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<p><a title="BEP 163c - Football Idioms 1" href="https://www.businessenglishpod.com/learningcenter/Premium2008/content23/BEP163cPOD/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" src="https://www.businessenglishpod.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/BEP-163c-LESSON-Football-Idioms-1.jpg" alt="BEP 163c - Business English Idioms about Football " width="1498" height="646" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-24639" srcset="https://www.businessenglishpod.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/BEP-163c-LESSON-Football-Idioms-1.jpg 1498w, https://www.businessenglishpod.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/BEP-163c-LESSON-Football-Idioms-1-300x129.jpg 300w, https://www.businessenglishpod.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/BEP-163c-LESSON-Football-Idioms-1-600x259.jpg 600w, https://www.businessenglishpod.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/BEP-163c-LESSON-Football-Idioms-1-768x331.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1498px) 100vw, 1498px" /></a></p>
<p>Welcome back to <a href="https://www.businessenglishpod.com/" title="Business English" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Business English</a> Pod. With the World Cup about to kick off, we’re taking a fresh look at one of our lessons on <a href="https://www.businessenglishpod.com/category/business-idioms/" title="business English idioms" rel="noopener" target="_blank">business English idioms</a> related to football.</p>
<p>What do you call an activity where groups of people compete strategically against each other as they strive to be the winner? I mean an activity with a clear goal where success requires strong teamwork and a commitment to excellent performance? Some of you might be thinking about sports. Some of you might be thinking about business. Well, you’re both right.</p>
<p>There are so many obvious similarities between sports and business, it’s no wonder that we see the language of sport come into play in the corporate world. And there’s a particular type of language that we’re going to focus on in this lesson, called idioms. Just like the expression “come into play,” which means to be involved or to be a factor in something.</p>
<p>Now when I say “football,” I’m referring to the game with the round ball that players kick into a net past a goalkeeper. It’s what North Americans tend to call “soccer,” to differentiate it from their own game of football, which is a whole different ball game altogether! Internationally, football – or soccer – is the most popular sport in the world. So it’s no wonder it has inspired so many idioms commonly used in business.</p>
<p>In the dialog, we’ll hear Karl and Marilyn, two friends who work at a publishing company. Karl is thinking about applying for a job at the company’s Sydney office. He has some doubts though, so he asks Marilyn what she thinks.</p>
<p><strong>Listening Questions</strong></p>
<p>1. How does Karl describe his approach to his career?<br />
2. Why is Karl worried about the other candidates for the job he’s interested in?<br />
3. What does Marilyn say happens at the Sidney office?</p>
<span class="no_translate"><strong>Premium Members: <a href="https://www.businessenglishpod.com/learningcenter/Premium2008/content23/BEP163cSN-Football-Idioms-1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="color: #800000;">PDF Transcript</span></a> | <a href="https://www.businessenglishpod.com/learningcenter/Premium2008/content23/BEP163c-QUIZ/story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="color: #800000;">Quizzes</span></a> | <a href="/learningcenter/Premium2008/content23/BEP163cPC.mp3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="color: #800000;">PhraseCast</span></a> | <a href="https://www.businessenglishpod.com/learningcenter/Premium2008/content23/BEP163cPOD/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Lesson Module</a></strong></span></p>
<p><span class="no_translate"><strong>Download: <a href="https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/bizpod/BEP-163c-Football-Idioms-1.mp3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Podcast MP3</a></strong></span>>>>
The post <a href="https://www.businessenglishpod.com/2026/06/07/bep-163c-football-idioms-1/">BEP 163c – Football Idioms (Part 1)</a> first appeared on <a href="https://www.businessenglishpod.com">Business English Pod :: Learn Business English Online</a>.