Qatar 2022

[Football_Bat]

Yeah, Joe, I agree. Most of the European countries where there are regular leagues that draw large crowds could host with little additional expense.

I understand the notion of wanting to make a political statement: WC in South Africa and Qatar, Olympics in China and Brazil, etc. But at some point that has to be tempered with reality and the cost of staging the event at the level to which the big shots have become accustomed in the more developed countries.

What is the political statement of holding the WC in Qatar?

That money talks.

 

[Batman]

The fact they're trying to prevent THIS from being seen by the world is reason enough to yank the thing away from them.

 

[Mark2010]

Yeah, Joe, I agree. Most of the European countries where there are regular leagues that draw large crowds could host with little additional expense.

I understand the notion of wanting to make a political statement: WC in South Africa and Qatar, Olympics in China and Brazil, etc. But at some point that has to be tempered with reality and the cost of staging the event at the level to which the big shots have become accustomed in the more developed countries.

What is the political statement of holding the WC in Qatar?

Anytime you take an event of that magnitude to a lesser-developed country, the stated idea is to promote the growth of the sport in that country and help them by sinking a ton of money into the economy (tourism, infrastructure, etc.). Fine, but I question how much good hosting the World Cup has done for the common South Africaner. It's generally a lot of money spent that doesn't trickle down to help the poorer classes.

 

[Steak Snabler]

Here's how "lesser-developed" Qatar is:

Its average income is $88,000 per year (No. 1 in the world in 2012). It's the freakin' Monaco of the Middle East.

http://urbanpeek.com/2012/03/09/the-worlds-top-10-richest-countries-in-2012/

 

[Captain_Kirk]

Workers are dying -- by the hundreds -- as Qatar builds stadiums in anticipation of the 2022 World Cup.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/01/qatar-world-cup-workers-deaths-migrant

Jeremy Schaap did a nice E:60 piece on this subject as well. With the exit-visa rules, it's akin to a modern day slavery/concentration camp situation.

 

[Webster]

Also, these massive stadiums are basically not going to be used after 2022. They are all being built within a small radius and there is not going to be a need for them after the tournament. Their domestic league currently averages about 5,000 people a game (a little more than 25% of the average MLS crowd).

 

[Batman]

Also, these massive stadiums are basically not going to be used after 2022. They are all being built within a small radius and there is not going to be a need for them after the tournament. Their domestic league currently averages about 5,000 people a game (a little more than 25% of the average MLS crowd).

Roger Goodell thinks the "Qatar Jaguars" and the prospect of playing in a new stadium every week sounds neat.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

One of my best friends is a press secretary for a Congressman. He got to go on an all-expenses paid junket to Qatar last November and has gotten to be friends with a Qatari official who lives in DC. He said Qatar is the strangest place in the world.

For example, the number of actual Qataris is very small, something like 10 percent of the total population. The rest are all foreign workers. The Qatari official was asked if they ever worry the workers will rise up and take control and he said "Yes, all the time."

The Qatari official also spoke of what a culture shock it was moving to DC. My friend thought he was talking about moving so far from home to a completely different culture. The official said it was more than that, because he wasn't used to not having servants doing everything for me. He'd never made his own bed. Never bought his own groceries.

After visiting, my buddy is convinced the World Cup there will be a huge disaster. But, hey, FIFA got the cash and that's all that matters.

 

[Mark2010]

Here's how "lesser-developed" Qatar is:

Its average income is $88,000 per year (No. 1 in the world in 2012). It's the freakin' Monaco of the Middle East.

http://urbanpeek.com/2012/03/09/the-worlds-top-10-richest-countries-in-2012/

Well, they should fit in just fine. Since Qatar has all that money, what's all the fuss about?

 

[DeskMonkey1]

I'm no economist but if everyone's rich, isn't nobody rich?

 

[HanSenSE]

How feasable will joint bids be in the future, much like the forced marriage between S. Korea and Japan? I could see, say, some European nations combining for a bid.

 

[TrooperBari]

How feasable will joint bids be in the future, much like the forced marriage between S. Korea and Japan? I could see, say, some European nations combining for a bid.

FIFA has come out and publicly said it is against joint bids, which -- given its track record of consistency -- means sweet Fanny Adams. Still, given the looming disaster that will be Euro 2020 and that they'd have to hand out two automatic bids, I imagine they'd prefer a single host.

And as to Inky's post, that all sounds awfully familiar. Just swap out Qatari for Emirati.

