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[Squirrel Killer]

No it couldn't, it takes far more than 14 days to get everything in place, I'm talking about absolutely everything, not just the stadiums and the transport network but also things such as hotels, volunteers, programmes, TV networks etc.

It absolutely could. The US has a lot of experience hosting events accommodating 60,000+ people on a regular basis, and during the usual World Cup time frame, most of the venues that do it are empty except for maybe a concert or two.

 

[Tugatrix]

Revote again and still be about who pays under the table

FIFA and IOC are a joke

 

[Cat Party]

No it couldn't, it takes far more than 14 days to get everything in place, I'm talking about absolutely everything, not just the stadiums and the transport network but also things such as hotels, volunteers, programmes, TV networks etc.

Fine, you're right. We'd need like 21 days to prepare.

 

[Joni]

I have been wondering about one thing: is FIFA in anyway obliged to be not corrupt or not politically motivated or anything? If it is not a governmental organization, there is no reason why this warrants some sort of outrage. The F1 association for instance also has countries pay for the honor of hosting an event.

 

[Dr.Acula]

I have been wondering about one thing: is FIFA in anyway obliged to be not corrupt or not politically motivated or anything? If it is not a governmental organization, there is no reason why this warrants some sort of outrage. The F1 association for instance also has countries pay for the honor of hosting an event.

I imagine that money goes to F1. If the money went to the private, offshore bank account of some dude in F1, that would be corruption.

 

[GoldenEye 007]

Stadiums that actually comply to the FIFA standards? For instance, the playing field has to be 114 x 74 yards. The field dimensions listed at Wikipedia list a lot of not quite that size fields. See the complete list of standards that would need to be checked:
http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/tou..._recommendations_and_requirements_en_8211.pdf

I mean, the US has hosted a World Cup before. Most of those stadiums still exist. And of course you take into account the many new stadiums built since then. I don't think there is any issue infrastructure wise, outside of mostly bad mass transit, that prevents hosting the event. Even on short notice. Two weeks is extreme, but 4-8-12 years out? That's nothing.

 

[CyclopsRock]

I have been wondering about one thing: is FIFA in anyway obliged to be not corrupt or not politically motivated or anything? If it is not a governmental organization, there is no reason why this warrants some sort of outrage. The F1 association for instance also has countries pay for the honor of hosting an event.

One imagines it'd, at least, be against the agreement that all the bidding nations were involved in. They cost a lot of money to do these bids, so I'm sure the bidding nations want contractual obligations from FIFA that it'll be a fair and transparent process.

 

[ConfusingJazz]

Stadiums that actually comply to the FIFA standards? For instance, the playing field has to be 114 x 74 yards. The field dimensions listed at Wikipedia list a lot of not quite that size fields. See the complete list of standards that would need to be checked:
http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/tou..._recommendations_and_requirements_en_8211.pdf

Yes. All stadiums in our 2022 bid are completed, and sit between 65,000-95,000 people.

Also, seemingly half of Mexico's friendlies are now played in southern US.

 

[iamblades]

The US and the biggest 4-5 nations in Europe could all hold a world cup with less than a month's notice. It may not be the greatest or smoothest run WC, but it wouldn't be nearly as bad as Qatar

That said, I don't think it is possible or politically tenable to move the event at this late. Whatever nation it gets moved to is going to end up on Qatar's hate list, and for what purpose? It's not like the WC is some hugely profitable venture. In order for another nation to want to host the event on short notice under such controversial circumstances they would have to be flat out paid, and paid very well.

 

[Derp1na]

It's a shame it is that this PR nightmare for Qatar won't elicit any change simply because the one thing anyone cares about when it comes to Qatar is their gas and oil. The demand for that isn't going to change over a little thing like apostasy be punished by death, or their other backward laws. At least the UAE (Dubai anyway) is attempting to become an economic centre/tourist hotspot for when the oil eventually runs out.

And to think someone mentioned Iran as a possible replacement for Qatar.

 

[s_mirage]

That said, I don't think it is possible or politically tenable to move the event at this late. Whatever nation it gets moved to is going to end up on Qatar's hate list, and for what purpose? It's not like the WC is some hugely profitable venture. In order for another nation to want to host the event on short notice under such controversial circumstances they would have to be flat out paid, and paid very well.

