Swamped today, but I wanted to get these things out there:
- Yes, the USA got hosed on hosting the 2022 World Cup. It happens. Jeff Bradley
nails it in that this wasn't going to be The Thing That's Going To Make Us (no one thing is). This
is how the game works now, boys and girls.
Someone better check Sepp's back pocket after this. (Getty Images)
I had a bad feeling when I woke up this morning. Not only was my head hurting from a sinus
infection and my mind spinning from the cold medicine it was the gut feeling something rough was
about to go down. Sure enough FIFA announced that Qatar, not the US, would be hosting the 2022
World Cup.
Six months ago England were odds on favourites to win the 2018 World Cup, yet they could only
manage two votes from the FIFA executive committee and went out in the first round. The English
press are already calling the vote a "Humiliation for England".
2018 VOTING
1st round: England 2 (eliminated), Netherlands-Belgium 4; Spain-Portugal 7; Russia 9
2nd round: Netherlands-Belgium 2; Spain-Portugal 7; Russia 13 (Russia obtain absolute majority)
To put England's two votes in perspective, the England bid chairman Geoff Thompson was one of
the executive committee members choosing hosts for 2018 and 2022, which means that England
attracted only one other supporter despite intense lobbying efforts by Prince William, Prime
Minister David Cameron and David Beckham
Thompson, formerly the FA chairman for eight years, said promises to England had been
broken.
In the wake of Thursday's loss to Qatar in maybe the only place U.S. soccer can lose to them
(the FIFA boardroom), many American soccer fans tried to rally their spirits by immediately turning
their focus to the 2026 World Cup process. An initial glance at the state of play right now for
the World Cup suggests 2026 could be an even better opportunity for a United States World Cup than
2022.
Today the FIFA designated the host countries for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. Why did the FIFA
accelerate the process and award 2 World Cups at the same time, a first in World Cup history. I
don't want to know about the underground dealings here, but several points come to mind :
- How will teams train during the 2022 Qatar World Cup?
"Football is not only about winning, football is also a school of life when you learn to
lose," Sepp Blatter
No, I don't think so, Sepp. By the way, could you be any more arrogant and condescending?
I am not a big fan of passively accepting the outcome of an unfair situation.
