England Bid for World Cup 2018

[SOCCERROO FOX]

Still gutted especially considering we only got 1 vote

[Daggers]

There are loads of Russian and Filipino hookers in Qatar.

[Wymsey]

Fifa's lost the plot totally. I predict bad times to come for them and how football is run generally

[Edmund]

England ready to dump Thailand friendly after FIFA snub

England are ready to rip up their friendly agreement with Thailand in the wake of their FIFA snub this week.

The FA had promised to take a team to Bangkok in June to honour the Thai king.

But after England got no support from Thailand's FIFA executive committee member Worawi Makudi in the World Cup bidding, the mood at the FA has turned ugly.

It is felt there is no longer any reason to make the trip.

An FA source told The Sun: "There is no enthusiasm for that trip anymore. You can bet everything will be done to cancel it."

[DJ Barry Hammond]

England ready to dump Thailand friendly after FIFA snub

England are ready to rip up their friendly agreement with Thailand in the wake of their FIFA snub this week.

The FA had promised to take a team to Bangkok in June to honour the Thai king.

But after England got no support from Thailand's FIFA executive committee member Worawi Makudi in the World Cup bidding, the mood at the FA has turned ugly.

It is felt there is no longer any reason to make the trip.

An FA source told The Sun: "There is no enthusiasm for that trip anymore. You can bet everything will be done to cancel it."

Nothing like throwing your toys out of the pram is there!

[davieG]

Sums up all that is wrong with the bidding process that England were happy to go along with, why should is sort of arrangement to procure votes necessary or acceptable it's just another form of bribery.

Bids should initially be solely based on a clearly defined set of criteria if you don't meet that criteria or can't give absolute guarantees of doing so you shouldn't be allowed to bid.

If you then get more than one applicant it should at least be decided by an open, not secret ballot and be support by a statement as to why they voted in a particular way.

Obviously FIFA's hidden, although not very well agenda was to take the World Cup to 'new' markets. If that was their intention and it clearly was then why go through the farce and expense of letting 'older' countries bid.

[DJ Barry Hammond]

Sums up all that is wrong with the bidding process that England were happy to go along with, why should is sort of arrangement to procure votes necessary or acceptable it's just another form of bribery.

Bids should initially be solely based on a clearly defined set of criteria if you don't meet that criteria or can't give absolute guarantees of doing so you shouldn't be allowed to bid.

If you then get more than one applicant it should at least be decided by an open, not secret ballot and be support by a statement as to why they voted in a particular way.

Obviously FIFA's hidden, although not very well agenda was to take the World Cup to 'new' markets. If that was their intention and it clearly was then why go through the farce and expense of letting 'older' countries bid.

Well if FIFA said that older countries couldn't bid that would have hardly been fair and we would have been moaning about that! I maintain, the main reason we didn't win was because our bid wasn't that good. The following link also makes interesting reading.

Englands World Cup Blackmail

(Oh and just to point out, I am English, not Welsh, Irish or Scottish)

[davieG]

Well if FIFA said that older countries couldn't bid that would have hardly been fair and we would have been moaning about that! I maintain, the main reason we didn't win was because our bid wasn't that good. The following link also makes interesting reading.

Englands World Cup Blackmail

(Oh and just to point out, I am English, not Welsh, Irish or Scottish)

Our bid was dead in the water long before those presentations were made, in fact I doubt they were even that interested in even watching them although I do agree with the article I don't think it had any impact after all FIFA are no slouches when it comes to £££££s.

It's certainly a trend that's hard to disguise.

I think if they'd have made that their open and honest policy it would have been accepted as a legitimate and worthwhile attempt to spread the interest in football most nations would benefit in the long run.

[BoneDog]

So we tried to bribe the Thais to vote for us with a friendly offer and now the FA get all mardy when it didn't work!

Lovely stuff.

[Webbo]

Serves the bastards right. Shame we never waited until after the vote before we had that friendly against Jack Warners Trinidad.

[breadandcheese]

Our bid was dead in the water long before those presentations were made, in fact I doubt they were even that interested in even watching them although I do agree with the article I don't think it had any impact after all FIFA are no slouches when it comes to £££££s.

It's certainly a trend that's hard to disguise.

I think if they'd have made that their open and honest policy it would have been accepted as a legitimate and worthwhile attempt to spread the interest in football most nations would benefit in the long run.

Seeing as Fifa did not even take their own assessment reports into account, riding roughshod over their own selection procedures, our bid was dead in the water before the inspection teams came to inspect the country's infrastructure and facilities.

Some more interesting stats and info (nicked shamelessly from fourfourtwo):

- 3,141,000 tickets will be on sale for the 2018 World Cup in Russia – the lowest of any of the four bids. The projected ticket sales for Russia’s rivals were: 3,304,000 (Holland/Belgium), 3,397,000 (England) and 3,674,000 (Spain/Portugal). The disparity is even more glaring in 2022. Hosts Qatar will have 2,869,000 tickets on sale – a quite remarkable 2,088,000 fewer bums on seats than the USA bid had projected.

