Qatar - preparing for the 2022 WC

[fleckneymike]

There are a million reasons why Qatar was chosen and none of them football related.

The Guardian keep a nice weekly track of what FIFA are up to

Line of the week

Fifa.com – on what makes a five-star Mauritius resort the right choice for this month's annual Fifa congress: "The Indian Ocean island location could hardly be more apt, as the representatives of Fifa's 209 associations meet to discuss President Joseph S. Blatter's 2011 congress pledge to 'steer the Fifa boat back into clear, transparent waters'."

• Also making news in Mauritius: FA president and Fifa delegate Dinnanathlall Persunnoo denying wrongdoing after he was secretly recorded appearing to admit match-fixing. Persunnoo: "I was just joking."

Not rational

Also keeping Sepp active last week: a move to distance himself from colleagues who voted for a summer 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Sepp says voters were too easily influenced to back Qatar's "not reasonable or rational" bid, swayed by external pressure to "take the World Cup to an Arab country … Geopolitics did its work."

(April 2010: Sepp tells a Doha press conference: "I'm a regular visitor to Qatar, and every time I land here I am impressed! Qatar's organisational abilities cannot be questioned. The Arab world deserves the World Cup.")

And finally

From @SeppBlatter: a retweet of a key Fifa pledge: "Fifa is committed to stamping out homophobia … Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is strictly prohibited." (Dec 2010: Sepp, asked about the problems facing gay fans in Qatar: "I would say they should refrain from any sexual activities!")

Fifa news: total transparency

The top two Fifa deals since Sepp launched his "Good Governance Road Map" for "total transparency" last month:

1) Control of Asian World Cup TV rights sold to Swiss firm Infront – run by Sepp's nephew Philippe. Fifa: "Infront offered the best package for this very complex project."

2) Hospitality rights for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups sold to Swiss firm Match Hospitality, part-owned by Infront. Match emerged as "the most suitable candidate … following an industry evaluation by Fifa".

Also last week

• General secretary Jérôme Valcke warns Brazil's politicians to stop their "sad and perplexing" attacks on Fifa's commercial and tax demands. "Brazil will not defeat Fifa. Either we work together or no one wins." (Senator Randolfe Rodrigues: "This is absurd blackmail from an entity shrouded in suspicion.")

• Emirates says it is "disappointed" by Fifa's recent corruption record, which has gone "beyond an internal problem" since the airline signed up as a sponsor in 2006. (Other Fifa headlines in 2006: Jack Warner reselling marked-up World Cup tickets; four Fifa execs sacked for "lying repeatedly" to sponsors; Plus Sepp pledging a "new-look ethics committee" to handle bribery claims, bringing "more transparency" to Fifa.)

Good week for

Bahrain – named as hosts for the 2013 Gulf Cup. Also on their agenda: more trials of athletes who took part in pro-democracy demonstrations. Footballer Mohammed Hubail alleged in August he was tortured before being released pending appeal. "I need to know what is going to happen to me. How long are we going to be like this?"

Bad week for

Mauritius – forced to withdraw from their 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign due to a £43,400 cash shortfall. Fifa confirmed the nation could not cover its costs. (£18m: Cost of July's 100-minute long closed-doors World Cup finals draw in Brazil for 1,000 Fifa dignitaries. £800m: Fifa's surplus cash fund.)

[fleckneymike]

A whole year of corruption is nicely covered here

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2011/jun/05/fifa-sepp-blatter

[I am Rod Hull]

FIFA make Sub Saharan African Warlords look like the Girl Guides....

[Kitchandro]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/23640800

 

 

World Cup in Qatar 'impossible' in summer, says Greg Dyke

A summer World Cup in Qatar in 2022 would be "impossible", says Football Association chairman Greg Dyke.

Dyke, who took up his FA role last month, thinks the tournament is likely to move to winter because of the heat.

The Premier League opposes a change of dates, while Dyke's predecessor David Bernstein said in June that any switch would be "fundamentally flawed".

But Qatar's World Cup organising committee says it is ready to host the tournament in summer.

 

The Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee told BBC Sport in a statement: "It was the right decision to award the World Cup to the Middle East for the first time in 2022.

"We are ready to host in summer or winter. We have always maintained that this issue requires the agreement of the international football community.

"A decision to alter the dates of the 2022 Fifa World Cup would not affect our infrastructure planning."

 

Richard Scudamore, the Premier League chief executive, said in July that switching the Qatar World Cup to winter would cause chaos  for football leagues around the world.

[Manwell Pablo]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/23640800

 

The whole things just a massive joke, Not really arsed about their ethics, well I am, but it takes second fiddle to the main issues. Playing football in 50c heat could kill the fittest of players, once, never mind 3 times in 10 days. Being in a crowd in that heat could kill supporters.

