Qatar has been chosen to host the 2022 World Cup. The middle Eastern nation beat out the United States among others for the bid.
My early take on this decision? FIFA can't be serious can it? Qatar was favored for some time by bookmakers and it's clear they knew something. The USA bid for 2022 was the most viable and made the most sense, but FIFA voters went with the highest risk bid.
It's thoroughly devastating news for American soccer because a 2022 World Cup in the United States would have meant a tremendous boost for the game in this country. Perhaps it is even tougher to take considering Qatar seemed like the weakest of the bids.
What do you think of the news? Devastated? Going to boycott 2022? Getting your sun screen ready?
Share your thoughts below.
Well the African Nations will be happy with Qatar wining the WC 2022. Now South Africa won’t be the lowest attended World Cup in History.
There is no doubt in my mind that FIFA was paid off by the Qatar delegation. FIFA is ruining world football for me, and by that I mean international competition. I’ll gladly stop supporting official FIFA events and gladly focus my dollars towards the domestic game. Don’t take that to mean I won’t support the men’s national team, I just won’t give my money to a corrupt and self-righteous organization.
(L.A) Grew up in S.F.
I won’t lie and say that has nothing to do with it, but no, it’s not the only reason. I do think Russia was probably the weakest bidder for 2018, but I don’t think that that decision was nearly as bad as 2022. Australia, Japan, or South Korea I would have had no problem with. I’d still be upset that the US didn’t get it, as I think we are by a wide margin the most logical choice, but whatever. But Qatar? It’s a tiny country, both geographically and population-wise. They have never even qualified for a World Cup and have no soccer history to speak of, but they now get an automatic bid. While they are one of the more “liberal” (so to speak) Middle Eastern countries, there are still major concerns about their human rights record. Other questions that are not so pressing and will no doubt be sorted (but still exist) include what happens if Israel qualifies for the tournament, and what the alcohol situation will be like. And while Qatar itself is a stable nation, the Middle East as a whole is highly volatile, increasing concerns about terrorism. But the most worrying issue of all is that they are going to be playing in the hottest part of the world in the middle of summer. It’s dangerous for everyone involved, including fans.
Qatar, IMO, had the weakest bid, yet they won it easily. The whole situation smacks of corruption.
Surely though, Qatar will have to allow western dress like Bikinis, freedoms for women as men, and acceptable alcohol useage during these games!?!?!?! I mean, wouldn’t that have been in the contract with the no taxes etc… surely…
i guess, the problem then is, terrorists if they allow that sort of behavior…
but if they don’t….
who is going to this? and what social change did it bring?
SEPP Blatter just put a heap of possibly unsolvable problems onto whoever is FIFA president next…. he won’t be in charge by then, so i guess it is not his problem!!!
You’re 6’5″! Don’t be a p*ssy!
Haha just kidding. This 5’10” Blonde American won’t be going either.
maybe Sepp is a member of MADD and a militant Alcoholic Anonymous reformer…
Or, maybe he is Muslim
From San Francisico I’d have to make stops in Toronto and Frankfurt
3 CHEERS to NOLA MIKE!
That will show them!
“If we can’t have the world cup in the west, lets bring the west to the World Cup!”
I’d love to see some national federations break away from FIFA and create their own group.
The IOC is not organized as “one country, one vote.” Voting is decided by the individual members of the IOC. Not every country has an IOC member.
Moreover, you might want to reconsider offering the IOC as an example to FIFA of how to clean up their act.
Warner is full of lies. First he said he’d back the US bid, then he said he’d back the England bid. I bet he was present with a substantial gift and voted for Russia and Qatar. Rule number 1 in FIFA, you must be this corrupt to join.
I understand the sentiment, but I just can’t imagine people still caring about this 12 years from now. A good number of the people who will be considering making the trip are still in grade school at this point.
If Qatar is in a group with North Korea, New Zealand, and Trinidad and Tobago they still won’t advance. At least the countries you mentioned have qualified for a WC before. Qatar is probably the 11th best team in Asia right now behind Japan, South Korea, Australia, North Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia, China, Bahrain, Iraq and Uzbekistan.
