2018

[RobbieOR]

I hope England does get the 2018 World Cup. Purely because I think it wouldn't be too dissimilar to the experience of Germany 2006, which was a fantastic tournament for the fans. I also think England is ahead of the other contenders in terms of how much infrastructure is already in place. The Russians in particular need the World Cup to crystalise their infrastructure development so their entire bid rests on promises, much like South Africa's did.

 

As for 2022, I would like Australia to get it ahead of the others. One of the problems with Qatar's bid is the environmental impact; the other is legacy. They may have the resources but they'd still be funding a number of white elephants in the long run. That makes no economic sense no matter the wealth backing it. As for Japan, South Korea and USA, they have all had the tournament very recently so I would not personally choose either despite them having shown the ability to stage the event before.

 

The Australians have a lot of infrastructure in place, so I think the main issue for them is availability, what with these same venues staging rugby, cricket or Aussie Rules around the same time. Forget all the political and commercial bullshit associated with the bidding process for the moment. Although the Australian FA are in the Asian Football Confederation, it would at least complete the circle by bring the world's greatest sporting event to Oceania.

 

England isnt ahead of everyone. the Spanish have bigger stadiums as they are all community built. For instance my local team where my parents have a house in Spain, are in the Segunda B (3rd tier) and they have a 34000 (Which is soon going up to 41000)seater stadium that was built by the local government along with a shopping centre beside it. The stadiums in Spain are already built and are pretty safe.

 

If England get it, they need our new stadium and a few others to be renovated. Plus I think they need Spur's new stadium.

[mattyq]

Spain's going to be as fucked as Ireland very soon and a lot of that is down to building silly things like the stadiums you were talking about, Robbie

[StevieH]

Spain's 2018 World Cup Stadium Construction Plans Face Credit Bottleneck - Bloomberg

 

Spanish cities proposing to spend $1.2 billion on 2018 World Cup stadiums face trouble getting loans to finance the work, analysts said.

 

Malaga, Zaragoza and Santander are among public administrations that would be stymied by a central government push to cut Spain’s deficit, said Angel Laborda, chief economist at Spanish savings bank foundation Funcas.

 

A Spain/Portugal bid is vying with England, Russia and a Netherlands/Belgium alliance in a Dec. 2 vote by soccer ruling body FIFA. Spain and Portugal are tightening budgets to try to stem a surge in borrowing costs after Ireland’s planned 85 billion-euro ($114 billion) bailout by the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

 

“If building these stadiums means taking on more debt, I fear that they won’t happen,” Laborda said in an interview. “The government won’t let” the cities do so, Laborda added.

 

The Spain/Portugal bid is third-favorite at 7-2 with bookmaker William Hill Plc behind Russia and England at 4-5 and 13-8, respectively. The Netherlands/Belgium bid is the 50-1 outsider. A successful $1 bet on Spain/Portugal would yield $3.50 plus the original stake. Spain hosted the event in 1982 while Portugal has never done so.

 

The U.S., Australia, Japan, South Korea and Qatar are competing to stage the 2022 World Cup, whose host will also be announced Dec. 2 in Zurich.

 

Eleven Spanish cities, some backed by regional authorities, plan to help bankroll work on 21 proposed stadiums in the Iberian bid between 2011 and 2017, according to a report by Zurich-based FIFA published on Nov. 18.

 

Debt Limits

Officials from Malaga, Zaragoza and Santander, slated to spend $286 million, said by telephone they don’t expect to be able to borrow for investments in 2011 under government legislation announced this year because their debt-to-revenue ratios will exceed 75 percent in the current year.

 

A Malaga city official said its stadium plans are on hold pending the Dec. 2 vote. Zaragoza is seeking funding for an arena and could get around the city’s ban on credit by partnering with private investors, Miguel Garcia, a town hall spokesman, said by telephone. Santander city officials didn’t reply to e-mailed questions about their plans.

 

The central government has pledged to cut the overall deficit to 6 percent of gross domestic product next year from 11.1 percent in 2009. It’s reducing infrastructure spending, freezing pensions next year and raising levies including a 2 percentage-point increase in value-added tax to 18 percent.

