Monday, June 29, 2020 10:38:19 PM
It won't happen, still - Why Uefa should boycott the 2022 World Cup
After the irreparable rifts opened up Fifa, it is time to just walk away by Daniel Welling
Let’s put to one side the original baffling, bewildering and borderline criminal decision to award the second biggest sporting event in the world to a tiny gulf state in the Middle East. Even if there really isn’t any evidence of wrongdoing in the Qatar bid and Fifa only voted for the nation on the back of trying to expand the game into new territories, the conclusion to host a summer tournament in a country where temperatures regularly reach 40-50oC is worthy of its own academic thesis in asininity.
Now in a desperate attempt to clear up its self-enforced mess Fifa have endorsed the idea of a winter World Cup in cooler conditions which are more associated with a European summer.
The recommendation was widely expected by senior officials from across the world and is regarded the best solution out of the three suggestions originally put forward – either staging the competition in early summer or in the spring. That doesn’t mean it is still one of the dumbest, ill thought out and disruptive motions a governing body could ever enforce on its sport.
An estimated 50 countries are set to suffer hellish disruption to their domestic league calendars in the wake of this announcement and that doesn’t take into account domestic cups and competitions like the Champions League. Whilst Uefa currently have acquiesced to Fifa’s demand, do they have more of a moral responsibility to product their clubs more than they have done so far?
If the current solution is put into practise without any alterations, the Premier League will most likely lose out on its traditional festive period of football which is immensely popular and a huge money spinner. Spain would have to reshuffle its Copa del Rey fixtures with many of the early rounds taking place just before and after the winter break. Every club competing in Uefa’s European competitions will have to work out some set in stone game weeks for the remaining group stage fixtures which take place in November and December.
Even if a solution to this turmoil can be found, will the standard of play across those fateful three months be worth it?
The globalisation of the game means that internationals are no longer magnetically attracted to the biggest clubs in the world. Perennial middle table clubs such as Swansea City, Celta Vigo, Genoa and Frankfurt all contributed multiple internationals to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, let alone the 14 Barcelona had in their 25-man squad.
Supporters of clubs down the bottom of the table might cynically welcome the idea of playing a weakened giant like Real Madrid or PSG at the resumption of the rejigged season but in good conscious this isn’t possible. The idea of competing on an equal field is central to sport and whilst an occasional mid-week international may force managers into resting some of their particularly jet lagged stars, this is in a whole different league.
As great as the festive period is for English fans in terms of the quantity of football available, the quality itself is questionable. So imagine how drained these players will be after at least 45 days spent in a blistering hot, highly charged environment? For internationals who are lucky enough to reach the semi-finals or the final itself, how could they motivate themselves to immediately turn their full attention to their clubs?
Both on and off the pitch, the majority of clubs in Europe have been left in the lurch – some more than others. So the idea of Fifa paying out compensation packages to those affected has been muted and supported by many seeing it as a logical step given the turmoil one ridiculously grotesque decision has caused. This being Fifa, a sensible idea is routinely treated with as much distain as a bacon sandwich at a vegan party.
Not only did Fifa’s General Secretary Jerome Valcke refuse to apologise for the three year disruption his colleagues have inflicted on Europe’s football but has categorically ruled out any remuneration to those clubs.
-
“We’re not destroying football. We should we apologise to the clubs? We have had an agreement with the clubs
that they are part of the beneficiaries. It was $40m in 2010 and $70m in 2014. We are bringing
all our people to enjoy the sporting and financial results of the World Cup.”
-
The old adage of Fifa looking after nobody but themselves isn’t exactly being debunked. Especially when you consider they handed American TV network Fox Sports - the biggest critics of the winter World Cup – the rights to the 2026 tournament without even offering rivals like ESPN or NBC the opportunity to bid. The threat of legal action from Fox had they not received this golden nugget probably swayed the decision somewhat.
So no compensation, endless scheduling headaches and a depleted collection of top class players throughout that season for one reason or another. One could argue it’s not worth it.
It can appear to some that this is nothing but a tantrum from a spoiled aristocrat complaining about all the extra work he has to do. But if Uefa wanted a real reason to withdraw from this dangerous farce, they need look no further to the building sites in the deserts
The much publicised problems with Brazil’s stadium construction accounted for eight accident deaths. Russia’s Sochi and World Cup construction has been accountable for 69 fatalities. Qatar? 1,200 in just three years with seven years to go.
