December 2, 201014 yr I heard that some or most of the stadiums built for the Qatar World Cup will be disassembled after the games and rebuilt in developing countries. Yeah that was one of their selling points. Well that and about $1,000,000 per vote. This vote stinks of corruption.
December 2, 201014 yr I heard that some or most of the stadiums built for the Qatar World Cup will be disassembled after the games and rebuilt in developing countries. This is possibly going to be the most wasteful World Cup in history. Outdoor air-conditioning, temporary stadiums... yikes. Do they have the hotel capacity for this event? Can a country of 1.7 million people handle the influx of people that will come to for this event in the summer of 2022? It just doesn't seem logical to me to hold the 2nd largest world event (behind the Summer Olympics probably) in a country that is smaller than Connecticut. I understand FIFA's desire to hold it in the Middle East, but Qatar doesn't really make sense to me from a logistical stand point... but what do I know.
December 2, 201014 yr From the State Department's Web site regarding Qatar: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1003.html Incidents involving insults or obscene language/gestures often result in arrest, overnight imprisonment, and/or fines whether the incident occurs between private parties or involves officers of the law. Insulting someone in public is considered a punishable offense. Drunk driving, public intoxication, and other alcohol-related offenses are treated with severity and will result in arrest, heavy fines, imprisonment, or expulsion from the country. Great place to put a few hundred thousand soccer fans!! FIFA FAIL.
December 2, 201014 yr They have $$$. I personally a little worried about security. Not from the Qatari's themselves, but it will be very easy for extremists to cross into the borders and blend in prior to the events.
December 2, 201014 yr Both the Russia and Qatar votes reeked of corruption. I actually took time to watch all of the 2022 presentations and felt that Qatar had one of the worst. If you really were solely interested in bringing the game to a region that had not hosted it before wouldn't have Australia been more logical.How much energy is it going to waste to air condition all of these outdoor stadiums. Its like air conditioning a house with all of the windows open in 110 degree heat. What a waste! Not to mention being located close to Iran,Iraq,Afghanistan,and Pakistan.Hopefully those areas won't be as volatile by then but that seems to be inviting trouble.Really the thing I can't get over is that its a country smaller then Columbus with only two cities over 35,000.This isn't the Olympics where a city hosts but the world cup in which a whole country is supposed to be represented.The IOC completely dismissed the Qatar bid as not even comprehensible.Lets not forget the sponsorship laws that have been compared to slavery that seem to help get all the shiny skyscrapers built. You don't think theres going to be some huge human rights violations occurring to build those 9 stadiums.Although I think its great that they are going to reassemble the stadiums in poor countries, doesn't the US get some credit for the billions of dollars we give to poor countries each year? Don't get me wrong,I think Doha and Qatar are very cool and I would like to visit them someday. I'm sure their laws are fairly progressive for middle eastern countries. I just don't think it's suited for the world's biggest stage. Oil money buys votes I guess.
December 2, 201014 yr i think its about having the event held in the oil baron rich mideast and i would agree that corruption very likely played its hand in the choice. you can bet that qatar will be ready with more than enough capacity by then. wow this first shot is a pretty damn cool looking all ultra modern skyline
December 2, 201014 yr From the State Department's Web site regarding Qatar: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1003.html Incidents involving insults or obscene language/gestures often result in arrest, overnight imprisonment, and/or fines whether the incident occurs between private parties or involves officers of the law. Insulting someone in public is considered a punishable offense. Drunk driving, public intoxication, and other alcohol-related offenses are treated with severity and will result in arrest, heavy fines, imprisonment, or expulsion from the country. Great place to put a few hundred thousand soccer fans!! FIFA FAIL. Those laws sound kind of awesome to me
December 2, 201014 yr From the State Department's Web site regarding Qatar: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1003.html Incidents involving insults or obscene language/gestures often result in arrest, overnight imprisonment, and/or fines whether the incident occurs between private parties or involves officers of the law. Insulting someone in public is considered a punishable offense. Drunk driving, public intoxication, and other alcohol-related offenses are treated with severity and will result in arrest, heavy fines, imprisonment, or expulsion from the country. Great place to put a few hundred thousand soccer fans!! FIFA FAIL. Those laws sound kind of awesome to me Oh Lawd. cue, youknowwho!!
