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World Cup Voting Breakdown

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Shortly after both Russia and Qatar were announced as the 2018 and 2022 World Cup host nations, FIFA released how the vote for each event took place.

It was revealed that England didn't progress past the first round of voting for 2018, coming up with only two votes, while the likes of Netherlands/Belgium and Spain/Portugal progressed, only to be defeated by Russia in the second round of voting.

For the U.S. bid, while they progressed through four rounds of voting, it was never very close. Australia came up with just a single vote — the low for the day, while Japan and Korea Republic were voted out in rounds two and three, setting up a final vote that Qatar won 14-8.

Here's a complete look at the vote for each World Cup bid:

2018 WORLD CUP

Round 1: England 2 votes, Netherlands/Belgium 4 votes, Spain/Portugal 7 votes and Russia 9 votes (as no absolute majority was reached, the candidate with least amount of votes, England, was eliminated)

Round 2: Netherlands/Belgium 2 votes, Spain/Portugal 7 votes and Russia 13 votes (Russia obtained an absolute majority)

2022 WORLD CUP

Round 1: Australia 1 vote, Japan 3 votes, Korea Republic 4 votes, Qatar 11 votes, USA 3 votes (Australia eliminated)

Round 2: Japan 2 votes, Korea Republic 5 votes, Qatar 10 votes and USA 5 votes (Japan eliminated)

Round 3: Korea Republic 5 votes, Qatar 11 votes, USA 6 votes (Korea Republic eliminated)

Round 4: Qatar 14 votes and USA 8 votes (Qatar obtained an absolute majority)

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What do you think of the voting results? Surprised to see the U.S. receive little support?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Once again FIFA politics and bribery play a role. Bin Hamman the head of AFC, a FIFA Executive Committee member, and a Qatari national threatened to run for FIFA president if Qatar did not win 2022. Blatter wants another term as FIFA president. I think Blazer should run for FIFA president and embarrass Blatter.
    If the rotation stayed in place CONCACAF would have gotten 2018, but UEFA has the “divine” right to host every other world cup. The rotation policy was gotten rid of after having very few candidates to host when CONMEBOL had their turn for 2014. I think the U.S. should run for hosting 2026, but it is obvious a political power play by Blazer must be done. They only gave Blazer head of the broadcasting (television) committee.
    When the U.S. won hosting rights the U.S. had to qualify for the 1990 cup. Now I learn on bigsoccer.com that if the U.S. did not qualify for 1990; Germany would have hosted 1994. How about Qatar be required to qualify for 2014 or 2018? Then, if they do not qualify the hosting rights could go to Australia, Saudi Arabia, or the United States. But then again FIFA always has a double-standard or no standards at all when the topic is CONCACAF or the United States.

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  2. So what? GWB is no longer the president. Barack Obama is, and he was supposed to make the US more “respected” about the world. Great job he’s doing with that, huh?

    Seriously, though, FIFA would have made this decision regardless of whether the US bid. Blatter wants the votes of the AFC (which is led by a Qatari) for his re-election bid, so he offered up the World Cup in exchange for those votes. Besides, Qatar and Russia can guarantee the kind of perks and exemptions that FIFA wants. No First World bid could compete with that.

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  3. I dig this:
    BillHamid28 Bill Hamid
    If Qatar can host a WC why can’t Virginia????!!!!!! Anybody down for a #govirginiabid ????

    GO VIRGINIA BID, HAHAHA

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  4. How does this encourage other countries to bid for future WCs? I mean, you can have a nearly perfect bid like the US and England did, just to have FIFA say “I know Qatar is a risk, but f*ck it, let’s go with them.”

    Heck, maybe Canada should have put a bid together. Think about it, untapped soccer market, no security issues, mild climate in the summer, plenty of oil money to line the pockets of FIFA.

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  5. This just in. Early reports are saying that the 2026 World Cup is has been granted to Lichtenstein. It seems as if modest payments of Lichtensteiner stamps was enough to win over the FIFA ExComm. UEFA members are now celebrating the long awaited moment were centuries of bad blood between Switzerland, Austria, and the tiny country will finally be resolved on the pitch.

    No firm confirmation exists on the rumors that 2030 will be won by the Vatican City. Doubts still exist about the viability of Pope Benedict’s plans to erect at least two stadia in St. Peter’s Square. Still a video presentation showing animations of the miraculous “walk on water” conveyor systems impressed the committee and media alike. The ExComm overruled objections by Sunil Gulati that Holy See’s plans to host Shakira for another rousing addition of “Waka Waka” in the Sistine Chapel would endanger the priceless frescoes and it seems rules will temporarily be lifted to allow drinking on the premises but communion wine will remain off limits.