 

Budget Pressure

 

Local authorities would need to make extra cuts to meet the costs of the stadiums, said Giada Giani, an economist at Citigroup Global Markets Ltd. in London.

 

“The pressure on the budget will stay high” for several years, Giani said. “We don’t expect the sovereign debt situation to go away anytime soon.”

 

Bid chief executive Miguel Angel Lopez said the organizers would need to cut nine of the 21 proposed stadiums if it is picked as host to meet FIFA’s maximum of 12, and could drop those with funding difficulties.

 

The main stadiums in the bid, Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu ground and Barcelona’s Camp Nou, and all three of the arenas in Portugal are ready and wouldn’t need any additional spending, Lopez said.

 

“We don’t have to worry,” Lopez said in an interview. “We won’t have to think the World Cup is coming and we don’t have anything ready.”

 

Greater Scrutiny

 

The Spain/Portugal and England bids got the lowest risk rating among the 2018 bids in FIFA’s evaluation report. Ten of the 21 proposed stadiums need less than $20 million of upgrading, the report said, while five need to be built from scratch.

 

The finances of the Iberian bid may come under more scrutiny because of Ireland’s bailout, said Chuck Blazer, a U.S. member of FIFA’s 22-man executive committee that will decide on the 2018 and 2022 World Cup hosts.

 

“Frankly, I am surprised that it really hasn’t been focused on until now,” Blazer said in an e-mail. “Investment in facilities and improvements in stadiums and infrastructure need to begin earlier than one might imagine.”

[Trumo]

England isnt ahead of everyone. the Spanish have bigger stadiums as they are all community built. For instance my local team where my parents have a house in Spain, are in the Segunda B (3rd tier) and they have a 34000 (Which is soon going up to 41000)seater stadium that was built by the local government along with a shopping centre beside it. The stadiums in Spain are already built and are pretty safe.

 

If England get it, they need our new stadium and a few others to be renovated. Plus I think they need Spur's new stadium.

 

It's not just about stadium size. It's about all the other details outside of that such as accommodation, road links, rail links, airport links etc.

 

Spain just had the euros, i don't think it would be fair if they got the world cup so soon.

 

Spain won Euro 2008 in Austria, in a tournament co-hosted with Switzerland. The last time they hosted the Euros was in 1964.

[StevieH]

It's not just about stadium size. It's about all the other details outside of that such as accommodation, road links, rail links, airport links etc.

 

 

 

Spain won Euro 2008 in Austria, in a tournament co-hosted with Switzerland. The last time they hosted the Euros was in 1964.

 

 

.....and safety.

 

Football: Nou Camp unsafe say experts - Sport - The Independent

[magicrat]

Would love for England to get the World Cup not so much for me these days as I have had all the enthusiam for the national team knocked out of me by years of disapointement and the endless succession of tossers since 1966 that either wear the shirt or the utter knobheads who are the FA appoint manage them . Showing my age I can just about remember how excited I was at the time and it would be good for the kids to maybe experience some of that again.

All his apart I would rather Cameron and Beckham spoke up against Blatter and the corruption that appears to be rife at FIFA. Exposing these greedy twats who are dipping their beaks in the trough is far more important than turnng a blind eye to get the tournament even if we dont host the thing for another 44 years

[Red Banjo]

Russia will get it anyway.

 

Blatter and his band of cunts want to host the tournament in places where football wouldn't normally reach. Add the fact Russia has lots of Billionaire's. And FIFA like taking money off people. And finally Blatter and Platini hate English football.

 

I hope Australia get 2022 mind. I hope to be well settled over there by then and it would be a boss excuse to get all the family and friends over to watch football for a month and party the fuck on. Do the right thing FIFA. You bunch of useless, arrogant, bent cunts.

[Tepid water]

Russia will win it.

 

This process is so corrupt it's a done deal already.

[bri]

I heard Cameron has ordered Nick Clegg over so he can bend over and take one for the team. Jack Warner's promised to kick the shit out of his back door

[magicrat]

Not so sure Russia has got it. Putin has cried off going to the ceremony.

[Juniper]

 

 

And yes, i dont really think that there would be a huge interest from the English public in General as they see football every week. I maybe wrong though.