December 6, 201014 yr 2022 goes to Qatar. Really? You must have been Mitch Albom's writer for this week's parting shot on The Sports Reporters espn.go.com/video/clip?id=5887300
December 6, 201014 yr 2022 goes to Qatar. Really? You must have been Mitch Albom's writer for this week's parting shot on The Sports Reporters espn.go.com/video/clip?id=5887300 Hahahaha. Sorry to disappoint you, but I was not.
June 7, 201114 yr With all the corruption and bribery charges there is a chance this could come back up for a vote. If it does, and there is probably only a 5% chance, and the US still loses I think that would be the last straw for FIFA as a credible organization.
June 17, 201410 yr Why Qatar will likely be stripped of the 2022 World Cup When FIFA, the organizer of soccer's World Cup, announced in 2010 that Qatar would host the tournament in 2022, the decision was roundly mocked. Qatar had a tiny population, no history in international soccer, no domestic soccer league, no infrastructure to handle the massive crowds and the summer temperatures routinely above 110 degrees. British newspapers quickly accused Qatar of using its massive petroleum wealth to bribe FIFA's voters to gain the World Cup. Four years later, FIFA is on the verge of stripping Qatar of the 2022 World Cup. FIFA has commissioned a broad investigation into allegations of corruption in the 2010 vote. Even before the results of FIFA's investigation were announced, Qatari billionaire Mohamed bin Hammam was accused by the Sunday Times Of London of paying millions of dollars in bribes. The United States seems like an obvious choice to host the World Cup in 2022 if it's taken away from Qatar.
June 17, 201410 yr I wouldn't want it. At least not with FIFA still at the helm, which obviously doesn't appear likely to change. Host countries get screwed. Royally. Imperially. Imperialistically.
June 17, 201410 yr Part of the issue for Brazil is that they had to build a lot of new infrastructure and stadiums to host. We already have the stadiums built and would only require some small renovations in most cases. I think the US would do well with a World Cup in 2022 and benefit from the huge tourism boost. We don't have to build entire airports, highways, and stadiums to host like Brazil.
June 17, 201410 yr How many stadiums does a World Cup generally need? I'm not very knowledgable about it and I'd be curious what type of stadium setup would work. For instance, let's pretend randomly that Ohio was chosen as a site to host. Would having stadiums in all our major cities be more than adequate and capable of housing the World Cup. Because it would seem like the US could really benefit without having to do too much to host.
June 17, 201410 yr We certainly have plenty of stadiums, and the World Cup doesn't need to be geographically concentrated even within the host country (in other words, like our various pro sports playoffs, we could have different games in different parts of the country, so it isn't even like they would need a ton of stadiums in one area). That isn't the issue for us so much as the other concessions that FIFA traditionally demands of host countries. The bottom line, unfortunately, is that the less we have to do with them, the better, unless they really turn over a new leaf.
June 17, 201410 yr There are some pretty good summaries of both the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and the USA's 2022 bid on Wikipedia. The USA bid team selected 21 stadiums in 18 host cities to submit. Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle, Tampa and Washington, D.C.
June 18, 201410 yr ^^That was hilarious ^Thanks for those Wiki links. I've been wondering about 2022. I guess we will know something more in July
November 3, 201410 yr FIFA: 2022 World Cup in Qatar likely to move from summer to winter; May also possible FIFA officially acknowledged on Monday that the controversial 2022 World Cup in Qatar is likely to be moved to the winter months of that year to dodge the Middle East nation's searing summer heat. A FIFA task force met on Monday in Zurich to begin planning the international calendar from 2018 to 2024, with the Qatar showcase at the center of their focus after myriad criticisms of the game's biggest event taking place amid some of the hottest temperatures in the world. And while top executives sound ready to shift to a winter schedule, European club officials opposed to that idea have prevailed upon FIFA to contemplate a spring timetable in order to reduce clashes with major club competitions like the UEFA Champions League. “We are getting closer to narrowing the dates for the FIFA World Cup to two options – January-February 2022 or November-December 2022 – but FIFA has also been asked to consider May 2022,” said FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke (pictured above) in a press release.
