The Association Football Thread

#751
#751
As a soccer fan I would love to host the WC. It gives me a more convenient opportunity to view a game, and it improves USA's chances.

As an aspiring economist, hosting the WC or Olympics is a terrible idea, financially speaking.
 
#752
#752
The thing that frustrates me the most other than the fact that it'll be a minimum of 16 years (if we get lucky) before I get to attend a WC match, is that it truly seems as if FIFA just continues to raise a middle finger to the US with regards to soccer. We built some pretty good momentum this last summer getting fans to catch onto the sport and a WC coming here would add to that exponentially. However, not only does FIFA not award the US with a WC, it actively places the event in a place that no sane American would even consider traveling to for fear of their safety.

Instead of trying to grow their sport by appealing to a huge untapped market, they instead essentially say "f you America, we don't need you" and then allow a nation full of anti-American terrorists host the event. This whole situation really just pisses me off. Soccer has the potential to be huge in this country, but it really seems as if FIFA just wants nothing to do with us, and I can't quite figure out why an organization interested in making money continues to turn it's nose up at such a huge market.
 
#753
#753
bleedorange0037 said:
The thing that frustrates me the most other than the fact that it'll be a minimum of 16 years (if we get lucky) before I get to attend a WC match, is that it truly seems as if FIFA just continues to raise a middle finger to the US with regards to soccer. We built some pretty good momentum this last summer getting fans to catch onto the sport and a WC coming here would add to that exponentially. However, not only does FIFA not award the US with a WC, it actively places the event in a place that no sane American would even consider traveling to for fear of their safety.
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We got a WC in the last 20 years. Only American exceptionalism would lead us to believe we deserve another one in the near future.

South Africa is a little bit scary.
Definitely not going to Qatar.
Russia doesn't scare me at all.
 
#754
#754
nbakerld said:
We got a WC in the last 20 years. Only American exceptionalism would lead us to believe we deserve another one in the near future.

South Africa is a little bit scary.
Definitely not going to Qatar.
Russia doesn't scare me at all.
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By the time 2026 rolls around, it will have been over 3 decades since the event was played in North America. Mexico didn't bid, so the US is the only option. There's been precedent in the past of a WC returning to a host nation in 30 years or even less in Mexico's case. Aisan nations will have hosted twice (three if you count Russia) in that time frame. It not unreasonable to think the WC would come back to north america once before it goes to asia 2-3 times.

Why would any rational American voluntarily travel to a nation that is allied with one of our foremost enemies? That's just asking for trouble. Like I said before, it just seems FIFA is seeking out the worst places on earth and putting a WC there like they are running a charity rather than a legitimate sporting organization. Why on earth would anyone want to go to Qatar, Russia, or South Africa? Same with Brazil, but at least they have a rich soccer history, so it makes some sense the WC would be there.
 
#755
#755
nbakerld said:
We got a WC in the last 20 years. Only American exceptionalism would lead us to believe we deserve another one in the near future.
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Bingo! There's no reason to expect to get it anytime soon. England hasn't had it since 66. Why should FIFA cater to a country that hasn't embraced the game fully? I wouldn't expect it to come back till 34 or 38.
 
#756
#756
Roughneck said:
Bingo! There's no reason to expect to get it anytime soon. England hasn't had it since 66. Why should FIFA cater to a country that hasn't embraced the game fully? I wouldn't expect it to come back till 34 or 38.
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Because helping nurture the game in the US would be the single smartest decision FIFA could ever make. They have everything to gain by soccer taking off here. However, I've come to expect nothing less from an organization as arrogant as FIFA. They truly think they don't need the US, so whatever.

At some point they had planned to rotate the event between continents, thereby allowing it to go to all parts of the world with some regularity. That's how it ended up in that craphole South Africa last summer. Many of the games weren't sold out, and the overall event paled in comparison to the WC in Germany 4 years prior. Now they've abandoned that plan and just give the event to whatever crappy nation can get in the voters pockets with the most money. How else do you explain a terrorist nation with literally NO soccer history landing the event?

Lesson learned. Forget hitting FIFA with facts and sending over influential Americans. Next time just slide the right amount of cash in the right pockets and the WC will be on it's way to the states in no time.
 
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#757
#757
bleedorange0037 said:
Because helping nurture the game in the US would be the single smartest decision FIFA could ever make. They have everything to gain by soccer taking off here. However, I've come to expect nothing less from an organization as arrogant as FIFA. They truly think they don't need the US, so whatever.

At some point they had planned to rotate the event between continents, thereby allowing it to go to all parts of the world with some regularity. That's how it ended up in that craphole South Africa last summer. Many of the games weren't sold out, and the overall event paled in comparison to the WC in Germany 4 years prior. Now they've abandoned that plan and just give the event to whatever crappy nation can get in the voters pockets with the most money. How else do you explain a terrorist nation with literally NO soccer history landing the event?

