..PART 2
name one decision that was as controversial or 'stupid' as this?
US 1994.
I'll list the reasons.
It was awarded in 1988, when the US team was abysmal. It wasn't competitive even in its own weak Confederation of that time.
It was up against countries like Morocco and Brazil.
FIFA's president was, Havalenge. The single most corrupt person to have touched this great sport of ours. No one comes close to his level of corruption.
This idiot gave the WC to US over his own country of Brazil because he was getting more money from the US and Brazil wasn't as rich back then. And i don't think i need to list the football history and caliber aspect in this regards.
There were no proper football stadiums in this new Host.
The distances between host cities was gargantuan. There had never been a WC held which involved such travel for both fans and teams, it was only broken with the recent Brazil 2014.
The temperates were not ideal either as i listed. The Ireland v Mexico match was played in 105F (42C) heat.
And lastly, the host didn't even have a fucking Domestic League. This defies everything, one can not put words to this level of ridiculousness.
And all these are sporting related issues not extra mumbo jumbo which there was plenty, the US was a super power and as part of the Cold war was doing all sorts of crazy stuff all over the world, It was involved in regime changes from Latin America, to Chile to Iran to god know where.
The European football Elite at that time couldn't fathom how US got the bid, they were furious and rightly so, US being given the WC in 1988 is the single worst FIFA decision on WC hosting.
However, in hindsight it turned out ok BUT does that make make it right? I won't use this line of argument because i don't use it for Qatar or any Host.
I know for a fact that FIFA has done tremendous good for the sport of Football, they genuinely care about it. They post the start of 90 in Blatter era have done great works to make football what it is globally. Are they corrupt, of course they are but that is not taking away from their competence in doing their job, which is to look after the sport.
So i trust every WC host decision they make, even when its utterly BS at times. And this is why iI support Qatar, because i am not a hypocrite. I may criticize the choice for a few weeks post awarding but then i get back behind the Host and FIFA, not whine on for years on end because i know how the past has been.
I am also aware of the famous 10 year theory. Which says that an authoritarian/centralized regime on hosting a Global event like FIFA WC and Olympics will have regime change within a decade. Because of the internal domestic changing pressures it creates. This has been true half a dozen times now (though for Mexico it took 4 more years and China might buck the trend).
The fact is a ME and esp. Qatar with a WC and being globally engaged is more prone and likely to change and accelerate its natural development trajectory than without an incentive. And the WC is that WC.
The people who have all the facts, history and understanding of these concepts and how they apply to the future, yet still cling to mindless criticism, its fair to consider the possibility that it has racist and Xenophobic leanings, maybe unintentional but it does comes across like that at times esp. as time comes close to 2022.