February 19, 201510 yr As Ohio braves the coldest temperatures of this winter, FIFA is concerning itself with the broilingly hot temps of a 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Temps that could reach 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Farenheit) during the World Cup's traditional June and July calendar spot. Now it looks like FIFA will recommend a winter World Cup for 2022 in Qatar. According to the reports below, the 2022 Qatar World Cup would take place in November and December of that year: http://www.si.com/planet-futbol/2015/02/18/world-cup-2022-qatar-winter-mls-cba-fifa-womens-club http://www.espnfc.com/fifa-world-cup/story/2306213/fifa-are-set-to-confirm-that-the-2022-qatar-world-cup-will-take-place-in-november-and-december
February 19, 201510 yr World Cup is great in the dog days of summer, nothing going on in June, HUGE games to celebrate and drink beers in beer gardens. Now itll be snowy here, competing with NFL, NCAA Football, NBA. I wish they would just leave QATAR
February 19, 201510 yr Definitely better than players dropping dead from heat exhaustion in the middle of June, but I think Qatar is a little unprepared to host the games. And I understand they want to get the Middle East more excited about the game, but it seems like too many obstacles stand in the way. Until FIFA says definitively one way or the other, I don't know if this is actually going to happen. In July it was suggested that the US would get the games from Qatar. Now it looks like they actually will adjust the schedule. We'll see when it's official, I guess.
February 19, 201510 yr Definitely better than players dropping dead from heat exhaustion in the middle of June Sure, but it won't stop hundreds (or maybe even thousands, by some accounts) of others from dropping dead as part of the construction/preparation process. FIFA should be ashamed of itself and I can only hope that more attention is drawn to the human rights violations occurring in Qatar in the run-up to the World Cup.
May 27, 201510 yr Since this thread has morphed into an unofficial 'FIFA corruption' thread, this seems like the most appropriate place for today's news: - The U.S. Dept. of Justice unveiled corruption charges against 14 people, including nine former or current FIFA officials, in a sweeping investigation: http://www.espnfc.com/world-cup-soccer/story/2468775/fifa-corrupt-over-24-years-says-us-department-of-justice - Swiss federal prosecutors opened criminal investigations into the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups after the U.S. charges were announced: http://www.espnfc.com/world-cup-soccer/story/2468298/criminal-investigation-begins-into-2018-and-2022-world-cup - FIFA corruption arrests: What they said: http://www.espnfc.com/world-cup-soccer/story/2468770/fifa-corruption-arrests-what-they-said
May 29, 201510 yr This is going to result in an ugly jurisdictional fight, for two main reasons: (1) The jurisdictional issues are serious, possibly even Supreme Court-worthy, since jurisdictional questions often get resolved at the highest level and international jurisdiction is a delicate subject at the moment with the political branches' bolder assertions of extraterritorial jurisdiction post-9/11. Therefore, there will be an ugly jurisdictional fight because there really are issues about Americans prosecuting many non-American voting members of a Swiss organization, even if there is a nexus with the American financial system. (2) I know, innocent until proven guilty and all of that, but if even a tenth of what has been reported about FIFA is true, then the jurisdictional defense might be the only thing that a lot of these defendants really have to stand on. Above the Law has a snarky, semi-NSFW post about it here: http://www.atlredline.com/only-the-american-justice-system-could-go-after-fifa-1707174748 Basically, we're the only country with the muscles to actually attack FIFA and the attitude to deal with the possible consequences (i.e., yawning at threats of retaliation, even if we never host another World Cup). We probably honestly care about one FIFA member organization (UEFA) more than we care about FIFA itself or even our own federation, CONCACAF (seriously, how many of us had ever even heard of that before this indictment broke?).
May 29, 201510 yr Above the Law has a snarky, semi-NSFW post about it here: http://www.atlredline.com/only-the-american-justice-system-could-go-after-fifa-1707174748 Good read; thanks for posting. Have to ask, why did you say it was NSFW?
June 2, 201510 yr WOW! FIFA president Sepp Blatter resigns amid corruption scandal FIFA president Sepp Blatter announced his resignation on Tuesday amid the corruption scandal that has rocked soccer's world governing body. Speaking at a news conference in Zurich, Blatter said he would remain in his position until a special election can be held to appoint his successor. Domenico Scala, the chairman of FIFA's Audit and Compliance Committee, said an election would be held sometime between December 2015 and March 2016, during which time FIFA will vet candidates. MORE: http://www.espnfc.com/fifa-world-cup/story/2476623/fifa-president-sepp-blatter-resigns-amid-corruption-scandal
June 2, 201510 yr Maybe they should force him to work as a slave for the 2022 World Cup. That would be a fair sentence.