Take a bath, hippie. Peace, love and blumpkins died with Woodstock.
Qatar doesn’t even have full diplomatic relations with Israel, which basically means they hate Israel and the rest of us as well. Buy its just soccer/football. Just bring your checkbook. Part of that will be invested in Hamas and the Taliban.
I don’t think I’ll be going to the middle east to get kidnapped and beheaded any time soon, or arrested for drinking a budweiser. This is a disaster. I’ll just watch the euros and the gold cup.
+1
The population of Phoenix and the entire country of Qatar are about the same.
+1
I went to a non-BCS D1 conference university, and I would have to say that money to Reggie Bush’s/Cam Newton’s/etc families are the least of my concerns when it comes to CFB corruption.
lol +3
Ever hear of a boat?
Why don’t you like it? Because the US lost?
This decision was ABSOLUTELY political. FIFA will pat itself on the back for bringing their world-changing game into societies that are, according to many, corrupt.
This is such a loss for the U.S as a country and for US sport fans, yet, maybe a reason we didn’t get it is because not enough people care.
I have been listening to sports radio for a large part of the day in the D.C. market, and all the hosts want to talk about besides football is Lebron Jame’s return to Cleavland.
We’re just not being tolerant to FIFA’s corruption and selecting bids that have a chance of doing right by the world’s best tournament.
Nope. As has been said over and over, the USA bid was the sure payday.
Money and politics are inextricably linked. Every “dunce” knows this.
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/bidders/2018/media/newsid=1344971.html
I would love to know the list of who voted in each section… grant wahl, publish that!
Oh it gets better as you read on…
“Qatar is a destination country for men and women from South and Southeast Asia who migrate willingly, but are subsequently trafficked into involuntary servitude as domestic workers and laborers, and, to a lesser extent, commercial sexual exploitation; the most common offence was forcing workers to accept worse contract terms than those under which they were recruited; other conditions include bonded labor, withholding of pay, restrictions on movement, arbitrary detention, and physical, mental, and sexual abuse”
Please let me know if there is one bar/pub in Qatar at the moment.
Someone please hack FIFA and send it to Wikileaks.
U.S. Soccer 2010 Recap
1) Went 5-5-4 in 14 games.
2) Had a “decent” run in the 2010 World Cup.
3) Rehired Bob Bradley.
4) Lost 2022 World Cup to Qatar.
Thankfully 2011 is right around the corner!
I’m by no means a supporter of the Qatari bid, but women did get the right to vote in 1995, and can drive. I just did a little research when it appeared their bid was going to be the favorite.
There are a ton of other reasons why Qatar is a terrible choice, and, yes, some of those are socio-cultural as well.
Make the FIFA member votes public each round.
From Wikitravel:
There is one liquor store, Qatar Distribution Centre, in Doha. To purchase things there, you must have a license that can only be obtained by having a written letter of permission from your employer. You can only get a license when you have obtained your residency permit and you will need to get a letter from your employer confirming your salary in addition to paying a deposit for QR1000. The selection is good and is like any alcohol selection of a large supermarket in the West. Prices are reasonable although not cheap. Alcoholic beverages are available in the restaurants and bars of the major hotels, although they are pricey. As far as non-alcoholic drinks go, be sure and hit some of the Indian and Middle Eastern restaurants and juice stalls. They whip some tasty and exotic fruit juice combinations that really hit the spot.
It is forbidden to bring alcohol in to the country as a tourist; at Doha airport customs xray bags and will confiscate any bottles of alcoholic drink. They will issue a receipt valid for 2 weeks to reclaim the alcohol on exit from the country.
Should be a great time.
Shameful but expected
hopefully Israel qualifies
The stadium proposal is as good as science fiction. A lot can change in the next 12 years. Who would have predicted the 2008 financial collapse back in 1996 when it seemed the wealth in the US and Europe was unlimited? The US might as well have offered clones of Angelina Jolie to serve as stewardesses on personal rocket ships for everyone who voted in favor of the US bid.
