No air-conditioning = nobody attending matches I'm sure FIFA will be quite happy with half-empty stadiums.... Now the Qataris are not stupid...so I'm sure they realize that a large amount of the economic impact from hosting the tournament will come from visiting fans...meaning that they will do everything in their power to make the environment as comfortable as possible for visitors.
Qatar is targeting the luxury tourism market for 2022. The chairman of their tourism authority has said that they will not compete for the mass market tourist business. http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/Artic...o+focus+on+luxury+in+run-up+to+world+cup.html This makes me think that 2022 is going to be a resort themed World Cup. Its going to be like Club Med meets World Cup Soccer. Or like Ritz-Carlton meets soccer fever. This is going to be an unique world cup.
You're right. I might have mentioned the accommodation issue before. From the article you link to: And according to the bid evaluation document, for the time of the World Cup all of those rooms have already been booked, for the "FIFA family" (i.e. everyone but the fans).
Ahhhh, don't be so pessimistic. There is a solution to everything... Check this innovation of fan culture: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_X9N83q_dec&feature=relmfu"]Clothing with built-in fans[/ame] [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A37otH-pxXE"]And for the stadium seats...[/ame] I'm sure Adidas and Nike are all over it already...
As Timanfaya noted, How the heck are the Qataris going to house 300,000-500,000 fans? Right now they've only got 13,000 hotel rooms...and I'm sure most of those are already earmarked for FIFA bigwigs.
Let's up the stakes a bit, they are claiming to be expecting 800,000 foreign fans: http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topi...=470163&version=1&template_id=57&parent_id=56 Hopefully the fans won't be planning to stay overnight.
Oh dear,look what is happening Lowy re-ignites World Cup debate http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/news/1083179/Lowy-re-ignites-World-Cup-debate And Worrying Times: FIFA Opens Door to Investigation of Qatar’s World Cup Bid http://mideastposts.com/2011/11/28/...or-to-investigation-of-qatar’s-world-cup-bid/
If they do take it away from Qatar, which is a big if, I'd imagine anyone could possibly host it because they'll probably due the bidding and voting process over again. It's still more than 10 years away.
Yeah, this is what I never understood about the decision to give 2022 to Qatar, given that simple business logic would seem to dictate that you would want to host the next Asian World Cup in China. Awarding 2022 to Qatar almost certainly means that China doesn't get a chance to host until 2034 at the earliest, and most likely not until 2038 or 2042. CONCACAF will want to host 2026 (most likely the USA, although Mexico is perfectly capable), UEFA will want to host 2030 (since they won't want to go sixteen years between hosting assignments), and South America and Africa will both want 2034. Doesn't seem to make a lot of business sense to me...
Unless you take in account how much profit the tabloids are making, only due to it, reporting about it now in 2011 (in less than one year since they got granted the host of the WC), 11 years before it even takes place. It`s hard to imagine how high can the numbers get, till then.
Maybe, who knows ?, If FIFA would have granted the 2022 WC to any other of the bidders that presented their bid last year, China wouldn`t really have a chance of getting it now. just a personal opinion (although I do wish to have it in Qatar), maybe what FIFA was up to, was giving time for China to make up their mind in these, more than 10 years to go, to finally decide to host the WC. After all, as Qatar got it this time, almost no one questions Asia`s right over this WC now, so if Qatar finally is dispossesed of the WC, it could finally get to China, even if they originally weren`t among the federations who bidded at first, this time around. (very similar as how Mexico got to host the 1986 WC, after Colombia gave up their chance with very short time of notice to it, even though Colombia originally got it unoposed by no one, at first)
China doesn't have the stadiums in place to do it on short notice. They have some, but not all required. Of the former bidding nations only Korea and the USA could be available as standby with short notice. Even Japan, which has the infrastructure, needed an Olympic stadium which the plans for have since been scrapped.
China could easily build those stadiums in 10 years time. They could probably do it in 2 if they wanted to.
China has plenty of stadiums. From a cursory glance it seems like they have 12 stadiums under 15 years old and with capacities ranging from 80 to 50k. The main problem would be hotels and transportation. http://www.worldstadiums.com/asia/countries/china.shtml
Except we aren't talking about a timeline that involves 2011 or even 2012 are we? We are talking about a hypothetical situation involving a country that A)doesn't even have the rights to host the World Cup, B)Wasn't involved in the bidding process for the original rights award, C)Involves one of the slowest moving sports governing agencies in the world first holding an investigation and then stripping the current rights holder, then clearing numerous legal hurdles likely also involving third party arbitration like the Court of Arbitration for Sport, then D)holding an entirely new selection process. That isn't going to be a quick process, if it happens at all. So, no, they don't have 10 years to build the stadiums. Its short notice, because it could take 6 or 7 years just to start a new bid process. My take is that FIFA has made a financial mistake on 2022 of epic proportions that will either bankrupt the organization or lead to a rival breakaway by the clubs. But, there hasn't really been any hard evidence to support corruption on the Qatar bid's part, only rumor. Its going to be a disastrous Cup for FIFA, but its a disaster they created and are going to have to live with even as it destroys the organization over the next decade.
Like this? I hope they get stripped of it; Australia should always have been awarded it. Great stadia, great weather, no issue about the restriction of movement for supporters, no threats of being thrown in the clink for looking at a pretty girl, and a team that has justifed its position in world football.