I really don't think the possible hosts will be overly concerned about Qatar's disapproval. If their hosting of the World Cup is proven to have been obtained through illegitimate means, the only politically acceptable thing for FIFA to do is to re run the selection process with Qatar excluded. Doing anything else would leave FIFA in a very vulnerable position going forward, and, I would have thought, leave them open for a whole heap of litigation. Those bids that were never going to win still cost significant amounts of money to produce.

 

[Squirrel Killer]

Stadiums that actually comply to the FIFA standards? For instance, the playing field has to be 114 x 74 yards. The field dimensions listed at Wikipedia list a lot of not quite that size fields. See the complete list of standards that would need to be checked:
http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/tou..._recommendations_and_requirements_en_8211.pdf

The US bid started from a list of 70 candidate venues. We got options.

 

[neorej]

Just fire the corrupt and have a do-over already.

 

[Joni]

I mean, the US has hosted a World Cup before. Most of those stadiums still exist. And of course you take into account the many new stadiums built since then. I don't think there is any issue infrastructure wise, outside of mostly bad mass transit, that prevents hosting the event. Even on short notice. Two weeks is extreme, but 4-8-12 years out? That's nothing.

The requirements for stadiums has changed since that world cup.

Yes. All stadiums in our 2022 bid are completed, and sit between 65,000-95,000 people.

In that case, it would be possible if they got approved. That is still a 2-3 week vetting process per field.

One imagines it'd, at least, be against the agreement that all the bidding nations were involved in. They cost a lot of money to do these bids, so I'm sure the bidding nations want contractual obligations from FIFA that it'll be a fair and transparent process.

But technically, the nations aren't doing the bids so it is an arragment between one mother company and a bunch of its children companies (considering all associations are linked to FIFA and can't work without it) so legally that is something more difficult.

 

[CyclopsRock]

But technically, the nations aren't doing the bids so it is an arragment between one mother company and a bunch of its children companies (considering all associations are linked to FIFA and can't work without it) so legally that is something more difficult.

Isn't it the various national football associations that do it? Because they're all members of FIFA but they're not "connected" to them legally, I Don't think?

 

[Joni]

Isn't it the various national football associations that do it? Because they're all members of FIFA but they're not "connected" to them legally, I Don't think?

It is a membership, but with certain legal obligations and judiciary consequences so it is easy to compare it to a daughter company.

 

[Chuck Norris]

Will be US or Australia, both are more than prepared to host it having very popular rectangular sports, and competent infrastructure

US may be the better choice:
Pros:
-Closer time-wise to Europe
-Those NFL stadiums are incredible. Very little will need to be changed

Cons:
-Will Americans care?

Australia:
Pros:
- For Europeans, going out all night watching FIFA matches is AWESOME. As an Australian I know this
- Relatively recent infrastructure from Olympics and Commonwealth games
- Proven ability to go all out and put on an amazing major sporting event
- Will be held in winter, better weather for the sport

Cons:
-Has a number of high quality 20-30k capacity rectangular stadiums, but only three 40-80k sized rectangular stadiums. At least one more big rectangular stadium would need to be built.
- Biggest stadium in Australia is the MCG which is circular, and absolutely AWFUL to watch rectangular sports on
- Major cities are relatively further apart

 

[smokeandmirrors]

Cons:
-Will Americans care?

Highest average attendance in world cup history says, yes, we will and this was before we even had an established league. It is infinitely more popular here now. It would destroy here.

 

[CyclopsRock]

It is a membership, but with certain legal obligations and judiciary consequences so it is easy to compare it to a daughter company.

I'm not sure that would protect them much, though. I should think that there is, in some document, something saying "we won't accept bribes after you've spent tens of millions bidding for a world cup".

 

[QuicheFontaine]

US may be the better choice:
Pros:
-Closer time-wise to Europe

Uhh, that's not true.

 

[zomgbbqftw]

LOL scumbag Platini has been drawn into it as well now!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...2-France-embroiled-in-corruption-scandal.html

"Michel Platini, one of the most powerful men in world football, was on Monday night under pressure to explain a secret meeting with the man at the centre of the Qatar World Cup scandal.

