The Beautiful Game Thread 10/11

[fsquid]

It was fun to watch minus the usual diving.

[miget33]

WC hosts to be announced soon, If England and the US dont win, then something is up, Jack Warner style.

[miget33]

Russia in 2018
Qatar in 2022.

[pk500]

This only further proves FIFA's gross corruption.

Russia is run by the mob, fueled by petrodollars. Qatar is a banana republic fueled by petrodollars. Perfect fits for Blatter.

[dougb]

Russia's corrupt as hell but at least I could see some logic in awarding it there - and not just the fact that the culture of corruption fits in well with that of Fifa itself.

Qatar ? Now that truly is absolutely stark, raving bonkers! Air conditioning for the fields to keep the temperatures to a somewhat playable level - err right!

Best wishes,

Doug

[fsquid]

high temperature, not friendly towards alcohol and a team ranked 113 in the FIFA rankings.

[RobVarak]

Don't forget the added bonus of Qatar's zero-tolerance policy with regard to public alcohol consumption. Hell, the desert heat will even be too much for the quadrennial hooker convention that accompanies every WC!

[dougb]

Well the Fifa big wigs will be tucked away in the luxury boxes so no problem with booze and hookers there I think

Wonder if wikileaks could get around to scheduling a data dump on Fifa - some pretty squalid reading in there I'd think.

Best wishes,

Doug

[miget33]

1st round: England 2 votes, Netherlands/Belgium 4 votes, Spain/Portugal 7 votes and Russia 9 votes

2nd round: Netherlands/Belgium 2 votes, Spain/Portugal 7 votes and Russia 13 votes.

1st round: Australia 1 vote, Japan 3 votes, Korea Republic 4 votes, Qatar 11 votes, USA 3 votes

Qatar only one short of winning it in first round. Japan 2 votes, Korea Republic 5 votes, Qatar 10 votes and USA 5 votes 2nd round

Qatar won in the fourth round of voting 14-8 over USA

via twitter.(@pkelso)

[wco81]

I heard Qatar is smaller than London?

Really would be curious about how FIFA or the IOC deliberates on these decisions. You can call these choices money grabs but was South Africa?

Maybe there are some international soccer federations which get votes? Or is it just Blatter and a few cronies?

Countries like Spain and even England could probably use the economic boost from hosting, not to mention the US.

[10spro]

Wonder how many Oil patches Blatter will be getting after his 'We go to new lands' statement. Personally I would have liked England and Russia and although the latter was chosen, I was a bit skeptical about their chances especially when Putin pulled out of the final presentation. R. Abramovich payed everyone well.

[Macca00]

Russia? Blah, whatever. Clearly MACTEPsporta's performances in FIFA 11 didn't affect the voting.

Qatar - ??? WHAT THE F^&K? A quick google search shows that on July 14th of this year - 3 days after the world cup final, it was FIFTY DEGREES CELCIUS (122 degrees F) in Qatar. Unless they declare Jihad on warm weather that's going to be one hell of an interesting World Cup....

[Naples39]

No votes for england in the 2nd round? Now that is shocking.

Qatar seems like an absolutely dreadful idea for a variety of reasons, but the pick isn't surprising based on recent reporting. The AVERAGE high temp for qatar in June is 106! A tiny, terrible soccer country, with puritanical laws promising air conditioned stadiums? This sounds like a total scam.

I like the FIFA wikileaks idea.

[pk500]

DaveT's response to my post on Facebook, saying FIFA is corrupt, nails it:

>>>And just HOW long have I been saying this ? No wonder that corrupt sack of sh*t Putin didn't bother to fly out - why should he bother, when the bulging brown envelopes have been passed to Blatter, Warner and the other sacks of sh*t months ago. Of course, this will be the cleanest games of all time - it's not like any journalist with an interest in continuing to breath will be reporting on corruption in Russia.<<<

[Naples39]

FYI, in terms of population and geographical size, Qatar is about the size of Delaware doubled.

[pk500]

FYI, in terms of population and geographical size, Qatar is about the size of Delaware doubled.

Qatar's population is smaller than the city of Houston.

[Naples39]

Wiki says Qatar population is 1.7 million, but sportscenter says 800k. That's smaller than delaware and a quarter of Houston.