It way to hot to play in Qatar in the summer. It’ll be like 120 degrees. What where they thinking?
The U.S. press’ teeth is about as sharp as a toothless dog, or, say, an orange, and not just on soccer matters.
Everyone is showing a great deal of resentment towards not being selected to host the world cup in 2022 (and yes it would have been awesome and convenient to be as stones throw away) but you are all not being tolerant of FIFA’s goal of spreading the passion of the game to all parts of the world. As evident with the 2018 selection of Russia, FIFA has clearly taken a developmental stance to allow for other markets to introduce and promote the beautiful game. Just as FIFA gave the opportunity for the US to host the ’94 WC and introduce the game to the nation, I completely agree with FIFA’s decision to take a world cup that is still over a decade away to a new part of the world. Soccer in the US will go on and it shows great character to have gone this far in the bid process because it shows how much has changed since ’94.
Lastly as a football player, it goes without saying that we all recognize the game as a unique sporting event that allows for its talents to expose their abilities to new audiences; as a player this opportunity brings you thrill and excitement!
What a sham……… wow…
get it?
Your point #1, the stadiums is, sure, humanitarian, but it is also not-so-subtle bribery for votes from less-developed FIFA nations, especially if under the table deals were made.
If the Qataris were open about how the stadia would be distributed, i.e. a lottery, or a worldwide schoolkid essay contest, that would be one thing…
Iron Robbie?
Did South Africa fill their stadiums? When I watched it I am pretty sure they weren’t even close. Weren’t they giving away tickets? FIFA didn’t learn their lesson from that?
This is silly. Of course PARTS of the Middle East can and should have the chance to host the cup. Egypt bid for 2010, and although it got no votes, it certainly demonstrated the appropriate infrastructure to host the cup–big stadia, lots of hotels, tourist infrastructure, etc. Turkey could do it as well, and it would be fine. Please don’t make this anti Middle East. Make it anti FIFA for choosing a tiny, super hot country. Qataris and other gulf arabs often leave in the summer to the cooler climes of places like Cairo–which is regularly 100 degrees in Summer.
This makes about as much sense as when the Boy Scouts decided to hold the 1979 World Jamboree in Iran. Hello Ayatollah!
I don’t care if Qatar promised every man a blow job in their bid, this is outrageous on so many levels.
1. Danger
If you are a woman, gay, or white, you can forget about showing up. Oh, Qatar openly finances and supports Hamas.
2. Environment
The average temperature in Qatar is actually within the danger zone for human health. Repeated open exposure to 120-130 degrees can cause death within a day to someone not in peak physical shape. There is a reason that NOBODY LIVES IN DESERTS. You can AC a stadium, but not a country.
Connecticut.
Like to drink a beer with the game? Ha ha ha ha ha.
Want to kiss your wife in public? Ha ha ha ha ha ha.
Qatar only has one major city. One. With one airport.
Qatar claims that they will make exceptions for their own social and cultural expectations. If you believe that, you’re an idiot. The populous will spit on your wives, degrade you in languages you cannot understand, and in some extreme cases, kill you.
Thank you FIFA, and have fun explaining to an International Criminal Tribunal why 50,000 people were killed in a terrorist attack that you could have prevented, yet for personal gain allowed.
Might this be about Sepp Blatter angling for a Nobel Peace Prize by abetting Middle East Peace? Is he really that much an egomaniac? This could easily blow up in FIFA’s face (quite literally). Not a good decision.
Gotta hand it to Qatar. In addition to all the money, they actually promised to give their stadiums, piece by piece, to developing countries–no doubt including those who voted for it. Let me see–I’m the head of a football association in some economically challenged country. for my vote I get a 50,000 seat national stadium in 13 years or so? Not bad. The US bid was about the US. I can see the appeal of the Qatar bid, even if it is fanciful in so many other ways.
Also, people are forgetting that the US has burned a lot of bridges in the world over the last 10 years or so. No doubt money was the key factor, but let’s not forget that we as a country don’t have a glowing image in the world like we once did.
ur a funy guy
at least CFB corruption is going to players and their families and not fifa execs.