The Telegraph has unearthed evidence that Mr Platini, a former leading French international and the president of Uefa, European football’s governing body, had a private discussion with Mohamed Bin Hammam, the controversial Qatari who paid millions of pounds to football officials around the world."

"It is understood that the meeting took place shortly before Fifa awarded the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, and that Mr Bin Hammam personally lobbied Mr Platini to support the Emirate’s bid."

"Documents leaked to The Telegraph show that Mr Platini met Mr Bin Hammam for breakfast shortly before the former footballer met Nicolas Sarkozy, at the time the French president, the son of the emir of Qatar and the country’s prime minister for lunch at the Elysée Palace in November 2010, a month before the World Cup vote.

The following year, the state-owned Qatar Sports Investments bought Paris Saint-Germain, Mr Sarkozy’s favourite team. Mr Platini has always denied that Mr Sarkozy asked him to vote for Qatar, but in an interview he said: “I was invited to a dinner with Mr Sarkozy where there was the prime minister of Qatar. They never asked me during the dinner to vote. It was a clear thing about 'support’. They knew I would be independent.”

Mr Platini’s son Laurent became the chief executive of Burrda, a Qatar owned sports company. He has always said that his son’s role was unconnected to his vote."

What fucking cunt. Loves to parade a whiter than white image when he is just as fucking bad as the rest of the cunts. Independent my fucking arse.

 

[Salvadora]

I'd like it to go to Australia, because they haven't held it before. Think that would be fair.

 

[Chuck Norris]

Uhh, that's not true.

6PM in Sydney is 1AM in London
6 PM in New York is 1 PM in London

Yeah. Not too different in raw difference, but more favourable hours towards European viewing

 

[smokeandmirrors]

6PM in Sydney is 1AM in London
6 PM in New York is 1 PM in London

Yeah. Not too different in raw difference, but more favourable hours towards European viewing

6pm in NYC is 11pm in London

 

[Oersted]

I have been wondering about one thing: is FIFA in anyway obliged to be not corrupt or not politically motivated or anything? If it is not a governmental organization, there is no reason why this warrants some sort of outrage. The F1 association for instance also has countries pay for the honor of hosting an event.

While making billions of dollar, FIFA was clever enough to be a club, not a company. A club in Switzerland counts as private organization. Therefore, they are private persons accepting bribes. Which is perfectly legal.

Know your loophole.

 

[norinrad]

Its a shame none of the heads of the FAs across the globe are calling for Blatter the most corrupt individual alive (Yes he's worse than an African president) to step down. Makes you think they were all in on it. Money and young beautiful girls s**king their c**ks just so they can give the world cup to Qatar. People from developing countries being treated like their lives are worth nothing didn't bother them at all. They brushed every warning aside for greed. Assholes

 

[QuicheFontaine]

6PM in Sydney is 1AM in London
6 PM in New York is 1 PM in London

Yeah. Not too different in raw difference, but more favourable hours towards European viewing

Sorry, thought we were talking about US vs Qatar! I'll read more carefully next time.

 

[neorej]

Will be US or Australia, both are more than prepared to host it having very popular rectangular sports, and competent infrastructure

US may be the better choice:
Pros:
-Closer time-wise to Europe
-Those NFL stadiums are incredible. Very little will need to be changed

Cons:
-Will Americans care?

Australia:
Pros:
- For Europeans, going out all night watching FIFA matches is AWESOME. As an Australian I know this
- Relatively recent infrastructure from Olympics and Commonwealth games
- Proven ability to go all out and put on an amazing major sporting event
- Will be held in winter, better weather for the sport

Cons:
-Has a number of high quality 20-30k capacity rectangular stadiums, but only three 40-80k sized rectangular stadiums. At least one more big rectangular stadium would need to be built.
- Biggest stadium in Australia is the MCG which is circular, and absolutely AWFUL to watch rectangular sports on
- Major cities are relatively further apart

Can Australia build enough WC-stadiums before 2022 and do they have any purpose after the tournament is over? If so, hand it to the Aussies. If not, make it USA.

