There was an earthquake in Zurich yesterday, and the aftershocks will continue for many years. We all knew that Russia and Qatar were in the mix for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, but it's one thing to speculate about it; to actually see England get only two votes and for the United States of America to actually lose out to Qatar.........well, these are interesting times we live in. Let's measure the fallout:
LEGACY? I'VE GOT YOUR LEGACY RIGHT HERE.....
For England and the US, to paraphrase Goebbels, every time they hear the phrase "legacy" they must reach for their revolvers. In reality, "legacy", like "rotation", is an excuse for doing what Sepp Blatter and his ilk want to do in the first place. And as soon as "legacy" no longer suits Blatter's needs, it will be dropped for another fig leaf. But for an organization as paranoid and under siege as FIFA, the concept of legacy is manna from heaven. Whey should England or America get it a second time when places like Russia and Qatar can be improved by a selfless and idealistic FIFA? Russia can be modernized and liberalized and perhaps the whole Middle East will be brought into the modern world culturally by FIFA's bestowing of this gift. Yes and Jack Warner has some reasonably priced tickets to sell to you. But it is a great public relations move by Blatter, and many point to South Africa as proof of the merits of legacy. I was there. I loved it. But as I write this, the Greenpoint stadium in CapeTown has no tenant and if that's the case, how do you think they're doing in Rustenburg, Nelspruit and Polokwane? If your great legacy is simply memories, then what did you really build? How do you say "white elephant" in Arabic?
ENGLAND ARE IN NEED OF AN INTERVENTION......
I admire and revere England and the British Empire. England, its history, customs and principles are everything that is good in the modern world. But England must stop debasing itself. You ask a girl out once and she says no, you should move on. But if you're dumb enough to ask a second time, only to have her lead you on and then dump you in the most humiliating fashion, then you know where you stand with her. Given that England couldn't beat Germany for 2006 even though Germany had hosted it more recently should have told you what you needed to know. But to not get a single vote from your own confederation speaks volumes. They don't like you. And you know what, that's o.k. Have some self respect. And step back and appreciate that the Sunday Times and Panorama acted in the best traditions of your nation. Could those pieces have been published in Russia or Qatar? FIFA should have been thanking the Sunday Times. To have your future King and current PM groveling for favor from the likes of Ricardo Teixeira, Jack Warner and Sepp Blatter is obscene. They have only contempt for you. And like any battered spouse, the more you return to him, the more he'll beat you. You're better than that. Next time Jack Warner wants to make money off you by having your national team come to Trinidad for a friendly, tell him to stick it where the sun don't shine. Next time Brazil wants to play a friendly in London because it's so convenient, tell Teixeira to bugger off. Next time Manchester United or Liverpool win the Champions League and Blatter wants you to go to Japan or the UAE for the World Club Cup, send your reserve team. And unleash the press on this bunch of vipers. You are better than this. In the long run, FIFA did you a favor.
RUSSIA COULD ACTUALLY BE FANTASTIC AS A HOST....
Per WikiLeaks, US diplomats regard Putin's Russia as a mafia state, utterly corrupt and with little chance of improvement. Can anyone seriously argue with that assessment? That said, if you read the Bid Evaluation Report, this could be very interesting. There will be 5 clusters: Central (Moscow), Northern (St.Petersburg & Kaliningrad), Southern (Sochi, Rostov-on-Don, Krasnodar), Volga (Yaroslavl, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Saransk, Samara & Volgograd), and Ural (Yekaterinberg). All teams would play their group matches in three different host cities belonging to one or at most, two clusters. In Moscow alone there will be 4 stadia. St. Petersburg is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Fanfest in Red Square. Battle of Stalingrad tours in Volgograd. How about a Quarterfinal matchup of Germany v Russia in Volgograd? On the down side, only 6 of the cities will be linked by high speed rail by 2018: St.Petersburg, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Sochi, Smolensk and Krasnoye. Other than that, you'd have to fly. Or drive. Get me Jason Bourne. But count me in.
QATAR MAY HAVE WRITTEN CHECKS ITS BUTT CANT CASH....
Chuck Blazer's comment lingers in one's ears: Maybe you can air condition a stadium; but how do you air condition an entire country? You can promise anything, and clearly money is no object in dealing with the June and July temperatures of 98 daytime and 87 evening in Qatar. But right now, it's a fantasy. If they can solve global warming, then they deserve to host the tournament every time. Just as significant, almost all of the venues are within 60 km of each other. This would be the hottest and most geographically condensed World Cup ever. Another issue is that even if they can cool the Fan Fest sites and stadia to tolerable levels, what do you do when you're not watching the games? What culture or historical sites are there to see? This isn't Egypt or Iran. This is a desert with 5 star hotels. On the other hand, the two greatest World Cups have been the two hottest: Mexico 1970 and 1986. Maybe we should root against the Qatari technology, so the game will open up. If they can't solve the heat, then for the fans, it's a potential catastrophe. I'll go, but only with a Panama Jack hat on my head for two weeks.
WHAT DOES ALL OF THIS MEAN FOR 2026?
Per current FIFA rules whatever confederation hosts a World Cup is ineligible to bid for the following two tournaments. Accordingly, both Europe and Asia are banned from hosting in 2026. Unless FIFA change their rule (they wouldn't do something like that, would they?) then it would be between Africa, South America, Concacaf and Oceania. Oceania has no feasible prospect, unless Australia leaves Asia to return to Oceania. Actually, that's not a bad idea for the Aussies, because they would be great hosts. But scratch Oceania. From Africa, let's say you get Egypt and Morocco, maybe even Nigeria. Perhaps Colombia from South America, although there may be a feeling among Comnebol that they should shoot for the 2030 centennial with a joint Argentina/Uruguay bid. That leaves Concacaf. The US or Mexico. One would think on paper that this would be an easy one for the US. But the same argument that leads you to South Africa, Brazil, Russia and Qatar might easily send you to Mexico. While we may not play each other in World Cup qualifying, that would be the Mother of all Battles. Do you think the US can count on Jack Warner's vote?
Matt Switalski is a 16th Circuit Court Judge in Macomb County, Michigan and is the managing editor of
World Soccer USA. He appeared as a guest on World Football Daily on October 11 and October 14 to analyze the legal battle for Liverpool FC.
World Football Daily
