[LaPalma]

Haha...those lazy bavarians...so true.

[Jack Sparrow]

If lazy is Berlin dialect for super-sexy, insanely cool, divinely intelligent awesomeness....well you're 100% right!

[LaPalma]

No, it's not.

[Jack Sparrow]

Hau Ab! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif)

[LaPalma]

FIFA is a joke. Shame on them and their »football family«. It's a family comparable to the Mafia.

[servbot]

There are just too many "ifs", for such a world-class event. Trust me when I say that when event planners sign contracts for future events, they ask for almost everything to be completely set in stone, with at most a couple of "maybes", that wouldn't destroy the event if they didn't come to fruition.

So either the FIFA selection committee are either grossly incompetent, or they were grossly paid off (or both).

I'll bring up another "if" too - what happens if the world switches to renewable energy for cars in 8-10 years and the oil bubble bursts? Will they continue to blow the money on all of this? I wouldn't bet on it because it hasn't happened for a long time, but we're coming to a point where that large-scale change is becoming a necessity, so it could change soon.

It's a very ambitious bid by Qatar, and credit to them for even trying it, but they will ultimately lose a ton of money from all of this. The WC brings in cash, but I highly doubt it would be enough to cover the costs of all of the expansion and leftovers.

[LaPalma]

There are just too many "ifs", for such a world-class event. Trust me when I say that when event planners sign contracts for future events, they ask for almost everything to be completely set in stone, with at most a couple of "maybes", that wouldn't destroy the event if they didn't come to fruition.

So either the FIFA selection committee are either grossly incompetent, or they were grossly paid off (or both).

I'll bring up another "if" too - what happens if the world switches to renewable energy for cars in 8-10 years and the oil bubble bursts? Will they continue to blow the money on all of this? I wouldn't bet on it because it hasn't happened for a long time, but we're coming to a point where that large-scale change is becoming a necessity, so it could change soon.

It's a very ambitious bid by Qatar, and credit to them for even trying it, but they will ultimately lose a ton of money from all of this. The WC brings in cash, but I highly doubt it would be enough to cover the costs of all of the expansion and leftovers.

But only for FIFA.The host usually has to face a deficit of at least a 100 million euros.

[Linkman]

100 million euros means little to a country's economy.

[William405]

Guys,I agree with all of your opinions about Qatar,and how the World cup shouldn't held there.But,some of you don't recognize the amount of money these people have.

[Dracoris]

100 million euros means little to a country's economy.

You're right. Considering 100 million euros was probably just the bribe money.

A Qatar WC doesn't make sense. And if it doesn't make sense yet its still chosen then theres probably something we don't know. And we know the bids of each individual country. U.S. and Australia we're clearly more prepared for such an event. One can only wonder.

[servbot]

ESPN SoccerNet
Blazer is listed in the article as the "No. 2 CONCACAF official"

Blazer, while saying Qatar won the vote fairly, said he believes jockeying for support to succeed the 74-year-old Sepp Blatter, who replaced Joao Havelange as president in 1998, was a factor. Blatter is running for a fourth term and has said he is braced for a candidate from Asia to challenge him in the vote at the May 31-June 1 FIFA Congress.

Qatar's Mohamed Bin Hammam is president of the Asian Football Confederation, which would have nearly half of the votes needed to elect a president if it votes as a bloc.

"I don't think these are decisions anymore made purely on what's the best place to host it or who's best capable of doing the best job," Blazer said. "If you consider that there are potential candidates that are looking to align support, Asia is certainly a major piece of the puzzle as we are going forward."

I'd be more comfortable with a straight buyout under the table, than this kind of political scenario!

[Ry4n]

Fifa blame British media for World Cup bid flop

Friday 03 December 2010

Football: Fifa members insisted today that the British media were to blame for England's failed 2018 World Cup bid - despite claims by the England camp that broken promises had cost them the tournament.

Fifa executive member from Cyprus Marios Lefkaritis said the feedback from other members was that media investigations had been a factor - which the England bid leaders deny.

Japanese executive committee member Junji Ogura had previously claimed that investigations by the Sunday Times and BBC's Panorama programme into alleged corruption had played a part in England's bid receiving only two votes when Fifa handed the 2018 and 2022 tournaments to Russia and Qatar on Thursday.

Lefkaritis said: "In the beginning I thought not, but after the experience I got from other members yesterday, then I have to say definitely yes."

He said the England bid team were "stupid and naive" if they thought the media had not been a factor.

England bid chief executive Andy Anson claimed that as many as five or six of the Fifa executive had promised their votes in meetings with Prince William, David Cameron, David Beckham and bid officials, only to break those guarantees.

Anson said: "They are saying to us that our media killed us but I don't believe that for one minute, but that's what we are being told.

"My only issue with the Sunday Times and more the BBC Panorama was the timing of it - it was almost impossible to bounce back.

"I'm not going to beat around the bush: individual members promised to vote for us and didn't, clearly.

"That's difficult to stomach when they have given you assurances.

"We thought on the upside we would get seven or eight but not that five or six would leave us. That's quite a big percentage of the ones we had been promised."

Among those thought to have given their assurances is Fifa vice-president Jack Warner of Trinidad, who voted as part of a three-man bloc with the US and Guatemala members.

Anson said: "I think they probably did vote as a bloc, but not for us sadly."

Another broken promise allegedly came from Turkey's Senes Erzik, a long-time friend of Fifa member Geoff Thompson.

The England bid received information from the Foreign Office on Thursday morning that Turkish diplomatic sources had said Erzik would not support England.

Thompson asked him for assurances just an hour before the vote and received them. Afterwards, Erzik said merely: "It was nothing personal, just business."

[Milan Are Brilli...]

Makes you wonder why we still have to pay a TV License Fee, what, for Eastenders & The Weakest Link?! I wish we could choose to just not have the channel. The BBC have no sport anymore apart from some games in the major International competitions/Wimbledon (but is that really worth £130+ a year?!) and I can see football highlights quicker on Sky anyway. The only thing remotely watchable on BBC 3 is Family Guy, but that's on FX anyway. It's a joke, to have to pay for this rubbish, it's the equivalent of having to pay for the GOD channel if you get Sky TV.

[kurtsimonw]

Rumour is before they voted, Blatter urged the voters to consider the way the British press have attacked the dignity of FIFA.

So Blatter has basically punished us for free speech? Doesn't surprise me that Russia and Qatar have been given World Cups then, likely China in 2026 too. They won't get the press and people questioning them in those countries.

I don't understand this 'selfish' comment people bring up. It's not selfish because I'd rather it be in Australia, which is much further away for me than Qatar. The other annoying comment is "x amount of people will get to see the World Cup".. so? Many, many, more people would get to see it in the US! Same goes for England!

[Locke Lamora]

Rumour is before they voted, Blatter urged the voters to consider the way the British press have attacked the dignity of FIFA.

So Blatter has basically punished us for free speech? Doesn't surprise me that Russia and Qatar have been given World Cups then, likely China in 2026 too. They won't get the press and people questioning them in those countries.

I don't understand this 'selfish' comment people bring up. It's not selfish because I'd rather it be in Australia, which is much further away for me than Qatar. The other annoying comment is "x amount of people will get to see the World Cup".. so? Many, many, more people would get to see it in the US! Same goes for England!

I'm roughly 150% in agreement with you.