World Cup Bids (Announced: 2018-RUSSIA, 2022-QATAR)

[GirlySports]

The host for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup will be announced tomorrow morning at 7:30am.

Just going by British tv, the favourites are England and QATAR.

REally? Qatar?

Zidane and Multunovic are representing the QATAR bid, they are all over skysports right now.

Is Obama going to show up again and destroy another bid?

Bids for 2018
England
Russia
Belgium/Holland
Spain Portugal

Bids for 2022
Australia
United States
South Korea
Japan
Qatar

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_an...World_Cup_bids

[troutman]

I'd like to see Russia, then Australia get it.

Imagine the drinking.

[d_phaneuf]

the favorites are whomever gives Sepp and his cronies the biggest briefcase filled with cash

if there are any FIFA delegates who operate on the straight and narrow though, supposedly the US presentation today was bad, and Qatar/Japan/Korea were all very strong

the BBC tried to destroy the England bid on monday with the Panorama program, and likely did. Putin not going to Zurich was viewed as a big blow for Russia

If I had to guess, Russia/Qatar

I hope its England obviously, would be a treat to watch them disappoint everyone at home rather than in a foreign country, but I don't see it now

think if it isn't those two above though the only other choice for 2018 is England, and the only other one for 2022 is the US. Australia would be great but if they do it there they can't do China in 2026

interesting article here on the politics of it all, http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/jamespear...tics_meet.html

Ten years ago, I was here in Zurich to report on the 2006 bidding decision. I had covered much of the final month of that campaign, making a film for Newsnight on the closing stages of England's doomed bid. Wherever I travelled and whomever I spoke to, I was told that South Africa had it in the bag. "Sepp Blatter (Fifa president) wants South Africa to win," they all said, "and Sepp Blatter gets what he wants."

In those days I was probably a little more gullible but I happily went along with the popular opinion. Then, late at night on the eve of the vote, it all changed. I was wandering down a corridor of the hotel where the voters were staying when I bumped into one of my best Fifa contacts. Everything had changed he told me. The four Asian members of the executive committee were angry with Blatter about the amount of slots their countries were being given at the next World Cup. They had told him they were switching their support from South Africa to Germany in protest. In one evening, the pendulum had swung away from South Africa. The next day, Germany, with the extra help of Charles Dempsey's failure to vote, went on to win the right to host the 2006 event.

[You Need a Thneed]

I can't see 2022 not going to the US.

2018 will go to someone in Europe.

[valo403]

I don't see how the US can be skipped over, it's simply too much of a potential financial gold mine for FIFA to let that happen. That said, the only way Qatar wins is through bribery, so I guess that makes them the favorite.

[d_phaneuf]

Qatar's bid is actually very very strong, I think if anyone wins through bribing people in 2022 its the US

[valo403]

Originally Posted by diane_phaneuf

Qatar's bid is actually very very strong, I think if anyone wins through bribing people in 2022 its the US

You mean the bid that includes air conditioned stadiums, stadiums built on islands and a host of other gimmicks? That's a bid doomed to fail.

[d_phaneuf]

Originally Posted by valo403

You mean the bid that includes air conditioned stadiums, stadiums built on islands and a host of other gimmicks? That's a bid doomed to fail.

well it's the favorite, and has been for the last few months

FIFA loves to give bids to new countries (and in this case a completely new area), and the new Qatar stadiums have been proposed to be taken apart after the world cup and the materials given to underdeveloped countries

FIFA absolutely eats that stuff up

so what you call gimmicks is basically a winning strategy, and they certainly have the money to build these things

[PIMking]

Northern hemisphere please, and not in a country that has stupid horns.

[GirlySports]

Qatar having air-conditioned is an advantage over the US.
Playing in the US means having to play in the daytime because of European television and in the 94 World Cup, it was incredibly hot.

