Breaking news - England wins right to host World Cup!

[VectraMan]

BBC reporting that only 2 nations voted for the England bid out of 22. And that one of those nations was England.

And were knocked out in the first round. What was all that reporting about England having a good chance and it being close?

[TykeMerc]

Not for a world cup. We don't even have enough for a Euro bid by ourself. Our best bet would be Euros with Ireland or Wales.

That's quite a surprise, how many stadiums are actually needed then? Ok the SPL may only have 2 teams that are really competitive, but I assumed that there would be something like a dozen suitable sized stadia in the whole country.

It seems a bit counter intuitive that Qatar would have more suitable locations than Scotland, obviously they do have a hell of a lot more cash though

[AtW]

there would be something like a dozen suitable sized stadia in the whole country.

Good enough to stage gladiator fights in a province...

[Bunk]

That's quite a surprise, how many stadiums are actually needed then? Ok the SPL may only have 2 teams that are really competitive, but I assumed that there would be something like a dozen suitable sized stadia in the whole country.

No, the only ones of any decent size are Ibrox, Celtic Park, Hampden and Murrayfield (if they're allowed to use it for football). They could probably upgrade or build new stadiums instead of Tynecastle or Easter Road in Edinburgh or Pittodrie in Aberdeen but they still wouldn't have enough for a World Cup. There are also problems having 3 of the biggest stadiums in one city.

[Freamon]

That's quite a surprise, how many stadiums are actually needed then? Ok the SPL may only have 2 teams that are really competitive, but I assumed that there would be something like a dozen suitable sized stadia in the whole country.

It seems a bit counter intuitive that Qatar would have more suitable locations than Scotland, obviously they do have a hell of a lot more cash though

Qatar do not have any - they are going to build them all from scratch over the next 12 years. They will all be constructed in a single park within a few miles of each other, and after the tournament they will all be dismantled and rebuilt in developing countries.

That's not a joke btw.

[SizeZero]

BBC reporting that only 2 nations voted for the England bid out of 22. And that one of those nations was England.

Why does that always come as a surprise to Englishmen? Eurovision has been demonstrating on an annual basis for years what the rest of the neighbours think of us. England is only special to .. well.. Englishmen. Our reputation with football isn't that impressive either - we are known more for our behaviour off the pitch than our outstanding achievements on it.

That aside, two things stand out. 1) Why would the country entertain a second, world-class tournament until such time as it knows whether it broke even from the Olympics just a few years earlier, and 2) why are people so forgiving of Fifa when they want all their own way and a bag to put it in (tax exemption for all officials, etc)

England won the better tournament - be happy that someone else is taking the burden and lets hope a fair portion of any hooligans are dealt with appropriately by either the Russian or Qatari officials.

[Cliphead]

Will Qatar relax their drinking laws?

Qatar is a place where people, including Muslims, can legally buy alcohol and then be taken to court for drinking it. Earlier this year an Egyptian man had some beers on a plane on the way here to try and forget the toothache he had. After checking in at his hotel he got a taxi and asked the driver to take him to a dental clinic. Instead, the driver took him to the police station and he ended up receiving lashes for being inebriated. When the sentence was passed, he wept (source: Gulf Times).

Linky

[minestrone]

BBC reporting that only 2 nations voted for the England bid out of 22. And that one of those nations was England.

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer

Actually don't know if Scotland were in the vote but I would assume they were, we would have made up the second vote if that was the case.

[minestrone]

be happy that someone else is taking the burden and lets hope a fair portion of any hooligans are dealt with appropriately by either the Russian or Qatari officials.

The hooliganism at Russia will be a central European Problem the Germans, Dutch, Italians and every ex USSR country that gets in will be sending over massive teams.

[Freamon]

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer

Actually don't know if Scotland were in the vote but I would assume they were, we would have made up the second vote if that was the case.

Scotland are not on the FIFA exec com:

FIFA Executive Committee - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia