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.
ok so explain to me why every other WC needs to be held in Europe!!! they don’t own the sport!
How pissed is Spain after their Qatar voting alliance screwed them? Anybody wonder that?
I hate to be a cynic, but it’s obvious for FIFA it is all about fattening their pockets and not putting on a sporting event for the worlds beautiful game that will transcend politics and other issues and just bring people together who love the game.
PETRO $$$!
Ives, I am eagerly awaiting your reaction to the announcements.
It’s gonna be a while for the u.s to host the world cup because in 2026 its problably going to be either in europe or china,and in 2030 its going to be in uruguay and argentina.
I have an idea… let’s destroy Qatar’s economy by completely eliminating our dependence on fossil fuels!
I don’t mean disrespect to Qatar and wish them the best in hosting…but we all know FIFA has snubbed the USA again!
According to Grant Wahl, Qatar’s four biggest cities Doha (almost 1 million people), Al-Ryyan (almost half a mil), Al-Khor 31,000, and Al Wakra 31,000.
Or in other terms, we could have hosted the world cup in Arizona… oppressive heat, strict control on “visitors” small cities like
Phoenix (1.6 Million), Tucson (almost half a million), then skip down the list to Apache Junction and Surprise, Az (31,000) (sorry to Tucson/Glendale/Mesa, you’re just too big to be the second city on the list.
This is such a snub against the USA!!!! Thank you FIFA really thank you for trying to kill soccer in USA. Well FIFA gentleman soccer/futbol does not belong to you. You are an organization but you don’t say where and who plays soccer/futbol! Screw you and your organization. The world knows what was done to the USA in the WC this past year and now we know where you stand with promoting soccer in this nation. But you will see that you made a mistake and soccer/futbol is here to stay in the USA!!! Our country’s passion in soccer only grows stronger and our team will go further!!!!
South Africa was twice as far from the US…
Qatar is the size of CT with the population of Houston. Next up for WC’s are Iceland, Wales, Lesotho, Luxembourg, Delaware…
Such a joke. Qatar is no way able to handle this. They don’t have the infrastructure to handle this, although they have the $$$$ to finance it I’m sure. The US has stadiums galore and an environment that is friendly to foreign travelers.
Corruption rules the world. This is some Bull if you ask me. Fifa has no shame! I wouldn’t of been mad if Australia got it. They diverse it. But, Qatar. Fifa just openly said, we are corrupt as hell. I wonder how much all the executives at Fifa just pocketed from the prince of Qatar.
They have promised to dismantle nine of the stadiums and send them to poor countries.
as bribes.
Federations are federations and geography is geography. Australia is it’s own continent.
BBC shows Qatar always had the most votes from the get-go (11) and was one short of gaining a majority at 12. USA made it to the final round (4th) but never got more than 8 votes.
Just saw that England got all of 2 votes out of 22…just amazing.
FIFA has to be reorganized along the lines of the IOC (every country has a vote); it’s just too easy now to buy off a majority of the 22/24 FIFA delegates. FIFA’s rationale that staging the WC in Qatar will grow the game in the region is nonsense…there’s not enough of a game in the Saudi Arabian peninsula to grow. If they were serious about the Middle East they would have given the cup to Iraq — a soccer mad nation with a history of achievement. Problem is that Iraq doesn’t have any $$$…
Will be interesting to see what happens if Israel qualifies for 2022…
England only got 1 vote!
US only had 3 votes in opening round to Qatar’s 11.
What if we held a world cup and nobody came…..
If a ball is kicked in an empty stadium, does it make a sound?
Oh, right, making trucker Steve in Fort Worth Texas go from hating soccer to thinking it’s okay is more important that bridging the divide between the middle east and western society.
Jeez. Share the wealth people. We are only four WC’s removed from the 1994 tournament and folks already demand that the WC return to the USA. The tournament has NEVER taken place in the Middle East.
A Qatar WC is a significant statement to the Middle East and could have huge benefits in advancing the cultural stagnation that exists in some of the region’s nations. One need only look at the power of the Iranian national team’s green wrist bands.
Is the development of soccer in the USA so fragile that it’s dependent upon hosting the World Cup every two decades?
Bingo!
Spector, Bornstein and Findlay are all gunning for Gutter citizenship.
The Wahhabi World Cup… it will be interesting to see what happens with Qatar between now and 2022. Anything could happen, good or bad.
Grant Wahl’s twitter linked a breakdown of votes by round, US was NEVER close. Add some more people to the hate list!
not ’32… ’34
And many believe/want 2030 to be in Uruguay for the 100 years of WC….