[valo403]

Originally Posted by diane_phaneuf

well it's the favorite, and has been for the last few months

FIFA loves to give bids to new countries (and in this case a completely new area), and the new Qatar stadiums have been proposed to be taken apart after the world cup and the materials given to underdeveloped countries

FIFA absolutely eats that stuff up

so what you call gimmicks is basically a winning strategy, and they certainly have the money to build these things

FIA loves to give bids to new countries so much that they've done it what, twice? Each of those times coming when they were required by the rotation mandate to do so. The entire bid is hinged upon theatrics and gimmicks, the actual foundation is shaky at best.

[d_phaneuf]

Originally Posted by valo403

FIA loves to give bids to new countries so much that they've done it what, twice? Each of those times coming when they were required by the rotation mandate to do so. The entire bid is hinged upon theatrics and gimmicks, the actual foundation is shaky at best.

twice in the last 3 and 3 of the last 5

so yes, they do love to do it

[PIMking]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

Qatar having air-conditioned is an advantage over the US.
Playing in the US means having to play in the daytime because of European television and in the 94 World Cup, it was incredibly hot.

Well if it's in Europe the games will be during the day time here anyways, so why not have the games here?

[valo403]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

Qatar having air-conditioned is an advantage over the US.
Playing in the US means having to play in the daytime because of European television and in the 94 World Cup, it was incredibly hot.

The AC can supposedly drop the temperature by around 20 degrees inside the stadium, which still leaves temperatures in the mid 20's, and that's assuming the system works exactly as it's been described. It can certainly get quite hot in the US at that time of the year, but it many parts of the US mid 20's is about the average for June.

[PIMking]

I'm worried about some religious nut job trying to kill a bunch of western people if it's Qatar.

[valo403]

Originally Posted by diane_phaneuf

twice in the last 3 and 3 of the last 5

so yes, they do love to do it

2 of which were mandated by the rotation policy, abolished because the whole 'give everyone a chance' thing was becoming an issue.

I did forget about the US, but that just proves my point about the strength of the US market and FIFA's desire to tap into it. By 2022 there will be an entire generation of Americans who have grown up with the game, it would be the perfect time to take that market to the next level. A WC in Qatar gets FIFA a month and half of returns, a WC in the US would go along way to turning the US into an actual soccer market with billions of dollars of income. FIFA does some stupid things, but bypassing the US as a WC host would go to the very top of that pile.

[valo403]

Originally Posted by PIMking

I'm worried about some religious nut job trying to kill a bunch of western people if it's Qatar.

I think that's a worry regardless of where it's held, but I agree that security is an extra high concern in Qatar.

[Locke]

I hope the Russians get it just to really piss off the English.

The Brits were basically bragging that this was a done deal years ago. Not so much anymore.

And the Russians have been real jerks about it too.

That being said, personally I'd prefer if Belgium/Holland got it. I would totally go to that.

[d_phaneuf]

Originally Posted by valo403

2 of which were mandated by the rotation policy, abolished because the whole 'give everyone a chance' thing was becoming an issue.

I did forget about the US, but that just proves my point about the strength of the US market and FIFA's desire to tap into it. By 2022 there will be an entire generation of Americans who have grown up with the game, it would be the perfect time to take that market to the next level. A WC in Qatar gets FIFA a month and half of returns, a WC in the US would go along way to turning the US into an actual soccer market with billions of dollars of income. FIFA does some stupid things, but bypassing the US as a WC host would go to the very top of that pile.

Thats why if the US doesn't get it in 2022, it will in either 2026 or 2030, no one doubts it will be there soon

Originally Posted by Locke

I hope the Russians get it just to really piss off the English.

The Brits were basically bragging that this was a done deal years ago. Not so much anymore.

And the Russians have been real jerks about it too.

That being said, personally I'd prefer if Belgium/Holland got it. I would totally go to that.

Putin not going today hurt them, and the odds on the English have gone way down in the last 12 hours. It's very tight between them right now

[Locke]

Originally Posted by diane_phaneuf

Putin not going today hurt them, and the odds on the English have gone way down in the last 12 hours. It's very tight between them right now

That guy is crazy, him not going should have helped them.

Besides, why would England even want the World Cup in 2018? They're going to be horrible.