1.4 million Nepalese migrant workers work in squalid conditions across the country and most are unable to leave and return home due to the kalafa system. A system which some have called 21st century slavery allows employers of ‘unskilled workers’ to maintain full control of their entry and exit visas and their wages. It has led to accusations of human rights abuse and extreme exploitation.
With construction managers desperate to meet their ever changing deadlines, you can almost envisage the invisible whip being drawn on those unlucky enough to be working in the sparse areas of Qatar.
Russia’s 2014 Winter Olympics exposed some uncomfortable anti LGBT attitudes in Russia and the upcoming 2018 tournament will no doubt focus on the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Putin’s new ‘Cold War’ and other Oligarchal statements of intent. But the sport will still be amazing and crucially it will nicely fit into place with the unofficial schedule of world football.
Qatar packs the double whammy of both humanitarian and trans-continental logistical concerns for the entire sport. If Uefa and their club representatives wanted to go to war with Fifa and Sepp Blatter – which they have roundly talked about for the last year – this would’ve been the perfect opportunity.
If Uefa hadn’t already supported the idea of a winter World Cup it would appear to be in a perfect position to walk away from one tournament. The financial pitfalls of losing World Cup revenue – no matter how tainted the tournament may be - make this suggestion highly unlikely to come to anything. Yet considering the ongoing struggle between the two organisations, it’s a nice threat to have up your pocket in the political mire that is Fifa’s headquarters.
This is not to say that the Middle East should never be allowed to host a World Cup. Their apatite to host major sporting events has been obvious since the turn of the century and if the conceptual stadium art for their stadiums transforms into reality then it will certainly be a breathtaking spectacle. But everyone involved needs to have plenty of notice.
To implement such a complex operation that affects not just individual nations but scores of domestic leagues takes lazar guided precision over a gradual period of time. Like cutting out an accurately measured brick wall square with a drill. Not as the case may be in 2015 where it appears Fifa have taken a sledgehammer to Uefa’s fortress with the hope that officials can put the ruined jigsaw back together without too much damage.
At some stage in the next 20 years, the Gulf will host another World Cup. Whether that be Qatar once again, the United Arab Emirates or even Saudi Arabia. By that point hopefully the world will be ready to accept this new power in sport and will watch the best footballing nations in the world take the stand with some but manageable disruption. Just not right now or in seven years’ time for Europe.
https://www.atthematch.com/article/why-uefa-should-boycott-the-2022-world-cup
After the irreparable rifts opened up Fifa, it is time to just walk away by Daniel Welling
Let’s put to one side the original baffling, bewildering and borderline criminal decision to award the second biggest sporting event in the world to a tiny gulf state in the Middle East. Even if there really isn’t any evidence of wrongdoing in the Qatar bid and Fifa only voted for the nation on the back of trying to expand the game into new territories, the conclusion to host a summer tournament in a country where temperatures regularly reach 40-50oC is worthy of its own academic thesis in asininity.
Now in a desperate attempt to clear up its self-enforced mess Fifa have endorsed the idea of a winter World Cup in cooler conditions which are more associated with a European summer.
The recommendation was widely expected by senior officials from across the world and is regarded the best solution out of the three suggestions originally put forward – either staging the competition in early summer or in the spring. That doesn’t mean it is still one of the dumbest, ill thought out and disruptive motions a governing body could ever enforce on its sport.
An estimated 50 countries are set to suffer hellish disruption to their domestic league calendars in the wake of this announcement and that doesn’t take into account domestic cups and competitions like the Champions League. Whilst Uefa currently have acquiesced to Fifa’s demand, do they have more of a moral responsibility to product their clubs more than they have done so far?
If the current solution is put into practise without any alterations, the Premier League will most likely lose out on its traditional festive period of football which is immensely popular and a huge money spinner. Spain would have to reshuffle its Copa del Rey fixtures with many of the early rounds taking place just before and after the winter break. Every club competing in Uefa’s European competitions will have to work out some set in stone game weeks for the remaining group stage fixtures which take place in November and December.
Even if a solution to this turmoil can be found, will the standard of play across those fateful three months be worth it?
