Saudi hosting 2034 World Cup

As reported by the BBC.

Terrible news and probably I'm guessing another winter World Cup - proving that last year was not an aberration but something we can now expect every other World Cup.

The Euros (2020 excepted) are now the only tournament for European nations which keeps within the original spirit of international tournament football.

Also FIFA clearly hate Australia. They failed in bidding for 2022, now have clearly been told behind closed doors to feck off with their 2034 bid. Australia seems the most ready made, obvious choice for a World Cup on planet earth outside of Europe.

should have been hosted in australia, but tbh Qatar was t the disaster that the gammonocracy predicted and I expect Saudi will be perfectly ok too

Mexico was good and Italia 90 but I kind of lost track after that.

is it acceptable to admit that the qatar world cup was fine and largely indistinguishable from any other major tournament for a tv viewer

I didn't watch a single second of the Qatar world cup. I don't care that my individual protest had no impact, I stuck to my principals.

I will do the same 2034, even if RoI qualified and had a 99% chance of winning it.

No. You're supposed to wring your hands for a bit and then watch it anyway.

I suspect we're rapidly reaching a point where only the oil-rich ME states will be willing/wanting to bankroll international tournaments like this. Even the Euros seem to need to be split between FAs these days.

Politics aside I didn't mind Qatar - decent viewing times.

Maybe we should just accept permanent winter tournaments and shift the seasons out a bit. Fewer dreary winter fixtures in the rain is a side benefit.

Oil money is killing global football

Taking it from working class fans and making it a play thing of homophobes and sexists to improve their reputation

Tourist fans enjoy it

Real fans despise the way it is going

Football is more than this

(((Oil money)))

Sooner or later a major nation will quit FIFA and start a rival association. Football will then become like boxing with multiple world champions who rarely face each other. The knock on effect on club football will be similar with rival club tournaments for the split associations.

Could be fun. Will probably be shit.

Oilwashed footie’s feeble future

Yes agreed RR

Some kind of working class club league for clubs with fans

And some doped up sport washed league for tourists

I know which I prefer. Defend football!

As for the nations, quite why the major nations haven't binned of uefa and FIFA is not understood by me but hints of corruption

Do you think that FIFA will be dissecting their bid?

Can't wait for the septics to come up with the World Soccer Series that excludes every country except Cananananda.

FIFA are dissecting the bribe amongst themselves.

Or if Saudi are the sole bidder will FIFA just take a more hands-off approach.

What principle was at stake, Eddie?

couldn’t give a shit where they hold it tbh, I’ll watch it

The right to get stoned while watching the games?

the principle was that Qatar is not a football nation and has an abominable human rights record.

We all know that FIFA and UEFA are corrupt but this one took the biscuit.

No need for anyone to lose their head over this decision, though.

FIFA is a fvcking disgrace and every single one of them should be doing gaol time. And thanking their lucky stars they aren’t having their hands lopped off like they would in their beloved Saudi

I wonder if they’ll introduce prayer breaks during matches.

Heh

Handball you say? He’ll only do that twice won’t he?

Can’t see the tournament being held in 2034 at the same time of year as the Qatar one, though, as the Holy Month of Ramadan could be in full flow in and around that time.

Also FIFA clearly hate Australia. They failed in bidding for 2022, now have clearly been told behind closed doors to feck off with their 2034 bid. Australia seems the most ready made, obvious choice for a World Cup on planet earth outside of Europe.

The Australia thing is a combination of:

- Brisbane already hosting the Olympics in 2032;

- the Victoria Commonwealth Games debacle making awarding bodies nervous; and

- the position of Australia in terms of time zone in TV markets - soccer is very different from Olympics in that regard

we’re the victoria commonwealth games a debacle?

the way australian institutions dominate infrastructure investment and finance, you think they’d be good at it

They won the bid for 2026 and then reneged this year

Qatar world cup was rubbish. Sorry but if you can't throw pint glasses in the air at a BoxPark (because it's 3 degrees celsius) when England score then it's just not as fun is it?

Qatar was great, not least because it annoyed the BBC

Call me a traditionalist but what really makes a World Cup is the fangoing experience. And if you aren't there yourself, enjoying the fan related atmosphere from afar is still key, and one of the main things you take from it other than the football.

E.g. Germany 2006 was the best fan experience imaginable. Ditto France Euro 2016 though not quite as good. the next Euros in Germany will be class.

South American World Cups are fantastic on the TV. North America will be potentially good next time, albeit not the same local enthusiasm in parts.

But Qatar? Absolute sh1t - having to give away tickets, and too many instagram expat poseurs and disinterested locals in the stadiums, not to mention fvck all in the way of a meaningful fanpark and of course pub/bar experience in the local neighbourhoods. Saudi will be similar.

Just bend over to your new petrodollar overlords and be grateful they don’t luck you up. Anyone for VAR?

What about all those fake fans they hired!??? They paid for them and now you’re slagging off the atmosphere!

Maybe they’ll fly out some tasty firms to recreate some nawty tear ups for the next one

Altogether now - SOUTHGATE IS OUR SUPER COACH!!!

HEH - a load of random Qataris dressed up in e.g. Spain / Germany shirts but unable to name a single player was at least amusing.

One of the best world cups was USA 94. Made sense to be there and i think next USA World Cup will be good. Saudi makes more sense than Qatar but not much more sense. Australia would be an excellent venue and it needs to be in Asia again soon.

They will do a good job, as Qatar did. The days of do-gooders bleating on about "human rights" issues in the Middle East, whilst ignoring far worse issues in "developed" countries like the US will have passed by then.