[RobVarak]

Studs Up nailed this a few days ago:

[Naples39]

@TheGoche: Bid cities for Qatar: Doha, N. Doha, S. Doha, E. Doha, W. Doha, Central Doha, S Central Doha, NNW Doha, The Surface of the Sun

@MikeGarafolo: By the time the World Cup returns to the US they'll be playing games in the New New Meadowlands Stadium.

@SoccerInsider: #Qatar has 12 years to build stadiums ... and to build a respectable team

@CaptainAnnoying: If Qatar's social mores induce Brazilian chicks to show up modestly dressed at WC2022, I am so done with soccer.

@celebrityhottub: Wait, is FIFA picking World Cup sites or settings for Call of Duty missions?

@FisolaNYDN: Plenty of good seats still available for USA-Israel first round match at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

@edsbs: "I'm sure this was all done on the up-and-up and that Qatar really did have the best bid package." --Auburn fan.

@stefanfatsis: Spain/Portugal wants to know if it can have its bribes back.

@sportsguy33: Qatar needs to thank its special consultant for the 2022 WC bid: Cam Newton's father.

@sportsguy33: Any time you can hold a World Cup in a hot Middle East country that's smaller than Connecticut + has no soccer tradition, you have to do it.

@tragicarpetride: At least in Australia they can drown their sorrows in beer at this hour #wc2022 #wehavebeerinthefridgeatwork

@tragicarpetride: Qatar 2022: come for the heat, stay for the restricitive alcohol policies #notinamillionyears

@bommadog: Shakira will be singing Qatar's World Cup song again. The name of the song will be "HOTTA, HOTTA" instead of "WAKKA WAKKA"

@CraigMac: @SoccerInsider Thoughts on Rhode Island's bid for the 2026 World Cup? The Vatican? Maybe even Monaco?

[Rodster]

Russia WC Champs in 2018, print it, you heard it hear first. Putin will do whatever it takes to make it happen.

[GB_Simo]

I have already written to the FA suggesting that by way of protest, we make a mockery of international football by sending out a team of individuals who perform at the highest level with their clubs and having them play as if they've never met each other. I have further proposed that we backdate this policy to 1991. I'll let you all know if I get a reply.

[toonarmy]

I can live with Russia getting a WC. FIFA certainly have an interest in growing the game there, and Russia is a nice place for people to visit. Sure, it is a corrupt country, but so are most other countries when you really get down to it.

As far as Qatar is concerned it is obvious that some massive corruption helped make that decision. Qatar is absolutely one of the worst places to hold a WC. Not only will the heat be nightmarish for visitors when they are not in the supposed air-conditioned stadiums, but what in the hell is there to do in Qatar? People who are making lengthy stays will be bored out of their mind. Also, I would think that a WC there could be a security nightmare and a perfect place for someone or some group to carry out an act of terrorism. Let's face it, it is a lot easier for a Middle-Eastern terrorist to blend into the crowd in Qatar than it is in England or Russia.

It's ashamed that world soccer is so freaking corrupt.

[pk500]

As far as Qatar is concerned it is obvious that some massive corruption helped make that decision. Qatar is absolutely one of the worst places to hold a WC. Not only will the heat be nightmarish for visitors when they are not in the supposed air-conditioned stadiums, but what in the hell is there to do in Qatar? People who are making lengthy stays will be bored out of their mind. Also, I would think that a WC there could be a security nightmare and a perfect place for someone or some group to carry out an act of terrorism. Let's face it, it is a lot easier for a Middle-Eastern terrorist to blend into the crowd in Qatar than it is in England or Russia.

No booze. Fun, fun. Only two cities of more than 32,000. Where else will the games take place other than those two cities?

And good luck if you're a female fan attending this World Cup. Qatar remains one of the most sexist societies on Earth.

[wco81]

So if the UK, Spain, US or Netherlands got selected, there would have been no corruption whatsoever?

[Macca00]

I have already written to the FA suggesting that by way of protest, we make a mockery of international football by sending out a team of individuals who perform at the highest level with their clubs and having them play as if they've never met each other. I have further proposed that we backdate this policy to 1991. I'll let you all know if I get a reply.

That's brilliant.