 

[Maledict]

Its a shame none of the heads of the FAs across the globe are calling for Blatter the most corrupt individual alive (Yes he's worse than an African president) to step down. Makes you think they were all in on it. Money and young beautiful girls s**king their c**ks just so they can give the world cup to Qatar. People from developing countries being treated like their lives are worth nothing didn't bother them at all. They brushed every warning aside for greed. Assholes

It's (astonishingly) because it seems in this one, isolated incident Blatter was on the right side of things. Presumably because of his feud with Bin Hamman at the time, but Blatter was oppossed to Qatar winning and I think was in support of the USA?

For once, and for the wrong reasons, Blatter may actually not have been bought and sold. For once. Maybe.

 

[gutter_trash]

Can Australia build enough WC-stadiums before 2022 and do they have any purpose after the tournament is over? If so, hand it to the Aussies. If not, make it USA.

due to all the wastefulness of the Olympics. Worldcups should only be awarded to nations that are already stadium ready and make regular use of their stadiums.

in the 21st Century, we must cut the wastefullness. Rotate the WC and Olympics to nations that already have the installation built and get used regularly.

It is insane to build installations for one time use then get abandonned because there is nothing happening there afterwards

This is why I support the move to USA for 2022. NFL and college stadiums are already built

 

[KidA Seven]

Its a shame none of the heads of the FAs across the globe are calling for Blatter the most corrupt individual alive (Yes he's worse than an African president) to step down. Makes you think they were all in on it. Money and young beautiful girls s**king their c**ks just so they can give the world cup to Qatar. People from developing countries being treated like their lives are worth nothing didn't bother them at all. They brushed every warning aside for greed. Assholes

It's (astonishingly) because it seems in this one, isolated incident Blatter was on the right side of things. Presumably because of his feud with Bin Hamman at the time, but Blatter was supposed to Qatar winning and I think was in support of the USA?

For once, and for the wrong reasons, Blatter may actually not have been bought and sold. For once. Maybe.

Yep. Blatter never wanted Qatar to win the World Cup. It was Platini.

 

[Nicktendo86]

In the long run this will come back to bite Qatar in the ass, they'll be stuck with a bunch of soccer stadiums empty. Nowadays hosting the World Cup

Spoiler

and the Olympics

is total waste of money.

The Olympics were a great boon for London. Not only did it boost morale and spirit (knew a few people who volunteered, all sais it was an amazing experience and everyone was so happy) it was great in terms of infrastructure. A shit area was redeveloped and is now a great park for locals, the athlete’s village was turned into affordable housing etc.

The London games was a perfect example of how to do it right, a case was put forward on a legacy, everything was built in time, the games were great and the area has benefited from it. Qatar is a perfect example of how NOT to award a major event, a load of BS given about air con stadiums which they have already backtracked on, a county with no history involving the sport, no legacy plan on what to do with the facilities. Paid for with back handers.

 

[QuicheFontaine]

The Olympics were a great boon for London. Not only did it boost morale and spirit (knew a few people who volunteered, all sais it was an amazing experience and everyone was so happy) it was great in terms of infrastructure. A shit area was redeveloped and is now a great park for locals, the athlete’s village was turned into affordable housing etc.

The London games was a perfect example of how to do it right, a case was put forward on a legacy, everything was built in time, the games were great and the area has benefited from it. Qatar is a perfect example of how NOT to award a major event, a load of BS given about air con stadiums which they have already backtracked on, a county with no history involving the sport, no legacy plan on what to do with the facilities. Paid for with back handers.

Also in preparing for London 2012 no one died.

You wouldn't think that'd be a point of pride, but with these types of events recently it kind of is. :-(

 

[Broder Salsa]

I am shocked.

Who saw this coming?

Not the few GAFers that kept arguing it was all just racism in the last thread lol

Will be US or Australia, both are more than prepared to host it having very popular rectangular sports, and competent infrastructure

US may be the better choice:
Pros:
-Closer time-wise to Europe
-Those NFL stadiums are incredible. Very little will need to be changed

Cons:
-Will Americans care?

Australia:
Pros:
- For Europeans, going out all night watching FIFA matches is AWESOME. As an Australian I know this
- Relatively recent infrastructure from Olympics and Commonwealth games
- Proven ability to go all out and put on an amazing major sporting event
- Will be held in winter, better weather for the sport

Cons:
-Has a number of high quality 20-30k capacity rectangular stadiums, but only three 40-80k sized rectangular stadiums. At least one more big rectangular stadium would need to be built.
- Biggest stadium in Australia is the MCG which is circular, and absolutely AWFUL to watch rectangular sports on
- Major cities are relatively further apart

Both would be pretty decent choices and I do think the Americans will care, enough of them will at least, coupled with the rise on interest in the sport there it would be pretty great.

