Not worthy of a thread - 2018 FIFA World Cup edition

[henke]

After Russia was awarded 2018 the England bid team were told they failed because an England World Cup would leave no legacy. And everyone went well if that's the criteria could you not have told us five years ago? I think that demonstrates exactly how corrupt FIFA are, and stupid too if that's the best excuse they could come up with.

[henke]

Also most FIFA delegates were said to favour Italy or Spain for the next European hosted World Cup. Basically because nobody likes England. They might as well have said get Sam allerdyce and Harry rednapps dog on the bid team.

[triggs]

Also most FIFA delegates were said to favour Italy or Spain for the next European hosted World Cup. Basically because nobody likes England. They might as well have said get Sam allerdyce and Harry rednapps dog on the bid team.

Or maybe its because neither Italy or Spain have hosted a Euros as recently as England have

[Guest VanBarduck]

My first reaction was "Que?", but it does make sense. I don't think it's a coincidence that Platini has made this happen when it's France who benefit , but there you go.

 

 

[Nobody]

If England were to host a WC, which are the 10-12 stadia likely to be part of the bid?

 

Wembley

Emirates

Olympics/West Ham stadium

CoMS / Old Trafford (do they allow 2 venues in the same city?)

SJP

Anfield

Villa Park

 

Would be pretty much London-centric going by current stadium capacities.

If not, you've got some troubles with your previous three candidates

[NG32]

If England were to host a WC, which are the 10-12 stadia likely to be part of the bid?

 

Wembley

Emirates

Olympics/West Ham stadium

CoMS / Old Trafford (do they allow 2 venues in the same city?)

SJP

Anfield

Villa Park

 

Would be pretty much London-centric going by current stadium capacities.

If not, you've got some troubles with your previous three candidates

 

:lol:

[TheGuv]

If England were to host a WC, which are the 10-12 stadia likely to be part of the bid?

 

Wembley

Emirates

Olympics/West Ham stadium

CoMS / Old Trafford (do they allow 2 venues in the same city?)

SJP

Anfield

Villa Park

 

Would be pretty much London-centric going by current stadium capacities.

If not, you've got some troubles with your previous three candidates

 

Well Qatar have got about 4 in one city

[LRD]

If England were to host a WC, which are the 10-12 stadia likely to be part of the bid?

 

Wembley

Emirates

Olympics/West Ham stadium

CoMS / Old Trafford (do they allow 2 venues in the same city?)

SJP

Anfield

Villa Park

 

Would be pretty much London-centric going by current stadium capacities.

If not, you've got some troubles with your previous three candidates

 

Well Qatar have got about 4 in one city

 

4 in one city and 3 in another.

 

The limitation to a possible two stadia in one city is a rough guideline it seems.

[LRD]

If not, you've got some troubles with your previous three candidates

 

It was a genuine question, you nobody.

[Deuce]

A senior Fifa official and his family were paid almost $2 million (£1.2m) from a Qatari firm linked to the country’s successful bid for the 2022 World Cup, The Telegraph can disclose.

 

Jack Warner, the former vice-president of Fifa, appears to have been personally paid $1.2 million (£720,000) from a company controlled by a former Qatari football official shortly after the decision to award the country the tournament.

 

Payments totaling almost $750,000 (£450,000) were made to Mr Warner’s sons, documents show. A further $400,000 (£240,000) was paid to one of his employees.

 

It is understood that the FBI is now investigating Trinidad-based Mr Warner and his alleged links to the Qatari bid, and that the former Fifa official’s eldest son, who lives in Miami, has been helping the inquiry as a co-operating witness.

 

The awarding of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar was one of the most controversial decisions in sporting history. The intense summer heat in the desert nation has raised the prospect of the tournament being moved to the winter for the first time.

 

Although Qatar has repeatedly denied wrongdoing during the bidding process, it has long been suspected that the decision was flawed, and several members of the Fifa committee have faced corruption allegations.

