Qatar 2022

[MileHigh]

Summer night temperatures in Qatar are an acceptable 84 degrees. There are what, two games a day at most? Play 'em at night. Problem solved.

In Brazil, there will be three games a day in the group stage, except for the Thursday opener (one game) and two days later when there will be four. Otherwise, from Friday the 13th to Sunday the 22nd, there will be three games, then four days of four games each (the last games in each group that play at the same time). Day off and in the knockout stage, you're down to two days each.

And playing the games at night when it's "acceptable" doesn't mean 8 p.m. kickoffs, more like 11 p.m. and later. And games that late mean games that late for European TV, and that's not going to fly.

 

[Mark2010]

2022 is a long time from now. FIFA is betting on stability in a region not known for it.

I would never take that bet. Not in Qatar.

 

[Mark2010]

Does anyone think it's possible that Brazil gets pulled off without something major happening?

Honestly, I would be more worried about Brazil than I would Qatar.

I guess it depends what happens. The World Cup, big as it is, might be used as sort of a trial for the 2016 Olympics in terms of logistics, security, ticketing, etc. If there is a MAJOR fiasco, the IOC might have reason to reconsider. Hey, Toronto, keep a few hotel rooms open, eh?

 

[3_Octave_Fart]

Hopefully soccer will not be part of our national consciousness by 2022.
I know, I know, it's as likely to happen as peace in the Middle East in my lifetime.
A boy can dream.

 

[Mark2010]

Sheesh, NBC has gone nuts over this Barclays Premier League. There are games on almost every day.

I don't know what kind of money FIFA gets in its US TV deal, but I can't imagine it's anywhere near what it gets from European TV.

 

[MileHigh]

ESPN and Univision paid $425 million for the 2010 and 2014 World Cups.

For 2014 and 218, Fox alone will pay $425 million, with Telemundo forking over $600 million for the Spanish language rights.

 

[deskslave]

That's a lot of money to spend on a fad ...

 

[Mark2010]

Really. Well, I'm glad to know the recession is over.

 

[MileHigh]

Where have you been? Sports rights fees have been going through the roof for half a decade.

Also part of what Fox is getting is two women's World Cups and other FIFA events. Fox also got Euro 2016.

 

[deskslave]

It's Mark. The answer to that question is 1987, for the past 26 years.

 

[Stoney]

Summer night temperatures in Qatar are an acceptable 84 degrees. There are what, two games a day at most? Play 'em at night. Problem solved.

This. My experience is that all the drama queen "concern" articles over non traditional sites for these things end up being way overblown.

And, as Exhibit A, I'd point to the 04 Athens Olympics. I've no idea how many distressed articles I remember reading about how Athens was in no way prepared to host the Olympics, how its infrastructure could not possibly sustain the task, how it was years behind in its obligations in terms of building facilities, could not possibly catch up in time for the games, and speculating upon whether the games would be moved to Sydney or Los Angeles at the last minute after it was determined that Athens couldn't possibly handle it.

In the end, the Athens games ended up going off quite successfully without any real hitch.

And I'll bet you'll see a similar result here. Yeah, Qatar likely landed the Cup for corrupt reasons, it probably was a very bad choice for the Cup, but it won't be any sort of disaster. Maybe fans won't have as much fun partying as in prior Cups, there'll have to be more night games, the weather will be more disagreeable, but the thing will get done without real crisis.

 

[YankeeFan]

They should only build the stadiums at night too...

Read the articles guys. Folks are dropping dead like flies building these things.