How is the WC a waste of money? The stadiums do get used, can't say the same about the Olympics facilities.

In Qatar they they claim they will be able to ship out the stadiums, to other countries or tournaments afterwards... But when all comes to all, it will probably go the way of their other promises, which means demolished and not used for anything.

 

[GBG]

The Olympics were a great boon for London. Not only did it boost morale and spirit (knew a few people who volunteered, all sais it was an amazing experience and everyone was so happy) it was great in terms of infrastructure. A shit area was redeveloped and is now a great park for locals, the athlete’s village was turned into affordable housing etc.

The London games was a perfect example of how to do it right, a case was put forward on a legacy, everything was built in time, the games were great and the area has benefited from it. Qatar is a perfect example of how NOT to award a major event, a load of BS given about air con stadiums which they have already backtracked on, a county with no history involving the sport, no legacy plan on what to do with the facilities. Paid for with back handers.

The London games were a bit of a farce throughout the planning stages though. The original budget when the games were awarded was around £2.5bn, yet it eventually cost over £9bn. This was to the detriment of other parts of the UK as extra funding had to be found to cover the shortfall (such as lottery grants). There's little doubt that Stratford and the surrounding areas are now a nicer place to visit, but it certainly wasn't a perfect example of how to do it correctly.

 

[Zaph]

The London games were a bit of a farce throughout the planning stages though. The original budget when the games were awarded was around £2.5bn, yet it eventually cost over £9bn. This was to the detriment of other parts of the UK as extra funding had to be found to cover the shortfall (such as lottery grants). There's little doubt that Stratford and the surrounding areas are now a nicer place to visit, but it certainly wasn't a perfect example of how to do it correctly.

That 2005 Labour budget was a complete joke, even if we allow for the unforeseen economic collapse.

Considering the amount of work done in one of the most expensive cities in the world, £9bn seems reasonable.

 

[norinrad]

It's (astonishingly) because it seems in this one, isolated incident Blatter was on the right side of things. Presumably because of his feud with Bin Hamman at the time, but Blatter was oppossed to Qatar winning and I think was in support of the USA?

For once, and for the wrong reasons, Blatter may actually not have been bought and sold. For once. Maybe.

Never the less, Blatter and Platini are in the same category of the extremely corrupt.

 

[Joni]

While making billions of dollar, FIFA was clever enough to be a club, not a company. A club in Switzerland counts as private organization. Therefore, they are private persons accepting bribes. Which is perfectly legal.

They're a smart bunch. The IOC already escaped a similar situation for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games of Salt Lake City. The US DoJ just said bribery was okay because hey, everyone does it.

This is why I support the move to USA for 2022. NFL and college stadiums are already built

In that case it would be easy to decide to only award the FIFA World Cup to European nations. Italy, England, Spain, France and Germany are the only countries that have actual soccer stadiums ready with enough capacity. They each have 7-8 stadiums for the Champions League and the Euro League so they'd be most ready moneywise. They also have the training infrastructure to host 32 teams in the neighbourhood of the big stadiums. Even the US needs to invest in its stadiums because they aren't soccer stadiums. The idea about switching is that isn't automically awarded to the same nations/continents every time.

It's (astonishingly) because it seems in this one, isolated incident Blatter was on the right side of things. Presumably because of his feud with Bin Hamman at the time.

It is quite simple. If Platini approves of something, Blatter is certainly against it. They really don't like each other and considering the importance of the UEFA compared to the other continental soccer leagues, it is always very exciting to see them butt heads.

 

[Anoregon]

Please come to our hot as fuck desert country and don't wear shorts

GET FUUUCCCCCCCCKEEEEEEDDDDDDDD

 

[Lana Del Rey]

They should rebid solely because of that dress code.

 

[Joni]

They should rebid solely because of that dress code.

This year is Brazil, the next time is Russia. FIFA doesn't care about something as 'silly' as dress codes, or people getting killed, or human rights.