 

You are Robbie.

 

Of course it will be followed by most the population, it's the World Cup and our favourite sport.

 

Spanish people (and most Countries in the world) probably see as many games as us English, it's pretty much everywhere these days.

 

We're not going to get it anyway, I can feel it.

[Antynwa]

We could host the world cup tomorrow* I think thats the best compliment you can pay our bid.

 

 

 

*Baring any snowfall

[Mathewbet1]

Russia will get it due to the quality of the hookers they sent to hotel during the fifa delegations visits to Russia.

 

Plus russia is the one country more corrupt the FIFA.

 

Plus Panorama put the final nail in the coffin. Twerps.

[Guest LFD]

The England bid is live on Sky Sports News at 10pm.

 

I think Beckham, Prince William and Cameron are going to charm the judges and win it for England.

[marcus50bucks]

The England bid is live on Sky Sports News at 10pm.

 

I think Beckham, Prince William and Cameron are going to charm the judges and win it for England.

 

You mean 10am

[Guest LFD]

You mean 10am

 

Oh yes.

 

Well spotted.

[Guest LFD]

Boris Johnson? Who thought he would be the right man for this.

 

Hahaha

 

Could have guessed Bobby Fucking Charlton would be there.

[TommyW]

if it was based on the best bid you'd have to say England deserve a World Cup but the process is so inherantly corrupt and flawed that there is no guarantee

[Guest LFD]

Thought Prince William was poor - looked like he hadn't practiced and was looking down at his words every three words.

 

Cameron however is doing a brilliant job persuading them.

 

I guess Beckham will be the icing on the cake?!

[dirty_sanchez]

It's alright though, the Brummies have fucked it up!

[WrongIslander]

Some comedy posts on here. RobbieOR has taken the lead on this one. No one in England would go and watch World Cup games? Yeah right. You can't compare Euro 96 to the WORLD CUP.

 

Football is also more competitive now than it has ever been at all levels. There would have been a time that you wouldn't have been arsed about Ghana, Ivory Coast,USA Australia, etc but now I'd gladly go and see all those teams because the money has gone into the game in those countries. It's scary to think how close these nations could be by 2018.

 

I'm not an England fan because I can't stand someone of the people in the team so I can't bring myself to support them, but if the game were to come home (and it is home no matter what anyone says) then I'd back it 100% and it would be an honour to host such a massive event.

 

As for Beckham, the lad is a credit to English football and a great model for young people in this country. I stopped hating him the day he left United, before that I'd always respected him. If he'd played for Liverpool we'd hail him as one of our greats and we'd be ecstatic with his attitude and his passion. Alright he played for the enemy but class is class and Beckham has it in spades, less so on the pitch but he's certainly grown off it.

[Faustus]

Robbie mate, you're a good lad, but your hatred of the English is so transparent it's untrue. You're almost becoming a parody of yourself.

 

I'd say England tick far more boxes than any of the other countries bidding for 2018.

[WrongIslander]

Robbie mate, you're a good lad, but your hatred of the English is so transparent it's untrue. You're almost becoming a parody of yourself.

 

I'd say England tick far more boxes than any of the other countries bidding for 2018.

 

History of hosting the event and others

Stadiums

Fans

Fantastic bidding team

The Premier League recognised with La Liga as the biggest league in the world

 

As for Spain being able to host it better? Not a chance. They'd do a good job as would any of the others but the English bid is by far and away one of the best bids ever let alone this year.

[Guest LFD]

but class is class and Beckham has it in spades, less so on the pitch but he's certainly grown off it.

 

Indeed.

 

Think he was top quality on it personally, used to dread it when he got the ball on the right for United. The best assist maker I have seen in the Premiership - in terms of being the most productive.

[Guest LFD]

History of hosting the event and others

Stadiums

Fans

Fantastic bidding team

The Premier League recognised with La Liga as the biggest league in the world

 

As for Spain being able to host it better? Not a chance. They'd do a good job as would any of the others but the English bid is by far and away one of the best bids ever let alone this year.

 

True.

 

I don't care if England don't get if there was a better bid but there isn't.

 

Would be injustice if they didn't get it.

 

I think they will, as it is a no brainer really.