Well that kinda sucked. What are people going to to in the 22 hours that they aren’t at a match? Consider me baffled
You’ve got it more right that wrong IMO. Iunderstand people being disappointed. WE all wanted the US to host the WC. But if you look at the pattern of distribution since the WC was last here this should come as shock. All the ignorant, fearful, racist comments are useless and misplaced
Well.. it’s to the west of China and Pakistan.
So it’s technically western by that definition.
Not really, because those same disappointed Europeans are also eligible to bid for 2026.
Ives,
Here is an idea. Why not stage a competing world cup? Let’s get UK, China and USA behind the thing. The key will be to get players to get in their contracts that they can play in the 2021 World Championship of Soccer. It could be invitation only. Set it up like the NCAA tournament but with 16 teams invited and seeded 1-16. Win or go home format. Every game would be exciting. Think how exciting the round of 16 and round of 8 are in the World Cup. This thing could be done in three weeks or less and it could grow in the next cycle. Basically it would compete against the Confed Cup. The idea would be to start breaking FIFA’s monopoly on the game.
Who knew Glen Beck posted on Ives.
I don’t have a problem with Russia winning WC2022 – at least, they had a solid bid, although perphaps not the best bid. But Qatar is a real headscratcher. American fans should consider boycotting WC2022 – let corrupt FIFA lose money on it.
I guess this just makes the US a shoo-in for 2026. Only 16 more years to wait……
You know, now I’m REALLY pissed that we didn’t complain or bitch about all the times refs screwed us in South Africa. I was all for playing nice when we had a shot for the world cup, but now I think we were fools for grinning and bearing it.
Well, clearly, the fact that homegrown terror factions exist in Spain and Ireland is equivalent to the Qatar’s government giving $50 to the Hamas-led Palestinian government and giving asylum to Hamas terrorists. Obviously. Keep in mind that the Hamas charter calls for the “obliteration” of Israel and the slaughter of Jews worldwide.
if the rules remain the same, australia can’t host in 26 because qatar is technically in the asian federation. so it could actually be europe/north america for 26. here’s hoping!
I’m fairly certain the votes were decided before then. The presentations are just a dog and pony show, but thank you, Bill Clinton, Morgan Freeman, and Landon, etc. for your support.
Well, at least we know where the US team will be staying should they qualify.
Next January, Qatar will host the 2011 AFC Asian Cup (Asian Football Confederation) with the final fixture being held at Khalifa International Stadium, and will also host the 2022 FIFA World Cup where they are sure to do a much worse job than the USA, Japan, Korea, and Australia. Qatar???? I mean…. f#*k me!
FIFA = United Nations = Endemic institutional corruption. Who the f wants to visit an Arab country in July? 120 degrees and women in burkas. Awesome. Thanks, FIFA! You have to be deranged to want to attend this WC.
388 comments. Who’s got time to read ’em all? But I’ll add my lines of vitriol to the littany. FIFA has to be right up there with the BCS, Blackwater/Xe, and [insert bailed-out Wall Street giant’s name here] as the most egregious rackets going. Sepp Blatter officially joins my list of “piano people,” people for whom I would shed no tears if they were found under the wreckage of a fallen baby grand.
I heard the news on NPR and was shocked. Not surprised by Russia but Quatar? What’s their domestic league like? do they have stadia? How will they make the event secure from regional terrorism? The US was a no brainer but Quatar is a hairbrainer!
I believe all is not lost, so the US loses the bid for 2022, however it really puts North America in the driving seat for 2026, because China can’t bid according to FIFA rules and South America, Europe and Africa will all have been spoken for . . . so USA for 2026
As a 6ft 5 blonde american.. i will not be attending the Qatar for fear of death..
Your arguments would make more sense if the nation in question were Morocco, or even Egypt. Qatar is physically too small.
Chicago wasn’t on the US list because they put all of their efforts into their OLY bid for 2016. Otherwise, it definitely would have been on there.
It will be interesting to see the techonology they are supplied with to keep the players cool and the fans in Quatar. As far as I know, air conditioning in an open field may not be a probable solution to heating at that temperature, unless they build a dome.
Like South Africa, I can’t really have hope that they would consider the internal problems in country to be a factor.
Anyhow, I will boycott their world cup.
Our video presentations were great, buut our verbal presentations on Wednesday were not that strong…
According to the state department, cussing and obscene gestures can get you deported.
That should make the atmosphere so squeeky clean that the MLS games looks like a Nevada Brothel by comparison.
Damn…was hoping it would get around that.
can’t be Australia in 2026 because they are in Asia like Qatar. I do agree that FIFA is spreading the wealth around