June 2, 201510 yr http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/06/01/411210630/the-onion-strikes-again-indicted-ex-fifa-exec-quotes-satirical-article
June 2, 201510 yr Did USA go after FIFA to screw Russia out the World Cup? ;) Christo Grozev @christogrozev 33s34 seconds ago RU media freaking out now about World Cup 2018. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
June 2, 201510 yr I say let Russia host the 2018 World Cup. Every dime they spend on it is one they can't spend on tanks. (And I don't worry that Russia will actually profit from it, economically or diplomatically. Does anyone seriously want to argue that Russia gained more than it spent on Sochi, or that it built up a reserve of international goodwill for hosting it? Heck, anyone seen the pics of what Sochi looks like today?)
March 21, 20169 yr Qatar can't build hotels fast enough, so fans might sleep outdoors at the 2022 World Cup Qatar is a small country building cities from scratch, so they might not have hotels for everyone who floods the nation to see the 2022 World Cup. They've come up with a pretty cool solution: Bedouin-style tents. "At the heart of this World Cup is a commitment to showcase the hospitality and friendship of the Middle East. As a result, we are actively researching the concept of supporters sleeping under the stars," said a spokesperson for the Qatar 2022 organizing committee, according to Fox Sports. I check the weather, and in late November when the World Cup would be played that year, the average high is 80 and the average low is 60.
June 13, 20187 yr Yeah, I know the 2018 World Cup in Russia starts tomorrow - but there was also some news about the 2022 World Cup planned for Qatar: It seems that the prospect of the 2022 Qatar World Cup jumping from the current 32 team format to 48 teams is fading as fast as a snowman in the Qatarian heat: https://www.101sports.com/2018/06/10/fifa-delays-talks-on-possible-48-team-world-cup-in-qatar/ Mostly it has to do with Qatar not having enough stadiums to host the additional teams. Qatar is building eight stadiums to host the Middle East’s first World Cup and 12-14 venues would be required to accommodate 48 teams. That would only realistically be possible if Qatar shared hosting duties, which is problematic because its Middle East neighbors severed diplomatic ties with Qatar in a dispute last year.
April 1, 20223 yr The draw for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar just wrapped up so teams know (for the most part) who they play. Three teams haven't been decided yet because of delays brought on in the qualifying due to covid and the war in Ukraine. Euro Play-off will be Ukraine, Scotland, or Wales. IC Play-off 1 will be Peru, Australia, or United Arab Emirates. IC Play-off 2 will be Costa Rica or New Zealand. The best resource is honestly Wikipedia for the schedule. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_FIFA_World_Cup As for the USA... We will be playing England, Iran, and a final team that has yet to qualify from Europe. Because of the war in Ukraine, that final team hasn't been decided yet. They play their last matches in June, and it will be either Wales, Scotland, or Ukraine. Wales is the best of the three, followed by Scotland. So our opening match will be against one of those teams on Monday, November 21. Our second match will be against England on Black Friday. Our final match will be against Iran on Tuesday, November 29. Kickoff times for each match have not been announced yet, and likely will wait until all of the qualifying has wrapped up in June. But we do know the scheduled kickoff times are (in eastern time) 5am, 8am, 11am, and 2pm. The USA will almost certainly get the 11am or 2pm match every time since they schedule the kickoff times based on the participating teams' home time zone. On the days we play, the only other Western Hemisphere team is Ecuador in Group A. So we will likely get the 2pm match every day, and if we don't, one of those will likely be the 11am game instead to give Ecuador a better time.
