“And the 2018 world cup goes to....”
Yes that's right, the obvious first choice. The country with the best technical bid, the stadia, the infrastructure, the passion, history and love of the game, with a bid put forward by a king to be, a current prime minister and a worldwide footballing idol. All of these were not enough to secure the honour of holding the world cup.
Oh dear oh dear, what has gone wrong with footballs' governing body? Fifa have some questions to answer that is for sure, but will they answer them? Well, I don't think I need to tell you, you already know that one.
I may be accused of arrogant bias perhaps but to me all the sense in the world pointed to having the world cup staged in England. I know that Sepp Blatter wants his legacy to be that he took football around the world and (in selecting Russia and Qatar (? yes I know!)) he is certainly fulfilling that promise, but surely he must put football before all of that.
Maybe the expose by Panorama and the Times did damage our bid but it shouldn't have, the executive committee of Fifa should have chosen with their heads and not their grievances. Alas they did, and we here in England will not be privy to staging the biggest sporting event outside the Olympics.
I find something very disturbing in the way that Fifa go about their business; they appear to operate way above and beyond any other organisation or government, an oligarchy that takes no heed of others, even those whom they control. The power and wealth of the Swiss-based organisation (Switzerland, a country which has little footballing history or passion but is a massive tax haven speaks volumes) frightens me and I'm sure many others who love the game.
I shan't be accusing Fifa of this that and the other as I feel sections of the English media have brilliantly done so already. However, I must gripe at the way they seem uninterested in the footballing matters that concern those in football and the scary untouchable way in which they operate.
I of course offer up my congratulations to both Russia and Qatar (it's in the middle east by the way!). And I wish them the very best at hosting the forthcoming spectacles, but I can't not comment on the lack of preparation or the baffling geography of the new hosts to be.
Russia does not have the stadia at present to hold a world cup and Qatar have absolutely no footballing foundations whatsoever, whereas we have 99% of the stadia (Bristol being the one to be completed in time). Russia has a huge country, even more vast than the USA and games are to be held from one end to the other. No doubt this will bring immense pressures on the fans and the teams when it comes to travelling about and indeed adjusting to the different climates within that land.
Qatar is around the size of Fiji and is mostly sand, it will be excruciatingly hot and very dry, by that I'm also referring to the lack of alcohol what with it being a Muslim state. This could certainly diminish the levels of fun and camaraderie between the different nations of fans.
England of course has.......well I don't need to compare really!
I, like so many others in this country am feeling deflated by the decision, so many plus points yet so little votes, it does make you wonder just how Fifa do choose their destinations, big brown envelopes perhaps..? Sorry, I said I wasn't going to go down that route! Though I must point out the fact that Fifa don't ever investigate allegations of corruption within their organisation, this does seem to point to some dark avenues.
Fifa also have no-one to push an investigation upon them either which must trouble all those involved both actually and emotionally in football. Something needs to change or else I fear the world of football will be beyond repair and out of touch with itself.
Is there ever a possibility of a darts style revolutionary break away, and the forming of a new world governing body that nations can sign up to? Surely now is the time for the powerful nations in football to look into this and decide whether they can provide a better more translucent governing body, a body that will listen to those it has in its care, a body that understands the game, the people involved within it and forces the change of good for the benefit of football and not their bank balance.
Whoops I've done it again! There's just no getting away from it, and maybe that speaks volumes in itself.
Please, please, please, we must somehow work towards a better, greater power in charge of this age old, world-unifying beautiful game. I am a mere minnow though and Fifa are Jaws (or one of its less good sequels).
Where is Captain Brody when you need him?
p { margin-bottom: 0.21cm; }