- 154 is Russia’s rank on the Transparency International’s index of corrupt nations. (The lower your ranking, the more corrupt you are perceived to be.) This means that Transparency International thinks the 2018 hosts are a bit more crooked than Haiti.

- It might suit certain FIFA delegates to suggest they are being persecuted by a biased, neo-colonialist British media, but the latest charges against FIFA vice-president Jack Warner surfaced this August in the respected Norwegian daily Dagbladet.

- 38 pence. According to the Christian Science Monitor, this is the hourly wage paid to Nepali labourer Rajan Sapkota, one of the hundreds of thousands of foreign workers in Qatar. In contrast, the average annual wage for a Qatari citizen is £52,962 a year, the highest in the world.

[Guest ttfn]

Seeing as Fifa did not even take their own assessment reports into account, riding roughshod over their own selection procedures, our bid was dead in the water before the inspection teams came to inspect the country's infrastructure and facilities.

Some more interesting stats and info (nicked shamelessly from fourfourtwo):

- 3,141,000 tickets will be on sale for the 2018 World Cup in Russia – the lowest of any of the four bids. The projected ticket sales for Russia’s rivals were: 3,304,000 (Holland/Belgium), 3,397,000 (England) and 3,674,000 (Spain/Portugal). The disparity is even more glaring in 2022. Hosts Qatar will have 2,869,000 tickets on sale – a quite remarkable 2,088,000 fewer bums on seats than the USA bid had projected.

- 154 is Russia’s rank on the Transparency International’s index of corrupt nations. (The lower your ranking, the more corrupt you are perceived to be.) This means that Transparency International thinks the 2018 hosts are a bit more crooked than Haiti.

- It might suit certain FIFA delegates to suggest they are being persecuted by a biased, neo-colonialist British media, but the latest charges against FIFA vice-president Jack Warner surfaced this August in the respected Norwegian daily Dagbladet.

- 38 pence. According to the Christian Science Monitor, this is the hourly wage paid to Nepali labourer Rajan Sapkota, one of the hundreds of thousands of foreign workers in Qatar. In contrast, the average annual wage for a Qatari citizen is £52,962 a year, the highest in the world.

Of the 1.7 million people living in Qatar, only 470,000 are Qatari citizens. So much for taking the World Cup to new frontiers.

[davieG]

Of the 1.7 million people living in Qatar, only 470,000 are Qatari citizens. So much for taking the World Cup to new frontiers.

It's an Arabian frontier it mattered not which of those applied they would have got it, it just happened to be one of the smallest/richest ones.

[davieG]

Boris Johnson has withdrawn the offer of a free stay in London's exclusive Dorchester hotel for Fifa executives during the 2012 Olympics.

Why was this offer made in the first place don't these people have enough money of their own or from FIFA expenses?

[Edmund]

Brilliant

Mayor of London Boris Johnson cancels Fifa hotel stay

Boris Johnson has withdrawn the offer of a free stay in London's exclusive Dorchester hotel for Fifa executives during the 2012 Olympics.

The Mayor of London had offered the free accommodation for Fifa president Sepp Blatter and his team.

But after Fifa's decision on Thursday's 2018 World Cup vote - which saw the England bid get just two votes out of a possible 22 - the offer was rescinded.

Russia was chosen to host the tournament instead.

Free hotel rooms for VIP guests are handed out by Locog, the Olympic organising committee.

Mr Johnson is understood to have discussed the issue with Locog chairman Sebastian Coe.

The mayor has not commented on the decision to cancel the free stay.

But in the aftermath of the defeat, Mr Johnson, who travelled to Zurich to personally lobby Fifa's executives, said the result was a "big blow and tremendously disappointing".

He added: "We put together a cracking bid, our technical specification was top-notch and our stadiums would have been packed to the rafters."

'Exceptional grace'

A senior government source has told the BBC that at least five executive committee members "personally assured" Prince William and David Beckham they would vote for the England bid, only to back other contenders in the first round.

The Dorchester's website says the hotel "offers rooms of exceptional grace and comfort, all providing views over Hyde Park or the hotel's landscaped terraces".

It continues: "Bathrooms are welcoming and spacious, offering an exceptional combination of style and function, and are said to have the deepest baths in London.

"They are predominantly made in Italian marble and designed in the classic art deco style - echoing the hotel's 1930s origins."

[Fosse Boy]

Oh yeah, there was no backscratching attempts on the part of good old England were there? We're as fair as fair can be.

Our bid team should just man up and admit that the Ruskis were better FIFA cocksuckers than they were. They all knew the score going in that that organisation is rotten to the core with corruption, why anyone would want the "priviledge" of such a bunch of tools holding their tournament in their country is beyond me.

[Guest ttfn]

Oh yeah, there was no backscratching attempts on the part of good old England were there? We're as fair as fair can be.

Our bid team should just man up and admit that the Ruskis were better FIFA cocksuckers than they were. They all knew the score going in that that organisation is rotten to the core with corruption, why anyone would want the "priviledge" of such a bunch of tools holding their tournament in their country is beyond me.