 

[Steak Snabler]

One of my best friends is a press secretary for a Congressman. He got to go on an all-expenses paid junket to Qatar last November and has gotten to be friends with a Qatari official who lives in DC. He said Qatar is the strangest place in the world.

For example, the number of actual Qataris is very small, something like 10 percent of the total population. The rest are all foreign workers. The Qatari official was asked if they ever worry the workers will rise up and take control and he said "Yes, all the time."

The Qatari official also spoke of what a culture shock it was moving to DC. My friend thought he was talking about moving so far from home to a completely different culture. The official said it was more than that, because he wasn't used to not having servants doing everything for me. He'd never made his own bed. Never bought his own groceries.

After visiting, my buddy is convinced the World Cup there will be a huge disaster. But, hey, FIFA got the cash and that's all that matters.

Yeah, I lived in Kuwait for a few years when I was in junior high (my dad is in the oil business). The Kuwaitis were the same way.

More than half the country was Filipino, Indian and Pakistani laborers.

 

[Mark2010]

How feasable will joint bids be in the future, much like the forced marriage between S. Korea and Japan? I could see, say, some European nations combining for a bid.

Sort of like the Olympics. Joint bids are frowned upon, because they want a single political entity to hold responsible for operation. Now if it was done under the banner of say, the European Union, it might be accepted.

 

[Mark2010]

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/qatar-denies-wrongdoing-newspaper-allegation-150406460.html

A bribery scandal in soccer?!?! My goodness, surely that can't be possible. I mean, no one involved in soccer would ever accept a bribe, would they? [/bluefont]

 

[YankeeFan]

It's unbelievable to me that Qatar is still going to be allowed to host the World Cup:

We were invited to Qatar by the prime minister's office to see new flagship accommodation for low-paid migrant workers in early May - but while gathering additional material for our report, we ended up being thrown into prison for doing our jobs.

Our arrest was dramatic.

We were on a quiet stretch of road in the capital, Doha, on our way to film a group of workers from Nepal.

The working and housing conditions of migrant workers constructing new buildings in Qatar ahead of the World Cup have been heavily criticised and we wanted to see them for ourselves.

Suddenly, eight white cars surrounded our vehicle and directed us on to a side road at speed.

A dozen security officers frisked us in the street, shouting at us when we tried to talk. They took away our equipment and hard drives and drove us to their headquarters.

Arrested for reporting on Qatar's World Cup labourers - BBC News

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-32720777

 

[Webster]

At this point, it is beyond a farce but I don't think anything will change. They already did a sweetheart deal to give the 2026 TV rights to the 2022 providers at a cut-rate price to make up for the fact that the 2022 competition is moving seasons. I assume that Qatar is paying the difference, which is insane. Plus, the entire world league soccer calendar is going to be a mess due to the changing seasons.

What's interesting to me is that Blatter apparently voted for the U.S. bid over Qatar.

 

[Shropshire Slasher]

The only major soccer league that will be disrupted in a big way is the EPL, which doubles down on games during the holidays. For them, this is indeed a mess. The others take a mideason break of some sort and can simply adjust it.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

It's unbelievable to me that Qatar is still going to be allowed to host the World Cup:

We were invited to Qatar by the prime minister's office to see new flagship accommodation for low-paid migrant workers in early May - but while gathering additional material for our report, we ended up being thrown into prison for doing our jobs.

Our arrest was dramatic.

We were on a quiet stretch of road in the capital, Doha, on our way to film a group of workers from Nepal.

The working and housing conditions of migrant workers constructing new buildings in Qatar ahead of the World Cup have been heavily criticised and we wanted to see them for ourselves.

Suddenly, eight white cars surrounded our vehicle and directed us on to a side road at speed.

A dozen security officers frisked us in the street, shouting at us when we tried to talk. They took away our equipment and hard drives and drove us to their headquarters.

Arrested for reporting on Qatar's World Cup labourers - BBC News

Serves them right for going on the government's public relations tour.

 

[Webster]

The only major soccer league that will be disrupted in a big way is the EPL, which doubles down on games during the holidays. For them, this is indeed a mess. The others take a mideason break of some sort and can simply adjust it.

I think that you need at least 7 weeks for a break -- 3 weeks for camp and then a month for the tournament. Maybe even 8 weeks. Other than Germany, which has a winter break for about 6 weeks, the other big leagues will need to significantly adjust.