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Watch the World Cup bid presentations

The bid representatives for all the nations bidding for either the 2018 or 2022 World Cup are presenting their bids today and if you regret not being able to be in Zurich for it all, you can see it as if you were there.

FIFA is providing a live streaming video of the bids. You can watch them here. The U.S.A. bid presentation is at 11am ET.

While you take in the presentations, here is my question for SBI readers. Where will you be watching the World Cup bid announcements on Thursday morning? Watching it at a watch party, or will you be watching at home (on Fox Soccer Channel at 10am, or any of the other various stations showing it).

Let us know where you will be watching what could be one of the most historic moments in American soccer in the comments section below.

Comments

  1. I was more referring to the fear of the unknown, which seems to be the direction of the public opinion these days here in the us. Before Beijing and SA 2010 there were fears like this too but mostly from people who have never been there or those with a biased view.

    If you google Is Qatar Safe, you get a lot of results from ex-pats who are there and swear its safer than most US cities, for men and women.

    I’m not saying Qatar deserves it, just saying we shouldnt fear the unknown, or in the post i responded to: women forced to wear jeans just because its a middle eastern islamic dominated nation…

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  2. Having spent some time in Qatar with the Army, I seriously hope Qatar does not win. The heat is absolutly oppressive there in the summer (120 degree temps are common in the summer), the transportation and traffic are atrocious, the infrastructure is nonexistant (one modern shopping mall/stadium complex, one shady airport, and one traditional bazaar amidst miles of endless barren desert). Additionally, I believe the security concerns in Qatar are very significant. I would not want to spend any length of time there unless I was on official business.

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  3. One has to love when Slick Willy said Sunil Gulati name wrong and had to say it again. They did not spend much time together before hand. It is like the old story of the Prostitute and the John. I will let you decide who is who.

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  4. This sounds like the NFL giving the SuperBowl to Butte, Montana. The weather will be crap. There’s nothing to do. We have to build the facilty to host the game. But damnit, we’re so much friggin’ larger than life we can pull off ANYTHING and this will prove it.

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  5. That’s a bit of a strawman argument. There’s a difference between a poor country with a high crime rate and state-supported sexism.

    We’ve seen in the past that countries promise to change their social constraints for international sporting tournaments but that rarely happens. Look up Beijing’s restrictions on online access to journalists during the 2008 Olympics.

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  6. With Putin not attending Russia’s bid presentation tomorrow, I see England pulling off the 2018 bid. Also, having the World Cup in South Africa and Brazil (2014), FIFA will want to cash in and Spain/Portugal does not provide the same revenue and sponsorship & TV money as England. If England is picked, then I see us facing an uphill battle for 2022, so hopefully Spain/Portugal pull it of though most of us agree that England deserves to host.

    Qatar came out o nowhere with their Bid presentation. It was very emotional and very well done (speaking in Arabic, French, Spanish and English) and linking the bid to the entire Middle East. Our bid speech was well done, balanced, culturally driven and economical, but Qatar really wants you to take a risk and give it them, such as FIFA giving us the WC in 1994. We’ll see tomorrow and fingers crossed for US.

    I see three scenarios…with (2) being the actual outcome (I hope I’m wrong)
    (1) 2018: Spain/Portugal 2022: USA
    (2) 2018: England 2022: Qatar
    (3) 2018: Spain/Portugal 2022: Qatar

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  7. Women in Qatar may suffer from inequality, if the WC does go to Qatar maybe it will help open their society to the social problems that exist as the world focus on them.

    All this fear and hate for Qatar is beginning to feel like the spring of 2010 when people were popping up saying if you are not black don’t go into Soweto or places x, y and z else you will be raped and shot and how things wouldve been better if it was in Europe instead.

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  8. OK … cute, slightly cheesy, but … can’t beat the split screen of the Youtube video and THE goal …

    Also, given how much press he does, I was little surprised to hear Donovan sound so effing nervous.

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  9. Hell , i say you don’t even need a reason for that, but if the world is going to supply you with an excuse, you have to take it!

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  10. Hey where can I sign up for the Clinton Iniative for global peace through soccer. Also we have reached all people groups except the ones who play NFL, NBA, MLB. This is what FIFA would find appealing get some true american sports fans who go to games and watch TV. Thanks, NFL, NBA, MLB. we would not have a bid with out your help. Go look and see!

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