Lesson learned. Forget hitting FIFA with facts and sending over influential Americans. Next time just slide the right amount of cash in the right pockets and the WC will be on it's way to the states in no time.
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It's going to take a LOT more than the WC every 30 years for soccer to take off here. Also FIFA doesn't need the US. They have done fine so far. Qatar bribed there way into the WC but lets not act all high and mighty. Our national team is getting better but we are middle weights and there are far more deserving countries that should get the WC before we do.
 
#758
#758
Roughneck said:
It's going to take a LOT more than the WC every 30 years for soccer to take off here. Also FIFA doesn't need the US. They have done fine so far. Qatar bribed there way into the WC but lets not act all high and mighty. Our national team is getting better but we are middle weights and there are far more deserving countries that should get the WC before we do.
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What qualifies a country as "deserving"? To this day the '94 WC in the USA has the highest attendance in the history of the event. We already have the stadiums, airports, hotels, and infrastructure in place to accomodate people from around the globe arriving and attending a sporting event. Qatar has none of these things. At least half of the games in South Africa weren't sold out. Part of that has to be attributed to the difficulty associated with even getting to SA. All those problems would be out the window here in The States. If we could fill the stadiums 20 years ago when soccer was almost completely irrelevant here, we could certainly do the same 12 years from now.
 
#759
#759
nbakerld said:
As a soccer fan I would love to host the WC. It gives me a more convenient opportunity to view a game, and it improves USA's chances.

As an aspiring economist, hosting the WC or Olympics is a terrible idea, financially speaking.
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Why so?
 
#760
#760
I know when I think of partying and having a good time, Qatar immediately comes to mind.
 
#762
#762
I think today firmly proves what a corrupt institution FIFA is.

First up Russia? You still give it to the country when the most powerful man in the country didn't even lobby on its behalf or really appear to give a s@#t (Putin)? Still, this is more understandable than the 2022 pick of.....

Qatar. Really? REALLY FIFA?? This is beyond words terrible. I hope having awful attendance, 130 degree heat, and massive security concerns is what FIFA wanted because that's what they'll get.

Today sent a clear message to all nations who want to host a WC: PAY UP. What a freaking joke.
 
#763
#763
Qatar is an interesting choice.

They'd have to hold pretty much every game in Doha, and every game would have to be indoors.

I don't understand it, in all honesty. Russia is more understandable, but still.

Nice to know that FIFA doesn't give a damn about the United States.
 
#764
#764
tvolsfan said:
Why so?
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Because hosting WC's and the Olympics is extremely costly, and doesn't generate a ton of revenue. These committees hire economists basically that will lie and say that it will stimulate the economy (kind of like they do for stadium building). They do a number of tricks like they count all the revenue from potential soccer tourists, but they ignore the lost revenue from potential non-soccer tourists who decide not to visit during the event. They count employment for infastructural improvements to host these events, but they ignore other efficient ways in which the money could have been spent to improve employment. Etc.

Pretty much any economist whose salary doesn't depend on it will tell you hosting these events is stupid, financially speaking (though they may tell you they are worth it because they make people happy).

Greece is the best example. Their economy is still reeling. The funny thing is the proposed stimulus in employment for their Olympics mostly went to neighboring countries.

If you wanna read about it, Szymanski wrote a chapter about it in Playbooks and Checkbooks which overall is kind of a boring book.
 
#766
#766
Watched a pretty entertaining match between Akron and Michigan in the NCAA College Cup.
 
#767
#767
nbakerld said:
Because hosting WC's and the Olympics is extremely costly, and doesn't generate a ton of revenue. These committees hire economists basically that will lie and say that it will stimulate the economy (kind of like they do for stadium building). They do a number of tricks like they count all the revenue from potential soccer tourists, but they ignore the lost revenue from potential non-soccer tourists who decide not to visit during the event. They count employment for infastructural improvements to host these events, but they ignore other efficient ways in which the money could have been spent to improve employment. Etc.

Pretty much any economist whose salary doesn't depend on it will tell you hosting these events is stupid, financially speaking (though they may tell you they are worth it because they make people happy).

Greece is the best example. Their economy is still reeling. The funny thing is the proposed stimulus in employment for their Olympics mostly went to neighboring countries.

If you wanna read about it, Szymanski wrote a chapter about it in Playbooks and Checkbooks which overall is kind of a boring book.
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Out of curiosity, would it still be that expensive for us to hold if we don't have to build any other stadiums for it?
 
#774
#774
Champions League draw for the round of 16. lol at Arsenal.

Roma Shakhtar Donetsk
AC Milan Spurs
Valencia Schalke 04
Inter Bayern Munich lol milan
Lyon Real Madrid
Arsenal Barcelona
Marseille Manchester United
Copenhagen Chelsea
 
#775
#775
volball625 said:
Champions League draw for the round of 16. lol at Arsenal.

Roma Shakhtar Donetsk
AC Milan Spurs
Valencia Schalke 04
Inter Bayern Munich lol milan
Lyon Real Madrid
Arsenal Barcelona
Marseille Manchester United
Copenhagen Chelsea
Click to expand...

Hoping for revenge against Inter. At least their form is off. By that time, should have a full squad barring any more injuries.
 
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