Ok, so I'm watching Tecos x Santos on Azteca America (the evening replay on 9/13) and near the end of the first half one of the commentators mentions that a group of empresarios is working to get Mexico and the US to submit a joint bid for WC 2010. That's the first I've ever heard of this - has anyone else seen or heard anything similar? Makes no sense to me as either Mexico or the US could easily host a WC alone, but seems like someone at Azteca at least wants to float the idea. Dunno.
anderson This sounds weird. The U.S would have no problems filling the stadiums and after their run at Japorea i doubt they would want another host. Maybe they were talking about the Clubs World Cup
Half a world cup is better than none. I don't see a lot of our US football stadiums ready for 75x110 soccer fields.
I thought most of these fabulous new NFL stadiums have been built with FIFA dimensions in mind so that they could host WC games - at least the ones in Foxboro, Houston, and Seattle. The USSF says it intends to to bid on 2014, so maybe we have the stadiums. The only idea that makes some sense is to have a contingency plan in place so that if Africa falls through for 2010, then Mexico can step in to save the day just like in 86, when Colombia fell through. Actually, that's not an outrageous possibility. And could be a great outcome - US wins bid for 2014, South Africa has 2010, but has to withdraw because it can't really pull it off, so Mexico picks up 2010. But would Mexico need a few big stadiums in the US to make that work? It's a larger tournament now than in 86 and FIFA wants only 40,000+ stadiums. So maybe two or three extra stadiums in the US (in LA, Houston?) would help? Does Mexico have 10 stadiums that are currently at least 40,000? I'm not sure if they have to be all-seaters. That's what I get for watching Tecos.
maybe because the u.s wont build any new stadiums while mexico probably will, so the u.s would have the fifa dimensions stadiums (foxboro and the other ones you mentioned) and mexico would provide some new stadiums
Invesco Field at Mile High in Denver was also built with that in mind. Actually, they specifically made the stadium with the possibility of it being used for soccer internationals, exhibitions, etc...
Cleveland, Cincinati, Pittsburgh, Jacksonville, Charlotte, ect... all of the new NFL stadiums can be used for the World Cup.
Torreon is talking about building a municipal stadium that would seat around 45-50K. Aguascaliente is building a new stadium (dont know if they broke ground or not) but it plans to hold 35K with features to expand if needed. The guy that wants to own Chivas, mentioned that if he took over, that he would build a new 100K+ stadium in Guadalajara (dont know how serious he is).
if I knew the Mexico was going to get it in 2010... i wouldnt want a joint bid... but because i dont know.... half a WC is better than no WC
It may not have been an official statement, but didn't FIFA say they weren't going to have joint tournys (at least WCs) after 2002? I'd rather wait for a full bid - we did it well in '94, we can do it again
There's no doubt that either country could fill every stadium for every WC game. We're also sure that the US can come up with at least 10 modern, all-seater stadiums with 40,000+ capacities. I think that's the key these days. So, we know that the US could host a 32-team WC. But does Mexico have (or will have by 2010) 10 stadiums with 40K capacities? And does FIFA now require only all-seaters? Does this Mexican stadium info look accurate or up to date? www.worldstadiums.com/north_america/countries/mexico.shtml If it's accurate, I count only 7 stadiums over 40k. But a couple more are very close. Only one (the Azteca) is an all-seater, but I'm not sure if that's a FIFA requirement now. If Mexico would be a couple of stadiums short, then you can see why an ambitious empresario may be pushing to see whether a few stadiums in California and Texas would be available. If they're looking at this as a way to be prepared to save the day in case the African effort for 2010 collapses (a very reasonable possibility), then it may actually be a good idea. It's obvioulsy a speculative idea, but a good one as far as speculation goes. The key would be for the African 2010 effort to collapse after the US is awarded 2014. Then we get Mexico in 2010 and the US in 2014.
