Will the world cup make it to Qatar
 

This from the BBC this morning. https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/44994041

What really caught my eye was the penultimate paragraph,

"Qatar is embroiled in a diplomatic dispute with some of its neighbours, which perhaps explains the timing of this leak. And with Fifa President Gianni Infantino known to be keen on a 48-team 2022 World Cup, this could lead to fresh pressure being applied on Qatar to agree, and to share their tournament with other countries in the region."

Does this make everything from the last 13 months fit into place?

Re: Will the world cup make it to Qatar
 

Had to laugh at this:

"The alleged aim was to create propaganda to give the impression that a World Cup would not be supported domestically. The Qatar tournament organisers deny the allegations."

Qatar arguing that the US and Australia wouldn't be able to support the WC over Qatar? Really? Qatar?!

Everyone knows Qatar had no business winning the World Cup. It's so bleedin' obvious and a disgrace. But I don't think it'll be moved from Qatar by this point. Too much money at stake by this point.

Re: Will the world cup make it to Qatar
 

I generally subscribe to the cock-up rather than conspiracy perspective on history and I think the GCC handbags dispute falls very definitely into the former. The world cup is incidental, not a driver, though now key to how it plays out. I read it as follows, putting together several different pieces, and bearing in mind I am leaving the region imminently and thus a little less discreet in my opining than I might normally...

Ginned up by Trump and Kushner, buzzing with the energy from that magical orb and with uncle MBZ egging him on, crazy bear thought he could get a quick concession from his little neighbour on ikhwan funding and muzzling Jazeera. That would have definitively shown that he was the GCC boss. Given all the tortured family history with Saudi and potential implications for re-igniting a bloody civil war in the ruling family, the other princeling was over-ruled in his (maternally influenced) instinct to compromise, as he had previously, and the hardliners regained control of the family and the country. Hence he inadvertently became a bumper-sticker meme and the matter, which was supposed to be resolved in a few days, now looks like surviving the next millennium...

The world cup is leverage in the ongoing pissing match. I doubt the other GCC countries have any real interest in hosting a world cup but will be using it to exert every possible embarrassment and humiliation on Qatar in the meantime. What is interesting now is that you have a suddenly empowered FIFA basking in the triumphant glow of a stunningly successful Russian WC with Infantino being propelled from faceless bureaucrat to global prominence (with some inevitable uncomfortable questions). He clearly would love to skip straight to the North American WC but instead has to pick through this mess that is in part his doing. In 2022 he faces a likely disaster that will massively overwhelm all of the unexpected credit from Russia '18. In the end, I think factors other than the GCC hissy fits will determine what happens, but I think there is a real question about whether Qatar '22 can go ahead. Maybe some kind of face saving sharing with Turkey (and even the UAE) might be an option?

Re: Will the world cup make it to Qatar
 

To quote someone in the bar (in Doha!) after France won, "too bad it's eight years till the next World Cup."

I suspect many people already don't have expectations for the Qatar 2022 Cup. The surrounding embargo countries will likely keep the embargo going till after the WC because that's one way to embarrass Qatar. Before the embargo began the real party was always going to be in Dubai with people flying over for the days they had tickets for the matches but staying in Dubai the rest of the time. And many of the visitors would have been other GCC nationals. But now they're closed off from Qatar. Changing the schedule to November/December also complicates things.

And I'm not sure if Qatar really understood what it got itself into for wanting to host the WC.

Re: Will the world cup make it to Qatar
 

A "FIFA Investigation" ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.... a bent organisation looking into a bent bid.....

Re: Will the world cup make it to Qatar
 

It's coming home.

Re: Will the world cup make it to Qatar
 

You might be right this time though given how hated the FA are among their sister football governing bodies (a lovely bunch all around), that may be another lot of wishful thinking...

Re: Will the world cup make it to Qatar
 

*Rolls eyes at the bullshit*

However, Gareth Southgate apparently made his team introduce themselves from 'The English FA' instead of the old fashioned "hello, we're from THE FA, give us your land and have some blankets and rum as a thanks".

The humility of him and his squad at this world cup was fantastic, refreshing and something as a national side we've been missing in droves.

Re: Will the world cup make it to Qatar
 

Entirely agreed on Southgate and co who were a notable contrast to how the FA have conducted themselves, particularly the arrogant hypocrisy around the bidding for '18/'22, which has apparently left a lingering bad taste and may still stymie any "rescue" attempt by England. But it would be hard to find a group of people whose disdain could be more justifiably worn as a badge of honour than the collection of corpulent mendacious thieves running the world's football associations.

Re: Will the world cup make it to Qatar
 

Yeah I agree but what's more important is that it's going to come home, it's just delayed.

Re: Will the world cup make it to Qatar
 

Just curious if anyone reads The Intercept... A quite insane article today....

Re: Will the world cup make it to Qatar
 

THanks for the tip, just read it. Insane is the perfect word.

Re: Will the world cup make it to Qatar
 

It would have been something to tell future progeny about how I survived the great Qatar invasion of 2017. A bit disappointed it didn't happen. No great snaps of Saudi tanks rolling down the streets of Doha. No evacuation while clutching on to my cat. Shit really would have hit the fan because the rest of the world wouldn't have supported it and been furious about it and then what would have happened next?

That's the weird thing about this blockade. They never gave thought as to what would happen next under the various scenarios and now no one knows what to do.

Re: Will the world cup make it to Qatar
 

There's been plenty of time to work on that bit though. I reckon it's more orchestrated than we give credit for.

Re: Will the world cup make it to Qatar
 

What only matters is if Uncle Sam says "ok, go ahead". Tillerson said No.
It must really irk the Emiratis to see Qatar host the US base and get the WC.

Re: Will the world cup make it to Qatar
 

Of course we all know that the Woirld Cup should ALWAYS be in Engerland !

Re: Will the world cup make it to Qatar
 

What an insightful comment, Scot.

Re: Will the world cup make it to Qatar
 

:goodpost:

Re: Will the world cup make it to Qatar
 

You guys do not like irony. Look objectively at the press and TV coverage and you will see the assumption is that England has special rights when it comes to the World Cup !


But then "objectively" is not to be expected from English football fans or commentators

Re: Will the world cup make it to Qatar
 

You sound like you've looked at this objectively, don't you?

Wembley has the final for the Euros in 2020 so that'll keep some folk happy.

UK is bidding for 2030, which England could probably even manage on it's own but I think it's right to make it a UK wide bid.... likely to be up against a strong South American bid and North African. If it doesn't go to a European nation it will be surprising, especially with an Asian bid coming from South Korea most likely....who obviously joint hosted in 2002. I think Asian hosts are banned because of Qatar hosting just before though.
One problem will be the 48 team nature of the world cups, it makes going to countries without a huge stadium count harder to get across the line because they'll have to spend so much money to host. Unfortunately the desire to expand the tournament means that bids for tournaments in the future like 2034 across Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia are harder to imagine actually happening.

The US / Canada / Mexico tournament will be in 16 stadiums, which are all built and average 68,000 capacity. Morocco bid every world cup yet lose on strength of bid because they'd have to build nine new ones. It's a struggle to make that appealing not just to the FIFA reps but your own country / government / tax payers, surely?

Re: Will the world cup make it to Qatar