 

It can be disclosed that a company owned by Mohamed Bin Hammam, the Fifa executive member for Qatar, appeared to pay $1.2 million (£720,000) to Mr Warner in 2011.

 

A note from one of Mr Warner’s companies, Jamad, to Mr Bin Hammam’s firm, Kemco, requested $1.2 million in payment for work carried out between 2005 and 2010.

 

The document is dated December 15, 2010, two weeks after Qatar won the right to host the tournament, and states that the money is “payable to Jack Warner”.

 

Mr Warner’s two sons and an employee were paid a further $1 million (£600,000) by the same Qatari company.

 

One document states that payments are to “offset legal and other expenses”, but a separate letter claims that more than $1 million cover “professional services provided over the period 2005-2010”.

 

At least one bank in the Cayman Islands initially refused to process the payment amid fears over the legality of the money transfer. The money was eventually processed via a bank in New York – a transaction that is understood to have come to the attention of the FBI. A well-placed source said: “These payments need to be properly investigated. The World Cup is the most important event in football and we need to be confident that decisions have been made for the right reasons. There are lots of questions that still need to be answered.”

 

Mr Warner was one of the most experienced members of the executive committee until he stood down in 2011 and served as vice-president of the organisation for 14 years. He was one of the 22 people who decided to award Russia the 2018 World Cup and Qatar the 2022 tournament. It is understood that the FBI is investigating payments to Mr Warner and that one of his family members has been acting as a “co-operating witness”.

 

The investigators are thought to be focusing on Mr Warner’s American and Grand Cayman accounts.

 

Michael Garcia, the joint chief investigator of Fifa’s ethics committee, is also investigating irregularities surrounding the bidding process. He is expected to deliver his report to the committee later this year.

 

The disclosures will add to concerns that some Fifa executive committee members were not impartial when they cast their votes in December 2010. England suffered a humiliating defeat when it secured only two votes to host the 2018 World Cup and was eliminated after the first round.

 

Even before the decision was made, there were persistent allegations of corruption. Six weeks before the vote in Zurich, a World Cup official was caught in an undercover investigation agreeing to sell his vote to one of England’s rivals. A second member of the same committee was recorded asking for £1.5 million for a sports academy. Both officials were suspended, meaning that 22 people voted instead of the usual 24.

 

A whistleblower also claimed that one of the bidders had bought the votes of three African executive committee members. The former Fifa employee later withdrew the allegations.

 

Following England’s defeat, a parliamentary committee held an inquiry into the failed bid. Lord Triesman, the bid’s former chairman, gave evidence stating that four Fifa executive committee members had asked for business deals and favours when negotiating their support. One of those he named was Mr Warner.

 

The Labour peer said that the then Fifa vice-president had asked for money to build an education centre in Trinidad, with the cash to be channelled through him, and £500,000 to buy World Cup television rights for Haiti.

 

In June 2011, Mr Warner resigned from all football posts after he was accused of facilitating bribes to members of the Caribbean football union on behalf of Mohamed Bin Hammam, who was standing against Sepp Blatter to be Fifa president. A report by the Fifa ethics committee found that there was “compelling” evidence that Mr Warner was “an accessory to corruption”.

 

Mr Warner was caught on tape apparently urging fellow Fifa officials to accept cash gifts from Mr Bin Hammam, the disgraced former presidential candidate.

 

The documents seen by The Telegraph raise further questions about Mr Warner’s activities. One email, which appears to have been sent by one of Mr Warner’s employees, shows that the staff member personally received $412,000 from the Qatari company and that Mr Warner’s son, Daryll, was paid $432,000. Daryan, his other son, was paid $316,000 via a company called We Buy Houses.

 

Regarding the payments to Daryan, the email states that he was “contracted … based on his understanding, contacts and history with the regional players who make up an integral part of the defence team … pursuant to Fifa bribery allegations. As stated in our letter of June 11, 2011, the value of US $316,000, and this is an initial deposit to offset legal and other expenses related to the matter.”

