The USA-Honduras World Cup qualifier set for Oct. 10 in Honduras is still set to be played in San Pedro Sula, but continued political upheaval is making it far from a certainty with fewer than two weeks to go.
The acting Honduran government has issued an emergency order allowing authorities to limit constitutional rights such as freedoms of expression, travel and gathering in public. The government closed two television stations on Monday that were considered supporters of ousted president Jose Manuel Zelaya, who has stirred things up in his native country by returning to Honduras after having been exiled.
What does this all mean in soccer terms?
Right now the U.S. Soccer Federation isn't making comment yet, but with less than two weeks to go before the USA-Honduras qualifier, and with this week's CONCACAF Champions League match between Mexican club Toluca and CD Marathon being suspended, the chances of the qualifier being moved or postponed are growing. (According to CONCACAF, Toluca and Marathon were notified early on Monday evening that Thursday's match WILL be played, and will not be postponed).
With political protests expected to take place this week, if things worsen, and if protests go from peaceful to violent, the unstable situation in the country could make holding a soccer match there unlikely.
As far as the World Cup qualifier goes, as of Monday no decision has been made about moving it and FIFA has stated its preference of holding the match in Honduras. FIFA will make the ultimate decision, with input from the federations and CONCACAF.
What do you think of this development? Starting to think the game won't be played in Honduras? Did you have plans to travel to Honduras? Still hoping the match is moved to the United States?
Share your thoughts below.
how is qualifying through Asia any better than this? imagine road trips to Iran, iraq, North Korea… I think I’d take Honduras any day…
no offense, but i don’t really trust the us congress’ report. thanks though
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Just a hunch, but the only place you’re going to find that conforms with your worldview is below:
http://tinyurl.com/gm7sn
Do remember to keep the comments football/soccer related here, though.
no offense, but i don’t really trust the us congress’ report. thanks though
Ummm…actually San Pedro Sula has an international airport that receives flights from Miami, DC, and I think Atlanta daily…of course commercial flights have been suspended before and could be suspended any time.
Not saying it should be played in Hondu, but get the facts right
http://www.laprensa.hn/var/laprensa_site/storage/original/application/dd746930b896079e80f379a08e9821e9.pdf
There’s a link to the US Congress report on the political happenings in Honduras.
Martek, get your facts straight. San Pedro Sula does have an international airport. There are direct flights from Dallas, Houston, Miami, and I’m sure there are other places.
could a Honduran answer this, and not sal the smart arse from lodi
correct me if i’m wrong,didn’t Zelaya defy an order from the supreme court and the congress(or their equivalence)
first they came for the DJs…
Posted by: golfstrom | September 28, 2009 at 09:07 PM
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Quite possibly the funniest thing I ever read on this website. Cheers!
This is why CONCACAF isn’t the cake walk region some make it out to be. Playing on the road is literally a dangerous proposition in many instances… I would much rather qualify out of Asia, Oceana, or European groups 1-3
first they came for the DJs…
(SBI-WOW, pure genius Golfstrom.)
“send in Ari Gold to negotiate”?
Now that is dark — and magificent.
Bigger issue is the unavailability of broadcast. Pathetic that it is not even on pay-per-view….
I hope they move it and put it on the teevee !
Posted by: bernini | September 28, 2009 at 05:46 PM
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A bigger issue than a government being overthrown and the leader of a nation being sent into exile is whether you can watch a soccer game on TV? I hope this is just a poor attempt at humor.
They should play it in an empty Azteca. That way both teams are equally affected.
Vancouver.. no games at Swangard after the 4th of oct
http://www.whitecapsfc.com/schedule/
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You realize Swangard holds like 5k right?
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Like anyone outside of washington is gonna go..?
I wish they would move it to the LA Coliseum, but thats probably not going to happen.
If moved the stadium I want is Atlante’s stadium in Cancun. That stadium in Guatemala City was really dark when the U.S. played there in the semifinal round.
I was kidding about AZTECA, hope nobody took it seriously, that place is way to high and polution is out of hand. I was just throwing it out there since someone said Saprissa Stadium which is a dump of a field.
