SMS not Home Park

[70's Mike]

I guess the reason Milton Keynes, Bristol and Plymouth were included was because FIFA obviously like shiny new stadiums and put alot of value on the "legacy". The bid team would have wanted some flash architects plans to show.

 

FIFA also seem to like white elephants - Russia's top league has an average attendance of about 12,500, there no demand there at all for twelve 40,000 seater stadiums. As for Qatar...

 

exactly the size of the likely crowds after 2018 was irrelevant

me i would like to see he press really go after FIFA now i was lucky to be 12 in 66 doubt if i will see the World Cup held in England again, so lets really expose the crooks

[Victor]

As for Qatar.....

 

Well, the good news: some stadiums are going to be demountable and given to poor nations for reuse. (yeah, right!)

 

The bad news: some will be designed by Hitler's favourite architect (So that's why they say they will be lifting their ban on Israel's citizens)!

[Thedelldays]

blah

[Badger]

As for Qatar.....

 

Well, the good news: some stadiums are going to be demountable and given to poor nations for reuse. (yeah, right!)

 

The bad news: some will be designed by Hitler's favourite architect (So that's why they say they will be lifting their ban on Israel's citizens)!

 

Interesting point, what happens if Israel qualify ?

[saintscottofthenortham]

Interesting point, what happens if Israel qualify ?

 

It will be a ruddy interesting World Cup?

[Thedelldays]

more importantly...what about the close ups of the babes in the grounds... will the women all have to wear burkhas?

[aintforever]

You can guarantee the Israeli supporters will be there in numbers if they do qualify - could be fun.

[Badger]

more importantly...what about the close ups of the babes in the grounds... will the women all have to wear burkhas?

 

Even the Brazillians?

[saintscottofthenortham]

Even the Brazillians?

 

They have to be convinced to even put the bikinis on! Good luck getting them nawty girls to wear a burkha.

[Jones91]

I hope the players get to run out to the tune of 'Sandstorm'

[Mower]

I have to argue the case for Bristol in this. I'm a saints fan and originally from Southampton, but now live in Bristol. Granted, neither City or Rovers command great attendences and neither have a great history of winning anything. However, Bristol is a great city. It is more than twice the size of Southampton and has recently benefited from huge investment and regeneration. It is a historic great city that is once again on the up. Bristol suffers due to it's proximity to Cardiff, a city half the size with an inferior infrastructure that just happens to be a capital.

 

I agree with your comments on Plymouth as this is and always will be a sporting and social backwater. Milton Keynes isn't even worth discussing.

[buctootim]

FIFA also seem to like white elephants - Russia's top league has an average attendance of about 12,500, there no demand there at all for twelve 40,000 seater stadiums. As for Qatar...

 

I know somebody who lives in Ekaterinburg, a Russian city destined for a massive rebuild of their 45,000 seater stadium. They are fuming about the warped priorities when the city lacks a proper indoor shopping mall (no small deal with winter temperatures down to -25c).

Edited 9 December, 2010 by buctootim

[The9]

Oh FFS, the reason England didn't get the World Cup had nothing whatsoever to do with which stadiums were included. The TECHNICAL paper, the bit that judged the bid on stadiums, infrastructure, etc. came equal top of the 4 2018 candidates.

 

The problem of course is that the technical paper clearly had no bearing whatsoever on how FIFA's ExCo members voted - and they voted to give 2018 to the least developed country (as with 2010 - somewhere underdeveloped with a lot of poverty and flexibility in it's tax and other laws to allow FIFA to do what it wants and make tax-free profits as well as give tax breaks to corporate sponsors).

 

As an indication of how irrelevant the choice of stadiums is, they also gave 2022 to the WORST scoring technical bid, which coincidentally is also country of the Emir who allegedly supported Blatter's FIFA General Secretary election campaign in the mid 90s (a win which came about unexpectedly when Keith Wiseman and Graham Kelly switched their support to Blatter from Lennart Johannson at the last minute). Helpfully enough, Qatar's success in 2022 bidding also weakens the threat to Blatter in the forthcoming FIFA elections from Mohammed Bin Hammam, another Qatari, who might be placated by a World Cup on his doorstep which will happen after Blatter is gone.