 

In July, a different email shows that “monies in the amount of $1.2 million” were wire transferred to J&D International, another of Mr Warner’s companies, by the same Qatari firm. It states that this is to “offset legal and other related expenses associated with regard to an ongoing matter”.

 

Mr Warner and his family declined to comment. A spokesman for Qatar’s 2022 World Cup organising committee said: “The 2022 bid committee strictly adhered to Fifa’s bidding regulations in compliance with their code of ethics.

 

“The supreme committee for delivery and legacy and the individuals involved in the 2022 bid committee are unaware of any allegations surrounding business dealings between private individuals.”

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup/10704290/Qatar-World-Cup-2022-investigation-former-Fifa-vice-president-Jack-Warner-and-family-paid-millions.html

[mrmojorisin75]

outstanding work the telegraph, think all the papers should be at it looking to expose bribery and heap as much pressure on as possible

 

with a bit of luck they can manage to expose something about the russia bid and take the 2018 WC from those cunts and all

[themanupstairs]

Hope the Qataris fall flat on their face with this one. Their money has wreaked havoc all over the world in recent years, and I hope they get exposed big style.

[Stifler]

Wasn't Jack Warner the one blowing the whistle about the bribes ahead of the vote?

 

I don't think there isn't one FIFA official who isn't corrupt.

 

The way the votes were cast just confirmed really. Some nations were getting less votes in the 2nd, and 3rd rounds then they were in the first rounds.

[loki679]

 

I don't think there isn't one FIFA official who isn't corrupt.

 

 

I disagree, I think they're all corrupt.

[mrmojorisin75]

i love their timescale on making decisions personally, was reading this morning that the next decision point as to whether they tear apart the entire football calendar won't be taken until 2015

[Disco]

Swiss Ramble ‏@SwissRamble  17s

FIFA 2013 accounts: personnel costs up $11m (12%) from $91m to $102m, while football development only up $6m (3%) from $177m to $183m.

 

Swiss Ramble ‏@SwissRamble  47s

So FIFA once again spent considerably more on itself (operating expenses $216m + governance $60m = $276m) than football development $183m.

[mrmojorisin75]

is there some way FIFA could just break down and be split up, do they answer to anyone?  they're making such a fucking horrible mess of everything man

[Ryan_Taylor]

FIFA are an awful organisation like. The whole Qatar World Cup stinks. 

[Guest neesy111]

FIFA are an awful organisation like. The whole Qatar World Cup stinks. 

 

Are there many other sports organisations as corrupt at FIFA?

 

Boxing, UCI can't think of any others.

[Guest Howaythetoon]

Every major FA should just tell them to fuck off to be honest.

[jdckelly]

Every major FA should just tell them to fuck off to be honest.

every major FA is as corrupt as FIFA or just plain incompetent. The entire structure of football is corrupt beyond redemption and needs to be removed. 

[Jtm_92]

Every major FA should just tell them to f*** off to be honest.

every major FA is as corrupt as FIFA or just plain incompetent. The entire structure of football is corrupt beyond redemption and needs to be removed.

 

Slightly off topic, but the fa needs to seriously increase spending/development on grass-roots football and also the fact that artificial pitches are banned is a joke, hampers the teams with hardly any money/non-league teams who cannot afford to re lay the pitch but when the weather is shit in the winter, the artificial pitch is still playable so it has it's advantages.

[LucaAltieri]

Every major FA should just tell them to f*** off to be honest.

every major FA is as corrupt as FIFA or just plain incompetent. The entire structure of football is corrupt beyond redemption and needs to be removed.

 

Slightly off topic, but the fa needs to seriously increase spending/development on grass-roots football and also the fact that artificial pitches are banned is a joke, hampers the teams with hardly any money/non-league teams who cannot afford to re lay the pitch but when the weather is shit in the winter, the artificial pitch is still playable so it has it's advantages.

