人却鲜有优秀球员的国家）举办男足世界杯，本应标志着大商业对美丽运动的胜利。诚然，票价高得离谱。而且这届赛事往往让人感觉像是一场2016年左右的硅谷会议：今年裁判头上绑着摄像头，每个球员都有自己的“数字孪生”，谁知道那是什么。
Yet despite the pretences of the tournament’s organisers the business of World Cup football is a simple one, and a struggling one. The retailers, television stations, brewers and betting houses that make up capitalism’s starting XI(首发阵容) are an ageing and injury-prone(容易受伤的) lot. For some, this could even be their last tournament.
然而，尽管赛事组织者虚张声势，世界杯足球赛的商业本质其实很简单，而且举步维艰。构成资本主义首发阵容的零售商、电视台、啤酒商和博彩公司，无一不是年迈易伤的老将。对其中一些来说，这甚至可能是它们的最后一届世界杯。
That the world’s greatest sporting event has become a carnival of condemned(注定失败的，被谴责的) companies is most visible on the pitch. On their left breast, players proudly wear their national badge; on their right, logos of faltering(摇摇欲坠的，衰退的) sports brands. Nike has dressed 12 of the 48 teams at this year’s competition, fewer than Adidas (14) and slightly more than Puma (11). The rest rely on faded giants (the Democratic Republic of Congo is the only customer of Umbro(① **背景**：Umbro是英国老牌运...), a British brand that once outfit(为…提供装备)ted more teams than any other) or local atelier(工作室，作坊)s (Iran’s team is kitted out by Majid(① **背景**：Majid是伊朗本土服...), a firm which shares its name with the country’s short-range missile-defence system).
全世界最盛大的体育赛事已成为注定失败公司的嘉年华，这在绿茵场上最为明显。球员左胸骄傲地佩戴着国家队徽章，右胸则是步履维艰的运动品牌的标志。耐克为今年参赛的48支球队中的12支提供了装备，少于阿迪达斯（14支），略多于彪马（11支）。其余球队则依赖昔日巨头（刚果民主共和国是茵宝唯一的客户，这个英国品牌曾为最多球队提供装备）或本地作坊（伊朗队由Majid公司提供装备，这家公司的名字与伊朗短程导弹防御系统同名）。
Off the bench
替补登场