How about Azteca stadium??? Take a crack at it with Mexicans there supporting Honduras? No they won’t since they want to gurantee at least a second place (for pride) to finish ahead of Honduras. It would a great test for the US to sychologically (spell check needed) try and just win a game against a formal foe. Ok now that I stoped drinking and came to my senses this is a bad Idea. Seriously S.Blatter is a criminal for making the US go to a territory that is hostile, but than again when have you seen the rest of the world have some sympathy for us (spell check needed). GO US!!!!!! no matter where, we will beat that @ss.
i live in tegucigalpa. i travel about each and every day and it is not nearly as bad as the media is making it out to be. are there some demonstrations and difficulties? yes, but it is usually isolated to wherever the demonstration is. there is a very good chance the decree to suspend civil liberties will be withdrawn before it ever goes to vote in the congress.
if there is anything that unifies hondurans, it is the national team. they need this game to be here…. they really “need” to qualify for the world cup. it would be a great unifer for the people. i hope the game is here and i encourage fans to come. you will not be disappointed in the atmosphere you will encounter. the honduran people are very friendly and very passionate.
Kansas City! (I wish)
I’m just hoping it’s not Saprissa. That field is crapturf.
Vancouver.. no games at Swangard after the 4th of oct
http://www.whitecapsfc.com/schedule/
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You realize Swangard holds like 5k right?
Swangard? Are you kidding? Isnt their capacity like 8k
Hey everyone, I´m from Honduras and am really sad to see all this $h17 happening to my country.
We also don´t know if the game is going to be held in San Pedro Sula, but according to FENAFUTH the game is still going to be there.
Most of the events occur in Tegucigalpa, in San Pedro Sula haven´t been any things going on recently.
I think that if the game is moved to another country it would be Guatemala, because they aren´t playing qualifiers, and also is one of our neighbouring countries.
I hope all of these events end as quick as possible, this “government” is a big crap.
Good bye everyone and let´s hope both Honduras and USA qualify to the World Cup!
Greetings from Tegucigalpa.
Vancouver.. no games at Swangard after the 4th of oct
http://www.whitecapsfc.com/schedule/
The Toluca-Marathon game can be moved for a while. Remember that Hurricane Ike in 2008 forced the postponement of the Dynamo qualifier with San Francisco from September all the way to the night before Thanksgiving. So no worries there.
And the line about San Pedro Sula being away from Tegucigalpa just won’t wash. There’s no international airport there. You fly in and out of the capital. Flying to Guatemala City and bussing all the way to SP Sula is madness. FIFA and CONCACAF need to step in here and force a change so people will not blame the US. (And if that means the coup leaders look bad, then that’s all for the good.)
Panama, Costa Rica (non Estadio Saprissa), Guatemala and Jalisco all look like good options. Coming to the US would be unfair.
Jamaica anyone?
Last time I checked, neutral meant a site without any inherent advantage for either team. Neither team gets one on Jamaican soil.
For one, as someone who is partly from Central American descent, I’m saddened that in this day and age, a Central American nation has reverted to these types of authoritarian measures.
However, it could prove to be beneficial to the USMNT, if the game is moved to a neutral site, the US will escape not having to play in Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano, where Honduras haven’t dropped a single point throughout this qualification cycle.
No matter where they put the game, the tv situation won’t change. Home federations own the global tv rights to international matches, even in the opposing countries. They can sell them to whoever they want, and are usually sold in bulk. If you want the US-Honduras rights in the US, you also have to buy the Honduras-T&T game, the entire Hex. I bet US soccer does the same thing in Honduras.
Just find a ‘neutral’ site and be done with it. I don’t care if the problems aren’t in San Pedro Sula, Honduras is a mess and should be avoided.
I don’t read Spanish well, does it mention when the Toluca-Marathon match will be played? If it’s suspended for more than a week, doesn’t that mess up group play and the potential matchups for the quarters? The final group matches have to be played simultaneously, right? That should be DCU@Toluca and Marathon@San Juan Jabloteh, otherwise it lets Toluca pick the team between DCU and Marathon who advances?