 

Agreed. I've been playing on artificial pitches since coming to the States. Nowt wrong with them at all.

[Ameritoon]

Once I hit a certain age basically every field you play on here is artificial, and I don't think I ever liked them. I'm generally fast, but the game moves even too fast for me on it, it's a weird fast too, just didn't feel like the same game at times. It does seem like it should be an option for non-league clubs, but even then I doubt they could even afford it it would be years before they would start saving money.

 

 

Btw, looks like Qatar is in full spin mode now that things are gathering pace: http://deadspin.com/the-organizers-of-the-qatar-world-cup-are-very-mad-at-u-1550619295

[Deuce]

Qatar reduced the number of stadiums it plans to build for the 2022 soccer World Cup by a third amid rising costs and delays.

 

The country, which won the right in 2010 to host the world’s most-watched sporting event, plans to build eight stadiums for the games, Ghanim Al Kuwari, the organizing committee’s senior manager for projects, said at a conference in Doha yesterday. The country originally announced plans for 12 stadiums, including nine new playing fields and three refurbishments. Al Kuwari didn’t give a reason for the cut.

 

Qatar, which holds the world’s third-largest natural-gas reserves, plans to spend more than $200 billion on new infrastructure before hosting the sporting event, including $34 billion on a rail and metro system, $7 billion on a port and $17 billion on an airport. The stadiums will cost $4 billion, according to the ministry of business and trade.

 

“Their decision was motivated by cost-cutting following an assessment of the real needs on the ground,” John Sfakianakis, chief investment strategist at investment company MASIC in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, said in an e-mail. “It does always make good sense to do necessary cost-cutting and reviews of capex for such huge projects that are front-loaded.”

 

Projects Delayed

 

The Middle Eastern state of 2 million people faces delays and escalating costs related to the event. Work started later than planned on the metro system, and the opening of the new airport is six years behind schedule.

 

“As is the case with any FIFA World Cup, once a country is chosen as host, a review of the bid plans is made with the organizers to propose the final host cities and stadia projects, which then need to be approved by the FIFA Executive Committee,” Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy said in an e-mailed statement today. “The requirement is a minimum of eight and a maximum of 12 stadia.”

 

Qatar’s surplus in its 2014-2015 budget shrank by 1.4 percent, compared with the previous fiscal year, amid a 17 percent gain in spending on “key projects,” the country’s official Qatar News Agency said last month. The inflation rate will rise to 3.8 percent this year, Qatar National Bank, the country’s largest lender, said on April 14. It was 2.6 percent in March, according to government data.

 

Air-Conditioned Venues

 

The country was negotiating with FIFA, world soccer’s governing body, to cut the number of venues to eight or nine from the 12 originally planned, Bank of America Merrill Lynch said in an April 2013 note to investors following meetings with the Qatar 2022 organizing committee. Costs will probably exceed the bank’s initial estimate of $95 billion, Alberto Ades, head of emerging-market fixed-income strategy at the bank, said in the note.

 

In addition to the stadiums, 92 training sites will be constructed, Al Kuwari said. Qatar is preparing to host the World Cup in June and will use air-conditioning to cool all the venues. Temperatures can rise above 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit) in Qatar during the summer.

 

FIFA has said it may move the tournament to the cooler months of the year. FIFA President Sep Blatter said Nov. 9 that the months of November and December would work best.

 

Construction has started on the Al Wakrah stadium, while work on the Al Rayyan stadium is set to start later this year, or early in 2015, Al Kuwari said. Qatar plans to award $1.7 billion of road projects in coming months and seek bids for 20 others in the next two years, Jalal Yousef Salhi, director of infrastructure affairs at the country’s Public Works Authority, said yesterday.

 

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-20/qatar-cuts-number-of-world-cup-soccer-stadiums-amid-rising-costs.html