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  6. You cant put the loss to mexico on the shoulders of Gulati though. They didnt bring their A game and got out played. Thats not Gulati messing up, thats the game of soccer

    though, being a UP grad I’m pretty sure the sole reason was that Stephanie Cox didn’t start.(in this part of my post, logic isn’t welcome.)

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  7. Firstly, sporting events don’t “unify” anything…that’s a crock and a cover. Drive through Sarajevo sometime. You think the Olympics unified anything there??

    These World Cups were bought. Period. Though Russia’s bid is more logical than Qatar’s, it still was not a better option than England. However, Qatar’s selection defies all logic. They don’t have the infrastructure nor the size /population to support the biggest sporting event in the world. The heat will also be a HUGE factor.

    FIFA is as corrupt as they come, and all of the voter buying controversy leading up to this decision only makes one have to doubt EVEN MORE the validity of these announcements…shameful!

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  8. Maybe so, but they have 12 years and apparently limitless financial resources. They’ll be ready with the stadia and hotels, and the roads, too (though I’m less certain about that….gridlock could still rule the day). I think, and I know this isn’t novel, that the bigger issues will be the heat and how flexible the Qataris are about allowing western customs……

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  9. No,.. because he has been through a cycle that has not seen the USMNT progress for sh*t and the USWNT has barely qualified for the next cup

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  10. It about exponentially increasing fairplay, fairness, equality and international friendship.

    Rob, you’re kidding, right?

    The 1936 Berlin Olympics and the 1980 Moscow Olympics should have buried the notion once and for all that international sport can bring world peace. This year’s World Cup should have buried the notion that soccer can increase “fair play” (unless you missed Nigel de Jong’s red-card-that-should’ve-been-but-wasn’t tackle).

    a worldcup that will bring Middle East and Rest of the World together, a world cup where muslims and non-muslims…will work together without hating each other.

    It’s very easy to “work together” for a limited time period in which no major political sacrifices will be made. It’s a lot harder to get parties to make the kind of political sacrifices needed to bring about the utopia you’re talking about. In fact, utopia isn’t possible in this life. The Nazis, Fascists and Communists tried and failed. Just ask their victims, if you can exhume their remains.

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  11. Sorry to be rough on you, but most of that is solidly in the realm of opinion. For example, if I believe your assertion that plenty of people “hate” the US, it’s because they think WE’RE an unworthy or dangerous country — at that point, why should you think anyone would vote for us to host anything? So the world (as represented by FIFA members) hate the US: why bother being bitter that we didn’t win the bid because, according to you, we didn’t even have a chance?

    Also, it’s not Pollyanna to believe that Qatar’s gov’t (not mention all their partners in FIFA) have a strong financial interest in making sure everyone feels safe in their country, because that’s the only way people will attend matches, and stay at their hotels, and eat at their restaurants, and shop at their stores. Sorry, but a lot of this sounds like the handwringing over South Africa, and the violence never materialized.

    And I’m not optimistic about the bid’s long-term effects, either. At least South Africa has a growing pro league and players who are scouted internationally so that those stadiums might actually be used regularly in the future. By all accounts, Qatar is far from achieving that (at least by itself).

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  12. It may be “normal strategy” for a corrupt illegitimate process.

    The point is that if you are an elector and you truly believe a certain country is your #1 for the cup, then you vote for them every time, until they are eliminated. To change your vote in the second round should only be reserved for the elector that just got his bid country eliminated.

    This whole thing just seems like under the table, back room wheeling and dealing. Granted, I think Qatar is an intriguing place to try and hold the world cup. If they would have won the bid fare and square, then ok. But based on how the votes came out, I have no faith that it was the case.

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  13. For me if FIFA want it in the middle east, and don’t care about how a country is run, at least give Otto a ME country who has a half decent team, ie Saudi Arabia or even dare I say Iran… Iran would be a harder sell ATM though.

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  14. Paula I don’t want to be rough on you but you should consider changing your name to Pauliana.

    re: 1.Its not the cultural concern that is at issue. Its the political concern of a nation that refuses entry of anyone who carries an Israeli passport. Who are listed as a major human rights violator of women and workers and a major human trafficking destination. Who have strategically aligned their nation with Iran on defense issues. That doesn’t mean it’s populated with nothing but fundamentalists but is governed by them.
    re: 2. Imagine you are a fundamentalist who prefers hyper-conservative religious law and watch your country overrun but the very culture you find most offensive for a month. Do you get a bit upset? I’d imagine those inclined to violence might just chose the opportunity to become, well, violent. Security is a legitimate concern. Its always a concern but here a tough situation is worse. And you don’t have to find a way to get past a stadium magnetometer to cause a lot trouble as we so sadly found out in Mumbai not too long ago.
    re: 3. Sure, it could be good to expose Qatar to the outside world but who says we have to reward them with the greatest show on earth to do it at the expense of better options such as, heck, forget the US, Australia?
    re: 4. PLENTY of people “hate” the US.

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