DFW HOYA
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 5,766
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Post by DFW HOYA on Dec 2, 2010 11:05:16 GMT -5
2018: Russia
2022: Qatar. (Really.)
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thebin
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 3,848
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Post by thebin on Dec 2, 2010 11:13:10 GMT -5
Qatar.....smaller and with a third the population of.....CONNECTICUT. At least it's in a region of the world where homosexuality is a punishable crime and has the climate of Mars. Good call Fifa.
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Jack
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 3,411
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Post by Jack on Dec 2, 2010 11:18:05 GMT -5
FIFA should be ashamed, if they were capable of shame.
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The Stig
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 2,844
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Post by The Stig on Dec 2, 2010 11:20:22 GMT -5
Russia makes sense - it's sort of like FIFA giving the 1994 World Cup to the US. It's a chance to grow the game in a huge but relatively untapped market. I would have preferred England, but Russia will do a good job with this.
Qatar on the other hand is mind boggling. It seemed like all along their bid team was saying anything people wanted to hear, regardless of whether it was actually feasible. I could see a joint Gulf States team hosting a good World Cup, but Qatar alone, a country that basically only has 1 city? This is going to be like a ski hill in Dubai - an interesting technical achievement, but totally artificial and lacking in character.
I would have loved for the US to host it, and we would have done a good job with it, but the real crime is that Australia didn't get it. Soccer's on a huge upswing in Australia, and the Aussies are probably the most sports-crazy population on earth. Getting the World Cup would have really pushed it over the top and made soccer a top-line sport there. The Aussies also do an absolutely awesome job at hosting sporting events - remember the 2000 Olympics?
There have been a lot of suggestions lately of shady dealings at FIFA, with rumors of bribes, collusion, and other stuff. This result won't do anything to quiet those rumors. Of all the countries that were bidding for 2018 and 2022 (US, UK, Australia, Russia, Spain/Portugal, Holland/Belgium, South Korea, Japan, Qatar) which would you have pegged as the 2 most willing/able to pull off a shady deal to get the World Cup?
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PhillyHoya
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 2,016
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Post by PhillyHoya on Dec 2, 2010 11:28:12 GMT -5
Qatar.....smaller and with a third the population of.....CONNECTICUT. At least it's in a region of the world where homosexuality is a punishable crime and has the climate of Mars. Good call Fifa. And where alcohol is basically illegal and Americans (the 2nd largest delegation at the last few World Cups) are huge targets. |
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Jack
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 3,411
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Post by Jack on Dec 2, 2010 11:31:36 GMT -5
On the plus side, maybe we will see a graduate of SFS-Q playing for the Qatari national team by then - they are the number 113 squad in the world, there can't be much competition for caps.
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TC
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 9,456
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Post by TC on Dec 2, 2010 11:50:54 GMT -5
Those with Vuvuzelas will have their lips cut off!
I hear Alaska's bid for 2026 is looking very good.
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Boz
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
123 Fireballs!
Posts: 10,355
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Post by Boz on Dec 2, 2010 12:26:01 GMT -5
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Elvado
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 6,080
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Post by Elvado on Dec 2, 2010 13:03:42 GMT -5
Decisions like this are what make the WWE look legit compared to FIFA.
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thebin
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 3,848
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Post by thebin on Dec 2, 2010 13:32:34 GMT -5
I have somehow contrived to only now remember that this means FIFA just handed the Qatari national team, who is about at same level as a Barbados or a Faroe Islands....an automatic bid to the World Cup Finals. They will score none and let in 15 to 20. How did Fifa years ago not at least insist on a full blown UAE/Persian Gulf bid rather than one from a "country" the size of Boston?
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DFW HOYA
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 5,766
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Post by DFW HOYA on Dec 2, 2010 13:34:46 GMT -5
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theexorcist
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 3,506 
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Post by theexorcist on Dec 2, 2010 13:58:23 GMT -5
These are GREAT. FIFA not giving this to Australia .... so sad, so very sad. |
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thebin
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 3,848
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Post by thebin on Dec 2, 2010 14:08:27 GMT -5
I thought Australia's biggest weakness is it's a fairly small country population-wise given that soccer isn't top dog over there either. At least Qatar is a tiny fraction the size of Australia and has even less soccer culture. I wanted the US to get it, and more to the point, it seemed like the no-brainer pick all things considered...but I could have dealt with losing it to Australia. Not Japan or Korea who hosted 8 years ago...and no way I can accept losing it to a glorified oil cartel the size of Rhode Island.
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thebin
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 3,848
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Post by thebin on Dec 2, 2010 14:12:44 GMT -5
For what its worth...Australia was the first country elminated with only a single vote, then Japan was eliminated, then S Korea...and the USA came in second overall with 8 votes to Qatar's 14 in the 4th round.
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theexorcist
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 3,506
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Post by theexorcist on Dec 2, 2010 14:18:16 GMT -5
I thought Australia's biggest weakness is it's a fairly small country population-wise given that soccer isn't top dog over there either. At least Qatar is a tiny fraction the size of Australia and has even less soccer culture. I wanted the US to get it, and more to the point, it seemed like the no-brainer pick all things considered...but I could have dealt with losing it to Australia. Not Japan or Korea who hosted 8 years ago...and no way I can accept losing it to a glorified oil cartel the size of Rhode Island. Australia would have been AWESOME - the Sydney Olympics were great. Its biggest weakness is that it's far away from European time zones, so matches would be held at odd hours. FIFA's giving the World Cup to a place where homosexuality is banned, where converting from Islam gets the death penalty, and where alcohol is severely restricted, and not to Australia, where every stereotype you have about them is true, is a travesty. |
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Post by HoyasAreHungry on Dec 2, 2010 14:38:15 GMT -5
what a joke...truly confirms how corrupt FIFA is...oil money just bought a world cup
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vcjack
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 3,875
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Post by vcjack on Dec 2, 2010 14:41:55 GMT -5
If any future Phd's want to do the definitive dissertation on how kickbacks work, these two games should be plenty enough data sources.
But don't worry, the Russian and Qatari governments have impeccable records when it comes to protecting journalists and investigators so research away!
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vcjack
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 3,875
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Post by vcjack on Dec 2, 2010 14:44:57 GMT -5
Oh and Israel qualifying would be an extra nice touch
And in all honesty this goes for both 2022 and 2018
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Elvado
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 6,080
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Post by Elvado on Dec 2, 2010 15:29:48 GMT -5
. At least it's in a region of the world where homosexuality is a punishable crime good thing CR7 will have retired by then... |
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thebin
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 3,848
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Post by thebin on Dec 2, 2010 15:37:06 GMT -5
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