What's done is done, just make sure you have an up to date passport, and get ready for some fun in the sun and sand of Qatar! Its party tiiiiime! For those concerned, there will be plenty of alcohol and plenty of prostitutes, don't worry, the arabs know how to have fun.... oh, and don't forget about the camel races!
Exactly, towns like Sugar Land aren't prepared to handle the influx of people that show up for games. The population of those towns could triple the days before and after games, meaning the transportation infrastructure will be pushed to/beyond its limit, restaurants/bars will be madhouses, and hotels will gouge visitors beyond belief. Those things are bad enough when large cities have games, now we have a large city and its suburbs having games. There is a reason Sugar Land doesn't have any 45K seat stadiums. The logistics and expenses of a tiny country hosting it will be a nightmare.
At least they had a World Cup history. They didn't even attempt to start qualifying until the 1978 Cup...and they haven't been close in any attempt since. So, someone explain to me why Asia gets 2 Cups while England will have to wait until at least 2030 to get another? At least the US will have another shot in 2026.
I don't care that its not in the US as I would have loved to go to Australia as well. But yeah, I'm not going to the middle east in the summer to watch soccer. Sorry, but that's just the way it is.
Sugar Land doesn't have Billions of dollars to create the infrastructure needed to handle the influx of people. Don't worry, they will spend whatever it takes to be ready. It will be a pretty amazing show with the most incredible looking stadiums. The day time heat is my only concern.
Not to mention, what happens to those cities when the Cup is over? It's the same question they're asking in South Africa right now.
This is utterly ridiculous. The FIFA is corrupt, through and through. I know it first-hand, I know people associated with FIFA who made tons of money by scalping tickets for the world cup 2006. Qatar has no soccer tradition, never ever qualified for a world cup, temperatures will be unbearable for fans, it is not allowed to have a drink in that country outside of restaurants and hotels - ridiculous. It is painfully obvious that Blatter and his corrupt crew cashed in on that one. He will probably not even be alive by then, but he got his pockets full with this one.
I'm fine with the decision, although I kind of feel for England--just a little, as long as they won't have anything close to as annoying as those damn POS vuslvusliuliasds in South Africa.
You know where we need wikileaks? For the FIFA (and UEFA, while they are at it). I KNOW these organizations are totally corrupt. It's like the Mafia.
Russia is a bi-continental country. It's in both Europe and Asia. I'd even go as far as to say Australia gets it before AMERICA (North or South) gets it again. *That's what MILLIONS said* This is good for the world, you ethnocentric bastards. GIVE... OTHERS... A... CHANCE... If you're so pissed at FIFA, make your own Federation.
I am in Qatar right now and let me tell you, the roads being built, the amount of construction, the number of hotels being put up is insane. They even have a man made island called The Pearl kind of like they have in the UAE and I wouldn't be surprised if they are going to be making more of them to accommodate for the World Cup (residence AND stadiums). Take my word for it, they seem to be on their way to pull this off within the next 12 years. If they don't, I will donate $100 to the tipjar.
The thing is it's not just FIFA. It's the member organizations as well. Just look at Concacaf. The stories I've heard from former members of the USSF who've worked alongside Concacaf members are just insane. That's why if you're a fan of the game you just want to put the shenanigans that happen in the various organizing bodies out of mind or else you'll be so disgusted.
Qatar is going to be a disaster. How the hell is a country of 2 million rich Arabs ever going to have the security available to contain 500,000 European hooligans intent on causing a ruckus?
lol with all due respect to US fans, there are enough people in the Middle East and the surrounding areas to go to the games, it's ok if you can't travel all this way. I'm completely against the Qatar bid and so disappointed that they got it, but to talk about footballing history and how far it is from YOU is silly. If you want to talk about who had the best bid, Qatar and the US are the top bids, and it's well known that FIFA prefers to give it to countries or regions that haven't hosted it. How many times are you going to get someone to host it in a place which hasn't previously hosted, regionally has an absolutely insane percentage of football fans, and unlimited money to buy everything brand new for the World Cup (metros, hotels, stadiums, roads, malls, everything). I don't think FIFA could pass this up because the rest of the Middle East is incapable of hosting it for different reasons. I'm very sad that Qatar is going to spend all this money, most of it will become useless after the World Cup. I don't know if this is the best thing for Qataris, and I wish the GCC countries had put in a joint bid which would be more manageable and would reap enormous benefits for the region in terms of infrastructure and exposure. I am shocked that Russia got it, but I guess it's a lot of the same reasons. Money will be available, I don't think Russia has hosted before, and the weather is great in many parts of Russia in June. One thing about Russia though, I've heard it's the most expensive place in the world to live? Not sure if that's true. England and the US are facing major liquidity issues - could that have been a factor?
What the hell?? The US has a LONG football history, dating back damn near a century. WTF has Qatar ever done in terms of ANYTHING?? Obviously the committee was paid off by some rich oil baron. How else can this POSSIBLY be justified??