Just my two cents worth, but something to ponder: I personally can't see FIFA "ALLOWING" the African effort to fail, "IF" they are awarded WC2010. Then I see FIFA awarding WC2014 to a South American country. (when was the last WC played, {not awarded} in a South American country?) A North American country (let's not forget Canada) will not be awarded a WC until at least 2018. Lane
UEFA will then want their turn - not having had a cup since '06, so England, Russia or some other Euro country will get '18. If we're lucky we could get 2022 in US with or without Canada and Mexico.
That is definitely something to ponder. It would be a huge embarrassment to Sepp because it's really one of his main political chips. But it would also cost FIFA a massive amount of money to bail out South Africa (presumably). South America has a good claim, but they may have a couple of serious obstacles. First, every country likely to be able to host a 32-team WC is in some measure of economic difficulty. The economies in Brazil, Argentina, or Colombia may look much better by the time a bid has to be chosen. But the odds of that happening are such that an ambitious empresario would still do well to have things lined up in Mexico for 2010 (or 2014) just in case. Then there's the stadium issue. According to the site that I linked above (sorry for editing that post, but I thought it made sense to put the link there since we're looking at Mexico): Argentina has enough 40k+ stadiums, but none are all-seaters; Colombia has only six 40K stadiums; Brazil has waaaaaaaaay more than enough 40K's, but none are all-seaters. It should also be noted that many of these stadiums would require massive upgrades to be considered "modern" in terms of amenities and infrastructure. And when you convert a stadium to an all-seater, you lose some significant attendance capacity.
Originally the old Municipal Stadium was going to be expanded for the now defunct Gallos de Aguascalientes several torneos back when they almost made it to the Primera. When news of Necaxa was planning to play there in 2003, there were talks of stadium expansion. I just spoke to my cousin who lives in Aguascalientes and he told me that the Municipal stadium has been knocked down to make way for the new stadium mentioned above. He stated that progress is slow and there is not much to see at the moment. I asked him to keep me updated and possibly send me some pics via the internet. I will post them in the Mexico forum and stadium forum when I get them. I can't wait to catch a MFL match in Aguascalientes!
Vamos por el Mundial 2010 EL Campeonato Mundial de Futbol de 2010, que debido a la regla no escrita de alternancia continental correspondería al continente americano, podría realizarse de manera simultánea en México y Estados Unidos, de prosperar el proyecto en el que desde ahora trabaja la Federación Mexicana de Futbol y cuya primera gestión oficial al respecto tendría lugar en la tercera semana de noviembre, durante la estancia en México de Joseph Blatter, presidente de FIFA. http://www.esto.com.mx/esto/021105/futbol/1futbol.asp
Re: Vamos por el Mundial 2010 i just don't see how they are going to change Blatter's mind about the cup being played in Africa. Blatter seems to want a African cup as part of his legacey.
If South Africa could host a WC than Brazil or Argentina certainly could, even with financial problems. The African WC idea is ridiculous. FIFA is basically just awarding the WC to South Africa since no other African country could ever host it. '10 should be South America. '14 and '18 should be North America and Europe in either order.
Mexico can host a World Cup on its own. So can the the U.S. But a joint bid is a good idea because it would garner more votes and have a better chance of winning. Properly planned, it could be a bonanza for FIFA and the prestige of soccer. I also think the two FAs and governments could work together on this without much friction. Both countries have good infrastructure and public safety. I imagine every ticket would be sold.
The new Soldier Field will handle a regulation pitch and the overhead blimp/helicopter shots will blow away any other venue in the world.
Well, it depends... No, not necessarily. It depends on whether FIFA will require all-seater stadiums with at least 40,000 capacity. I've started a thread about that issue in the FIFA and Tournaments forum to see if anyone has any current info: https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=23060. If that's the case, Mexico doesn't currently have the stadiums. That's where the US would come in for a joint bid in 2010 to save the day when and if Africa fails (as discussed earlier in this thread - please see those posts above). But Mexico also has the economic capability to convert stadiums to all-seaters or build new all-seater stadiums if needed. Not every country that would like to host a WC (e.g., SA) necessarily has the economic resources to get their stadiums in shape, but Mexico should be able to do so.