Olympics is not the same as a World Cup. Especially when it comes to match time slots and the way Sponsors want things set up.
Plus the Olympics makes a good portion of their money on NBC television coverage. Much of the coverage NBC and Telemundo love to show at Prime Time in Tape delay. Different dynamics and set up when it comes to Fox and Telemundo during live coverage.
And since people think I talk too much about the USA, I heard BBC and Talk Sport English commentators complain about Russia'a kickoff times, They sure as heck will complain about China if that is the case.
Main hurdles for hosting a World Cup: 1. Stadium readiness: check. 2. TV viewership size: check. 3. What British pundits might think: ??? NBC is welcome to broadcast WC matches on tape delay. They sure as heck do it for Olympic Games. Its dumbest joke to date: ask that USA be moved out of alphabetical order during Opening Ceremony, so that US TV broadcast could avoid showing other nations' delegations.
The [potential "viewership size" based on the Olympics has absolutely nothing to do with current TV deals that were signed. The best bet is Europe or the USA that would best correlate with the time slots that have been agreed upon for years now. Unless China plays their matches at odd times in the morning.
And back to Stadium readiness. Are the Chinese stadiums ready? Do they have the proper amount of box-seats and press areas? Do they have the proper roofs as some people point out around here as being important? Maybe they can get things done in 3 years but it is a higher risk than Countries that have stadiums that are currently World Cup ready tomorrow.
@HomietheClown You bet they are as ready in China, as they are in USA. Roof is not a main feature of US largest stadiums, which are used for American football. 16 soccer-specific stadiums in USA are all below 27K capacity. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soccer-specific_stadium#Current_MLS_soccer-specific_stadiums Out of 22 US stadiums used for MLS, only 1 has a retractable roof. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Major_League_Soccer_stadiums As for British pundits, just throw money at them and they will get up at 3am to do their job (Carabao Cup events in China).
None of the MLS stadiums would be used for the World Cup so that is irrelevant. Most, if not all NFL stadiums are World Cup ready or will be ready come 2022. Renegotiating TV deals is not that easy to do when it comes to Europe and the USA, Especially since they already had to do some back room deals to compensate for a Winter World Cup asinine idea. It would just be easier to say we will keep the same Qatar Time Slots (or similar kick off times) and have it in Europe or the USA.
@HomietheClown , so stadium roofing is no longer a requirement then? I certainly hope AFC keeps 2022 WC for the right reasons, not for what British pundits might think in the future.
I said people around here made the roof comments. I was wondering out loud what were the roof situations for Chinese Stadiums.
That is nice of you to hope that. But considering the context on how the Asian federation got the World Cup in a corrupt way I think intelligent ways of deciphering what is best for the situation and for sponsors could be applied. That would be Europe or the USA for the least risk.
Same lack of retractable roofs in both China and USA. Both countries are ready to host a WC in that aspect.
There is a Roof in Los Angeles (The new Stadium), in Houston, in Dallas, in Atlanta, in Arizona off the top of my head.
I recall how FIFA took away a WC from Conmebol back in 1983, and gave it to its Mexican buddies, despite fair US efforts to host the 1986 WC. There will always be a shady business context, when it comes to awarding WC hosting rights.
A decision has to be made soon and they may not have time to do shady business practices in order to sweep away the other shady business practices.
Who knows? Maybe this is all a BS exercise while FIFA extorts more money out of the Qataris. Clumsy implementation of VAR in multiple continents works wonders as a distraction from FIFA scandals.
Why does it matter if AFC keeps it? I notice the distance from Qatar to the big cites in China is about the same as Qatar to western Europe. And I'd think culturally the change is about the same. Why does it the confederation matter?
Especially when the Confederation turned a blind eye the wrong doings that got us in the mess in the first place.
sorry, but for what reason should qatar be stripped of the world cup? just because. of a panamanese article in a newspaper? like the panama papers?
There are plenty of reasons that have been brought up in this thread and in the News. The main reason recently is the arrest of the former head of UEFA allegedly involved with secret meetings with conspirators to purchase the World Cup with bribes. I am sure more will come out that is not flattering for Qatar in the next few weeks. Not things that will come to their rescue to save it. For the optics and for the sanity of everyone they should do the right thing. But yes this is FIFA we are talking about so they may still do the wrong thing and play it in Qatar.
ok, and what in detail have been the punishment after it was proven that germany had bought world cup 2006? where they stripped of future biddings or were they... oh no... awarded with hosting euro 2024? and why did london receive the allowance to host group matches for euro 2020 after brussels were stipped of these rights instead of having one of the other 10 or so contenders who were rejected from bidding? and why did baku host a euro league final and euro 2020 matches up to one quarter final? would you think of stripping 2 slots from uefa's 13 wc final tournament berths wouldn't be also a valid sanction for the uefa coach being corrupt? (if) the uefa is corrupt, you award his federation with hosting the tournament as a reaplacement? well if, then great tactics by platini. btw. colombia has been stripped of wc 1986 as they did not start the preparation in 1983. that is a totally different reason.
As mentioned Germany was different because the details came out way after the tournament had been played, not 3 YEARS BEFORE the tournament has even started. I am not talking about Euros or whatever else you want to bring up that is not pertinent to the conversation. I am talking about which Countries are the lowest risk to host this World Cup along with still satisfying TV Networks and Sponsors that are the main investors in this debacle . England, Germany and the USA are the best candidates. USA may be the very best as the Panamanian media leak has alluded to.
haha. you are funny. why the best? make america the best again? the stadia? the climate in the none arena? the distances for teams to cover between venue? the football tradition and atmosphere? what exactly make them 'the best country to host a world cup' ?
The best when it comes to all the factors involved. If you look at the actual bid on FIFA there's plenty of reasons to say it is the best. The scores on most of the criteria to host are elite in almost every category. But in this particular case even more so when you only have 3 years to prepare for the biggest sporting event on the planet. Tickets will be sold out in hours and other obligations would be met or even exceeded when compared to cruise ships or dessert tents in the middle east.