I'm sure that Eton will be devastated to know that two of its alumni couldn't match the cocksucking expertise of the Russians.

In all seriousness, you're right.

[Guest ttfn]

It's an Arabian frontier it mattered not which of those applied they would have got it, it just happened to be one of the smallest/richest ones.

Why not give it to the UAE as well then, rather than Qatar? I know the UAE didn't bid for it, but I'm sure that had Fifa said "you know what, this is ridiculous, you should just share it with the Emirates", Qatar wouldn't have objected.

This tournament is not going to be accessible to the demographic its supposed to be accessible to.

[Matt]

Oh get over it F.A.

Where's your respect campaign gone, take it on the chin, move on, shut up, FIFA have the decision, the authority, simple.

Didn't want it here anyway.

[FoxyPV]

There's nothing like grace in defeat.

Linkity Link

[BlueSi13]

There's nothing like grace in defeat.

Linkity Link

fook em, if we came bottom with 1 vote because we had the worst bid then yes this is sour grapes....however....

[Sly]

I've had a reply to the email I sent to the English FA.

I'll post it later once I'm at home.

[Sly]

Dear Ryan,

                         

Thank you for contacting the Football Association.

 

We share your frustration regarding the decision and appreciate the feedback you have provided.

 

Despite being hugely disappointed that England will not be hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2018, we would like to offer our congratulations to Russia and Qatar for their successful bids.

 

In a statement last week, FA General Secretary Alex Horne said:

“We are very disappointed that we have been unsuccessful in our bid to host the 2018 World Cup.

“Well done to Russia. They will organise a great World Cup and we will be focused on ensuring that England play a very significant role in 2018 on the pitch.

“Our England 2018 bid team and our supporters in Government deserve immense credit for conducting such a strong campaign. We must also thank our incredibly generous sponsors and the amazing support from our bid cities and ambassadors who helped us build a great technical bid and did so much to help us promote the message.

“Most importantly, thank you to every single football fan, player, coach and referee up and down the country whose passion for the game brought us so close to success.

“We should be very proud of our campaign. We and our partners did everything we possibly could to bring the 2018 World Cup tournament to England - FIFA recognised our outstanding technical bid, the public showed its passion and support with over two million people signing up to our ‘Back the Bid’ campaign, the English football family from the professional to the grassroots game showed unity of purpose, and politicians of all parties fought hard for our Bid.

“To have won would have been an extraordinary boost. But we have much to look forward to. In January work will start on our national football centre, St. George’s Park, and later this month we will announce a new England sponsor. Week in week out, we continue to develop and strengthen our nation’s favourite game.”

Whilst I do realise that the above may not ease your frustrations about the vote, I thank you again for taking the time to write to us and please be assured that your comments have been duly noted.

Kind regards,

Gary

Gary Stonehouse | Customer Relations

Communications Division

The FA Group

Wembley Stadium, Wembley, London, HA9 0WS

My original message:

Dear FA,

In reference to todays earlier result in the bid to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup, is it now time, as one of the founding nations of the sport, to take a stance and state enough is enough and it's time for a change?

I believe the United Kingdom already has the infrastructure and personnel not only to host a tournament in 2018 but could, at a push organise a tournament for the summer of 2011 and illustrate what FIFA has missed out on. Any such tournament would be greeted with great anticipation and the influx of interest generated by the media alone as a demonstration to any alleged corruption by FIFA would see a surge in people wishing to attend the events. If the event was open invitation event, how many people would seriously decline?!? If you could get 64 teams to compete in a straight knock out, we are only talking about 32 matches, no need for endless group games. We know the legacy of the FA Cup, watched by millions worldwide, is watched due to potential giant killings in a single one off game. Could this be generated in an international competiton, the answer is yes.

Regards, Ryan

[Smudge]

Dear FA,

In reference to todays earlier result in the bid to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup, is it now time, as one of the founding nations of the sport, to take a stance and state enough is enough and it's time for a change?

I believe the United Kingdom already has the infrastructure and personnel not only to host a tournament in 2018 but could, at a push organise a tournament for the summer of 2011 and illustrate what FIFA has missed out on. Any such tournament would be greeted with great anticipation and the influx of interest generated by the media alone as a demonstration to any alleged corruption by FIFA would see a surge in people wishing to attend the events. If the event was open invitation event, how many people would seriously decline?!? If you could get 64 teams to compete in a straight knock out, we are only talking about 32 matches, no need for endless group games. We know the legacy of the FA Cup, watched by millions worldwide, is watched due to potential giant killings in a single one off game. Could this be generated in an international competiton, the answer is yes.

Regards, Ryan

[Ambitious]

The way I am looking at it is that England have already hosted the World Cup, which they profited from tremendously, yes it was a very long time ago, and as much as I would have loved to have it back here in just under eight years, I am a believer of fairness and giving people chances. Russia and Qatar have never hosted the competition before so lets give them a chance. I do however feel a better voting process needs to be implemented.