Siberia and the Middle East ... I know that's where I would choose to have MY World Cup.
Fifa and sports in general are honestly giving politics a run for it's money in terms of corruption lately.
Quite pathetic and sad.
This is the time. The real Reds organization is back.
Or, as a friend pointed out on Facebook today:
This is a serious Whiskey-Tango-Foxtrot decision for FIFA (and one that I can only assume, given the corruption of the organization, made a lot of officials very wealthy). They're holding what amounts to the biggest sporting event in the world, and by extension the biggest party for sports fans in the world, in a country where fun is pretty much illegal. Alcohol consumption is limited to a very small number of bars and clubs and strictly prohibited in public (as is appearing under the influence in public). Yup, sounds like the perfect place for football fans to gather from around the world.What the hell are three million people going to do when the game is over? Drink in the street? Yeah that's illegal over there.
Oh, and on top of that, we're also talking about a country that is buddy-buddy with Iran. Sounds like the perfect place to go spend a week or two for an American.
Cincinnati Reds: Farm System Champions 2022
petrodollars speak.
I'd like to put a watch on the bank accounts of the FIFA voters and see if they light up like skyrockets. Russia at least has a modicum of believability as a WC host, but Qatar? Somebody got a lot of money for this.
She used to wake me up with coffee ever morning
Qatar released its map for the venues in the 2022 World Cup.
Seriously though, the third largest city in Qatar has a population of 30,000.
http://population.mongabay.com/population/qatar
For comparison's sake, Bloomington IN, the music video setting of a certain John Mellancamp song, has a population of 69,000.
I think I read that every stadium will be in Doha and they are all within about 35 miles of each other. Something like 85% of the population lives in Doha or the surrounding areas.
Qatar is just a pathetic decision. Of all the developed nations, Qatar may have been the WORST possible choice. There are already endless geographical, political, and cultural issues -- and we're still 12 years away from the event! Given the volatile nature of the Middle East, especially regarding politics and religion, I can only assume there will be more issues ahead.
FIFA is becoming more corrupt than boxing in the 1940's.
EDIT: Does Qatar even have a quality World Cup soccer team?
I saw a tweet that Sepp Blatter just bought a $150 million dollar villa in Italy. I haven't found a story to corroborate yet, but it wouldn't be surprising.
Now, I'm angry that we didn't get the Cup for selfish reasons (I wanted to go to some games), but it does make some sense to take the game to emerging soccer markets. Russia has been improving greatly lately, and the Middle East is a huge market and has been funding the Premier League for years now (along w/ Abromovich from Russia....). So, remember that every time you fill up your car, a small portion of that money goes to paying for the 2022 WC!
Variatio delectat - Cicero
In general, I think its good to have the World Cup in places that haven't had the opportunity before, and one thing Qatar has going for it is the high number of foreign workers there. However, I think there are or should be minimum requirements that the host country must meet which were totally ignored here. There's a lot of talk from FIFA about bringing the World together. Yet Qatar denies entrance to anyone carrying an Israeli passport. They've said Israeli fans would be allowed in IF Israel qualifies, but why should that be a requirement. I'm sure there are plenty of Israelis that still root for teams from their birth countries. The host of the World Cup should not be allowed to deny entry to fans based on nationality.
What about female fans? Will they be permitted to travel freely without harassment? Will they be required to have a male chaperon? Will they have to sit in segregated sections? Will Larissa Riquelme have to wear a burqa? I think those are important questions that should have been answered in the bidding process as many of those who attend the World Cup are women.
Blatter likes to say he's bringing the World Cup to the Middle East, but I really think he's brought it to the wealthy international businessmen.
Wear gaudy colors, or avoid display. Lay a million eggs or give birth to one. The fittest shall survive, yet the unfit may live. Be like your ancestors or be different. We must repeat!
I read somewhere that Qatar has opened an international soccer academy. With Qatar's number of actual citizens less than 1 million, its unlikely that such an academy would be able to produce many world-class professional players. Thus the real purpose of the academy is probably to invite players from developing countries (Africa) and provide the better players with jobs for their families and a fast track toward Qatari citizenship. Don't be surprised if the Qatar national team for 2022 features a lot of naturalized citizens.
Wear gaudy colors, or avoid display. Lay a million eggs or give birth to one. The fittest shall survive, yet the unfit may live. Be like your ancestors or be different. We must repeat!
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