 

Play it in November you mess up half the footballing world, and even then it'll still probably be ridiculously hot.

[Guest MattP]

I've almost lost interest already in this and it's 9 years away.

 

Hope we don't qualify, would do us a favour.

 

edit, you sig and that reminds me....

[The Year Of The Fox]

Their gonna air condition the stadiums from what i gather, so I'm assuming they'll be indoor games.

 

It is an absurd idea, having a Christmas world cup, in a scorching country, with a questionable set of laws, including no drinking.

 

I'm with Kitch we should be boycotting, although pulling out of FIFA is obviously a stupid idea as we'd have to pull out of UEFA as well which would mean no European club football which would mess up our league.

Mess up our league?

I'd call it making it better

[ScouseFox]

Greg Dyke

[The Year Of The Fox]

I think this is just hilarious. I can actually see major repercussions for FIFA.. There is no way the PL and other top flight leagues will allow it to be moved to the winter. I can also see our FA not allowing our players to play in that heat- rightly so. Perhaps it'd force our hand into boycotting FIFA? Perhaps it could even be the end of FIFA? The compensation they'd have to pay Qatar could almost break them which would be FANTASTIC. Afterall FIFA is **** all without participating countries. Perhaps they could form a break away FIFA equivalent leaving them out in the cold.

The only other way round it for our FA would be to maybe introduce a winter break for our leagues ASAP on the proviso the WC could be moved to winter time for 2022.

Either way it's gonna be fantastic watching FIFA and Blatter squirm regardless of what happens between now and then. (as well as our FA as I'd love them to lead a FIFA boycott)

[Super_horns]

The only thing that would suit both parties is to take the World cup away from Qatar and give it to one of those other countries like the US/Australia who lost out in the bidding.

[theessexfox]

I think this is just hilarious. I can actually see major repercussions for FIFA.. There is no way the PL and other top flight leagues will allow it to be moved to the winter. I can also see our FA not allowing our players to play in that heat- rightly so. Perhaps it'd force our hand into boycotting FIFA? Perhaps it could even be the end of FIFA? The compensation they'd have to pay Qatar could almost break them which would be FANTASTIC. Afterall FIFA is **** all without participating countries. Perhaps they could form a break away FIFA equivalent leaving them out in the cold.

The only other way round it for our FA would be to maybe introduce a winter break for our leagues ASAP on the proviso the WC could be moved to winter time for 2022.

Either way it's gonna be fantastic watching FIFA and Blatter squirm regardless of what happens between now and then. (as well as our FA as I'd love them to lead a FIFA boycott)

The FA is spineless, no chance. 

[davieG]

The FA is spineless, no chance. 

The FA is spine powerless, no chance. 

[MC Prussian]

I do hope they reconsider and in case FIFA won't sway a bit, let all participating nations boycott the tournament and set an example that the corrupt handling of and dealings with World Cup hosting nations can no longer continue.

 

Up to this day, FIFA pay no corporate tax due to the nature of their organisation (being a "club" themselves).

[separator]

The only thing that would suit both parties is to take the World cup away from Qatar and give it to one of those other countries like the US/Australia who lost out in the bidding.

 

Australia would be a good shout, new location for a WC, and its their winter time in july so shouldn't be too hot. Plus its not an alcohol free country.

 

Here's a chart of the average temps in Qatar. Even in november it can get above 30 C 

 

[Hollism]

Australia would be a good shout, new location for a WC, and its their winter time in july so shouldn't be too hot. Plus its not an alcohol free country.

 

Here's a chart of the average temps in Qatar. Even in november it can get above 30 C 

 

 

Wonder if they'll consider playing every game at night 

[ADK]

It's a shame really as i'd quite to go to a world cup but FIFA seems to have a policy of only hosting the cup in places nobody would want to go to.

[bovril]

It's a shame really as i'd quite to go to a world cup but FIFA seems to have a policy of only hosting the cup in places nobody would want to go to.

 

Russia's a perfectly nice place to visit and they'll do a good job of hosting it.

[Stadt]

Has there ever been a World Cup hosted in Scandinavia?

[fleckneymike]

Russia's a perfectly nice place to visit and they'll do a good job of hosting it.

 

It'll just bankrupt any ****er who goes.

[bovril]

It'll just bankrupt any ****er who goes.

 

Pretty much, yep.

[Jimothy]

Has there ever been a World Cup hosted in Scandinavia?

Sweden 1958.

[Stadt]

Sweden 1958.

Cheers,about time one was hosted there again then one of the only problems being lack of adequately sized stadia.