 

[Oersted]

They're a smart bunch. The IOC already escaped a similar situation for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games of Salt Lake City. The US DoJ just said bribery was okay because hey, everyone does it.


In that case it would be easy to decide to only award the FIFA World Cup to European nations. Italy, England, Spain, France and Germany are the only countries that have actual soccer stadiums ready with enough capacity. They each have 7-8 stadiums for the Champions League and the Euro League so they'd be most ready moneywise. They also have the training infrastructure to host 32 teams in the neighbourhood of the big stadiums. Even the US needs to invest in its stadiums because they aren't soccer stadiums. The idea about switching is that isn't automically awarded to the same nations/continents every time.

Fun fact: In 2010, BBC Panorama revealed that 3 FIFA higher-ups, including president Havelange, were bribed. It was about the television rights. At that time, London made their England 2018 against Russia and Co. England 2018 highly condemned the BBC report.
The 3 bribed guys stepped back, there was never any legal investigation and they still have the bribe money, round about 100 million dollars.

 

[bonesmccoy]

Agreed, what's a few hundred dead workers anyway? I can just watch it from home regardless.

Isn't it up to 1200 now?

But yea, who cares. People die all the time, amirite?

Qatar should be stripped of the WC because of the piles of dead migrant workers before anything else - the corruption stuff is just icing on the proverbial cake. I'd love for the nation FAs to show some courage and refuse to participate unless the host country is changed.

USA (& Canada) could hold a WC with a year's notice. We have the stadia, the hotels and the infrastructure for this crap.

 

[Gentleman Jack]

...only 5 million?

Still looking for the rest of the receipts.

 

[Inspectah Deck]

Haha I used to live in Qatar (father worked in the American Military base there) and I'm surprised they got the world cup.

 

[Derp1na]

In that case it would be easy to decide to only award the FIFA World Cup to European nations. Italy, England, Spain, France and Germany are the only countries that have actual soccer stadiums ready with enough capacity. They each have 7-8 stadiums for the Champions League and the Euro League so they'd be most ready moneywise. They also have the training infrastructure to host 32 teams in the neighbourhood of the big stadiums. Even the US needs to invest in its stadiums because they aren't soccer stadiums. The idea about switching is that isn't automically awarded to the same nations/continents every time.

Japan, Mexico, Korea, and of course now South Africa and Brazil all have football stadiums with enough capacity and facilities to host 32 teams. I really don't seen an issue with switching it between them, European countries, and the US, until there's another country capable of hosting it.

The alternative is to host it in a place that isn't going to do a good job, or getting a country to spend billions building stadiums that it probably doesn't need. Look at the stadium in Manaus for example. $300m to build a stadium in the middle of the jungle that is barely going to get used once the World Cup finishes.

 

[Oersted]

Japan, Mexico, Korea, and of course now South Africa and Brazil all have football stadiums with enough capacity and facilities to host 32 teams. I really don't seen an issue with switching it between them, European countries, and the US, until there's another country capable of hosting it.

The alternative is to host it in a place that isn't going to do a good job, or getting a country to spend billions building stadiums that it probably doesn't need. Look at the stadium in Manaus for example. $300m to build a stadium in the middle of the jungle that is barely going to get used once the World Cup finishes.

Many brazil stadiums won't get used after World Cup. Many of the cities have way too small teams.

 

[vas_a_morir]

I'd like to remind people that England is not eligible to host the WC in 2022.

U
S
A

They might get Russia, though. They can probably prove bribes there, too. And, especially if the new cold war continues to pop off.

 

[Pristine_Condition]

FIFA is clearly an insular organization that willfully turns a blind eye to the corruption in its office. That makes it a criminal organization in my book. I mean, when you've got an organization who only has six people tasked, with no power of subpoena, to police the whole WORLD of gambling fixes, you are complicit in criminal activities via gross negligence.

FIFA is a criminal organization complicit in racketeering and fixing games, and international law inforcement should shut them down, investigate, and arrest everyone who has been corrupt or negligent. Burn the damn thing down to the ground and start again clean.

Doing this would also send a message loud and clear to the International Olympic Committee.

 

[alterno69]

I hope this is taken back from Qatar and given to the US, would be the prefect time to go there with my two sons, and the best chance i'll get to go to a world cup in the near future, i live in Mexico so it would be perfect.