That part of the world is a mess. I know that Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain are at odds with Qatar... a blockade would do that... Hey... maybe FIFA thinks that they can help broker peace with a World cup among these nations... oh who am I kidding...Oil money influenced Infantino to give some of that World Cup pie to those nations
48 teams in 2022 ? Wow ... Infantino not even making it hard to theorize he is taking some money behind the scenes.
Having any tournament in Qatar is insane. Especially since the whole FIFA calendar has to be turned on its head with games played in the Winter.
i think you are all far to critical. there have been 24 tram olympics in cities like barcelona atlanta and sydney... everything is arrangable nowadays... maybe some. of the matches can be staged in UAE
??? Not football. The Olympic football tournament includes 16 teams and is played across the country, not just in the main Olympic host city. The UAE is not an option since they're participating in the Saudi-led blockade. IMO FIFA should just let the confederation rotation rule slide for this one and rope in Turkey, considering they've now lost 4 Euro bids as well as the Olympics in 2020, so have been wanting to host a major tournament for a while. Hosting part of a World Cup isn't much different from being the sole host of a Euro, in terms of the investment that needs to be made. Qatar-Turkey 2022! Opening match and third-place match in Turkey (Istanbul?). Final in Doha. Make it happen!
Google says flight time is slightly more than 4 hours. Not too bad, surely? You might have to do that in 2026, anyway. Also, if you were mainly just following one team, I would have the bracket set up in such a way that teams that play in Qatar for the group stage also play in Qatar for the knockout stages. You'd only have to travel if you wanted to attend the third place match because your team was in it. Same with the teams that play in Turkey for the group stage. You'd only have to fly to Qatar for the final. It would only be a major problem if, say, you wanted to attend some matches of both Germany and Spain, and Germany is playing in Turkey and Spain is playing in Qatar. You would probably be a bit limited in what you could attend.
It is just one big mess. Turkey is in UEFA so I don't think FIFA would allow them to team up with Qatar. Then they would have to be open to Morroco, Spain and Portugal in the future and look like hypocrites for reportedly shutting that idea down.
You think people are being too critical. I think you are being too Naive. Hosts have to be responsible for many things. Stadiums, infrastructure, Safety and security, Hotels and accommodations, Fan activities and festivities, etc. When some of the discussions floating around here involve being on a cruise ship for a week or two, going to desert tent adventures with camels and hanging out at malls all day to keep cool then you know it is not being critical to say they just can't handle it. It is calling a spade a spade and calling it out as a horrible idea. Especially since FIFA is forcing every single League in the world to bow down to this idea and change their calendar. It is just BS.
No offence, but I can think of at least three of places where planes have been shot out of the sky, and the only one that's close to this route involved a United States guided missile cruiser. J Actually, given current leadership, maybe that was your point.
I mentioned rumors like that months ago. Not surprised at all to see them floating around again with all the talk of 48 teams.
Could you imagine. Saudi Arabia or Israel being forced to be based in Iran? Bring out the popcorn if that happens.
I can't see what @Robert Borden tweeted, but what did it say? Is Iran just going to help with providing team base camps or are they actually being floated around as a possible co-host? Personally, I will not attend or even watch a World Cup co-hosted by Iran, but that is a subject for another thread.
So today, Qatar got sick of all my smack talk and beat Switzerland in their own house! Fluke result, Qatar actually being a better side now, or a "Delete Your Club" moment for the Swiss? @Nico Limmat
Never really have been a big fan of the Swiss and their style but I never would have predicted that. Did the Swiss have their third stringers in late in the game or something?
Qatar got a goal towards the end in a game that Switzerland dominated throughout and hit the post/bar twice. While the scoreline is embarrassing, it doesn't really unsettle me with a view towards the UNL game against Belgium on Sunday. This was the typical throwaway friendly that I would like to see disappear from the schedule entirely unless it's a preparation match for the World Cup or Euros. It looked like a scrimmage that belongs on the practice field. The number of Swiss bench players on the field didn't help, and even they seemed unmotivated. The Swiss public clearly shared that lack of excitement and it was the worst attended home match for Switzerland in over 14 years. It's the kind of game that feels like a complete waste of time (or worse, waste of money) for the viewer/spectator.