April 1, 20223 yr Be interesting to see how the USA get on in that group. I watched a good number of the qualifying games and I’ve go to say that the standard was generally poor and Canada were a country-mile ahead of the USA, despite not being that great either. However, those European teams in the group, who I’d argue are all better teams than the USA, will be playing in the middle of their domestic seasons, which I feel is going to be an issue. Admittedly, Pulisic and some others on the USNMT will be in the same boat. Iran is the real wild-card. I’ve not seen them play, but hear they’re pretty decent. England play awful football, but know how to grind out a result. My hovercraft is full of eels
April 1, 20223 yr 6 minutes ago, roman totale XVII said: Be interesting to see how the USA get on in that group. I watched a good number of the qualifying games and I’ve go to say that the standard was generally poor and Canada were a country-mile ahead of the USA, despite not being that great either. However, those European teams in the group, who I’d argue are all better teams than the USA, will be playing in the middle of their domestic seasons, which I feel is going to be an issue. Admittedly, Pulisic and some others on the USNMT will be in the same boat. Iran is the real wild-card. I’ve not seen them play, but hear they’re pretty decent. England play awful football, but know how to grind out a result. I think the US are in a good position overall. There are tougher groups, and no group should ever be expected to be easy to get out of. Portugal or France probably have the easiest route out of the group stage. The US did well overall. Every round of qualification matches we seemed to do what we needed. We drew in Mexico and won at home. We pounded Panama to secure third place in the qualifying. I personally saw the team win all three Ohio games, and they looked good. The CONCACAF matches are almost always difficult no matter who you're playing. Canada definitely impressed everyone. Hopefully all of our injured players are in top shape in time for the World Cup. It's a young team that should mostly be intact for 2026, so it will be interesting to see how the team develops between 2022 and the 2026 world cup in the US. England is definitely beatable. They're good, but they are among the worst teams we could have faced from Pot 1 (the only easier team IMO is Qatar, who are only in Pot 1 because they host). Iran are pretty good. One of the best from Asia. I really didn't want to play Senegal. We would certainly be favorites over Ukraine, but for Ukraine to get there, they need to beat Scotland and Wales. So obviously they wouldn't be easy. Hopefully Wales don't advance out of the remaining three UEFA teams.
November 22, 20222 yr They have the temerity to call it the "World Cup" when SEVEN of the globe's TOP 10 countries aren't in it: 1 China 1,439,323,776 2 India 1,380,004,385 3 United States 331,002,651 4 Indonesia 273,523,615 5 Pakistan 220,892,340 6 Brazil 212,559,417 7 Nigeria 206,139,589 8 Bangladesh 164,689,383 9 Russia 145,934,462 10 Mexico 128,932,753
November 23, 20222 yr On 4/1/2022 at 3:08 PM, ryanlammi said: Hopefully Wales don't advance out of the remaining three UEFA teams. Well, that didn't work out so well....
November 26, 20222 yr Considering that England is considered one of the top contenders in the tournament, a 0-0 tie with them doesn’t sound too bad. But we had some excellent scoring chances, more than England I’d say (unless a lot happened going the other way in the few brief trips I took to the bathroom). I’m honestly disappointed that we didn’t come out of this one with the win.
November 28, 20222 yr On 11/25/2022 at 7:40 PM, Gramarye said: Considering that England is considered one of the top contenders in the tournament, a 0-0 tie with them doesn’t sound too bad. But we had some excellent scoring chances, more than England I’d say (unless a lot happened going the other way in the few brief trips I took to the bathroom). I’m honestly disappointed that we didn’t come out of this one with the win. Somewhat embarrassing for England I would assume, though nothing like when the US team beat Mexico. In the USA, it sort of reinforces one of the reasons American fans don't care for soccer. Not only a tie, but a scoreless tie. Even the NHL has gotten rid of ties. Edited November 28, 20222 yr by E Rocc
November 28, 20222 yr Americans didn't used to care for soccer. It's now the third-most popular sport here. Even without a score, it was a very entertaining game -- if you understand the sport and know what to watch. I do prefer winners/losers to ties, but a tie still contributes in the standings. My European wife is very impressed with American soccer programs and training. She is amazed at how many kids are involved (more than other sports) and is probably correct in saying that America is going to be fielding dominant World Cup teams in the years to come. This current crop of players on the USMNT is very young and they're very good. Their strong play against England is an early indication of the USMNT's likely strength for a long time. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
November 28, 20222 yr 8 minutes ago, KJP said: Americans didn't used to care for soccer. It's now the third-most popular sport here. Even without a score, it was a very entertaining game -- if you understand the sport and know what to watch. I do prefer winners/losers to ties, but a tie still contributes in the standings. My European wife is very impressed with American soccer programs and training. She is amazed at how many kids are involved (more than other sports) and is probably correct in saying that America is going to be fielding dominant World Cup teams in the years to come. This current crop of players on the USMNT is very young and they're very good. Their strong play against England is an early indication of the USMNT's likely strength for a long time. I know everyone is sick of hearing this... But just imagine if our best athletes played soccer.
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