A location in which we get 3 points is a good location. That is the one I want. Can we somehow get them to agree on that?….Send in Ari Gold to negotiate.
Re: The mixing console
The government tried shutting independent tv stations down a few months ago, but this time the coup’s government had the military confiscate equipment.
Playing in the states would be too much, imagine they lost, they’d never forget it, and rightly so. Play it at Jalisco in Mexico, or maybe at BMO in Toronto. You can’t play it in Honduras, and El Sal is pretty poor option. Bummer for Honduras, but I don’t see delaying the game as fair to the US, and Honduras could be under this coup for months.
RFK people….Honduras’ home away from home.
cool, lets get the best honduran league players to mls
lol
Honestly, if Honduras just claimed gate revenue from whatever neutral location, Soldier Field is as good as any…They’d have a fan advantage and make way more bank than they would even at San Pedro.
what are they doing with that mixing console?
Bigger issue is the unavailability of broadcast. Pathetic that it is not even on pay-per-view….
I hope they move it and put it on the teevee !
Big hell no on costa rica. The field at saprissa is a joke.
Posted by: AllNats | September 28, 2009 at 05:42 PM
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Ya seriously, it looks like a giant putting green.
err i meant to say itsa the secons largest reef next to the great barrier reef
the beaches in the northern part of the country are home to the Mezo American reef system next to the great barrier reef so if your into snorkling so theres one reason
Big hell no on costa rica. The field at saprissa is a joke.
have plans to travel to Honduras? I’m pretty sure the airpot(s?) are closed so the only way to get into the country is to drive, which is why Marathon had to bus to Guatemala to catch their flight to DC last week. Not sure why anyone would have previously wanted to go during this anyway…
Latin American outlets here in the states keep getting calls from hondurans that say the disturbances are only happening in Tegucigalpa or the southern part of the country. San Pedro Sula according to most accounts is functioning as normal. San Pedro Sula is the Location the game was to be played. In fact the head honcho of the Honduran FA was on ESPN Deportes radio guaranteeing the US teams Safety in San Pedro Sula. The US team is being accused by some very biased hosts, of trying to get an advantage and being scared of playing in Honduras. Some advantage. Were offering to play in El Salvador or Guatemala. It be different if we were trying to play the game in the states. Isn’t the state department pushing the USSF to have the game moved? Were getting pressured by our government, for Safety reasons obviously.
it aint safe no mo
According to the US State Department, there is not a travel warning (Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, etc have one), but rather a travel “alert.” This makes me think the game will happen. However, I’m mostly concerned about the prospect of a 36 hour trip to get back to the US, after which the team would be exhausted for a critical final game against Costa Rica. It’ll be interesting to see what happens!
first, I think that we should hope for the best for all of the Hondurans. The ones who were at the game in Chicago in June were great, and I hope their families in Honduras are well. Many of them were nice enough to invite US fans to the game in San Pedro Sula, but at this point, even if I had the means, I would politely decline. I think alternate arrangements must be made now, and probably they are being made as we speak.
this obviously would be good for the USA, but let’s not forget that Honduras was tough to beat in Chicago. They have a very good team — some say their best ever. In my mind, they deserved a draw in Azteca as much as we did. And look at the great play yesterday in the EPL by Wigan’s Honduran star, Maynor Figueroa.
unable to travel or gather in public? could be a fairly empty stadium…
USA vs Honduras @ Costa Rica
(SBI-I’d LOVE that, too bad there’s already a qualifier in Costa Rica that day. Guatemala looks like a better bet.)
Wait, no one was actually planning on going to Honduras were they? Because good lord…
Wow, I seriously would have bet that this would have gone away by now…but it keeps escalating.
It would be a shame for Honduras not to get a home game, even a ‘no fans’ allowed home game.
If the game were to be moved to say…El Salvador, would both teams booed the entire time? Gringo’s – obviously we’re disliked, but Honduras is a main rival in every fashion with El Salvador.