The globalisation of the game means that internationals are no longer magnetically attracted to the biggest clubs in the world. Perennial middle table clubs such as Swansea City, Celta Vigo, Genoa and Frankfurt all contributed multiple internationals to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, let alone the 14 Barcelona had in their 25-man squad.
Supporters of clubs down the bottom of the table might cynically welcome the idea of playing a weakened giant like Real Madrid or PSG at the resumption of the rejigged season but in good conscious this isn’t possible. The idea of competing on an equal field is central to sport and whilst an occasional mid-week international may force managers into resting some of their particularly jet lagged stars, this is in a whole different league.
As great as the festive period is for English fans in terms of the quantity of football available, the quality itself is questionable. So imagine how drained these players will be after at least 45 days spent in a blistering hot, highly charged environment? For internationals who are lucky enough to reach the semi-finals or the final itself, how could they motivate themselves to immediately turn their full attention to their clubs?
Both on and off the pitch, the majority of clubs in Europe have been left in the lurch – some more than others. So the idea of Fifa paying out compensation packages to those affected has been muted and supported by many seeing it as a logical step given the turmoil one ridiculously grotesque decision has caused. This being Fifa, a sensible idea is routinely treated with as much distain as a bacon sandwich at a vegan party.
Not only did Fifa’s General Secretary Jerome Valcke refuse to apologise for the three year disruption his colleagues have inflicted on Europe’s football but has categorically ruled out any remuneration to those clubs.
-
“We’re not destroying football. We should we apologise to the clubs? We have had an agreement with the clubs
that they are part of the beneficiaries. It was $40m in 2010 and $70m in 2014. We are bringing
all our people to enjoy the sporting and financial results of the World Cup.”
-
The old adage of Fifa looking after nobody but themselves isn’t exactly being debunked. Especially when you consider they handed American TV network Fox Sports - the biggest critics of the winter World Cup – the rights to the 2026 tournament without even offering rivals like ESPN or NBC the opportunity to bid. The threat of legal action from Fox had they not received this golden nugget probably swayed the decision somewhat.
So no compensation, endless scheduling headaches and a depleted collection of top class players throughout that season for one reason or another. One could argue it’s not worth it.
It can appear to some that this is nothing but a tantrum from a spoiled aristocrat complaining about all the extra work he has to do. But if Uefa wanted a real reason to withdraw from this dangerous farce, they need look no further to the building sites in the deserts
The much publicised problems with Brazil’s stadium construction accounted for eight accident deaths. Russia’s Sochi and World Cup construction has been accountable for 69 fatalities. Qatar? 1,200 in just three years with seven years to go.
1.4 million Nepalese migrant workers work in squalid conditions across the country and most are unable to leave and return home due to the kalafa system. A system which some have called 21st century slavery allows employers of ‘unskilled workers’ to maintain full control of their entry and exit visas and their wages. It has led to accusations of human rights abuse and extreme exploitation.
With construction managers desperate to meet their ever changing deadlines, you can almost envisage the invisible whip being drawn on those unlucky enough to be working in the sparse areas of Qatar.
Russia’s 2014 Winter Olympics exposed some uncomfortable anti LGBT attitudes in Russia and the upcoming 2018 tournament will no doubt focus on the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Putin’s new ‘Cold War’ and other Oligarchal statements of intent. But the sport will still be amazing and crucially it will nicely fit into place with the unofficial schedule of world football.
Qatar packs the double whammy of both humanitarian and trans-continental logistical concerns for the entire sport. If Uefa and their club representatives wanted to go to war with Fifa and Sepp Blatter – which they have roundly talked about for the last year – this would’ve been the perfect opportunity.
If Uefa hadn’t already supported the idea of a winter World Cup it would appear to be in a perfect position to walk away from one tournament. The financial pitfalls of losing World Cup revenue – no matter how tainted the tournament may be - make this suggestion highly unlikely to come to anything. Yet considering the ongoing struggle between the two organisations, it’s a nice threat to have up your pocket in the political mire that is Fifa’s headquarters.
This is not to say that the Middle East should never be allowed to host a World Cup. Their apatite to host major sporting events has been obvious since the turn of the century and if the conceptual stadium art for their stadiums transforms into reality then it will certainly be a breathtaking spectacle. But everyone involved needs to have plenty of notice.
To implement such a complex operation that affects not just individual nations but scores of domestic leagues takes lazar guided precision over a gradual period of time. Like cutting out an accurately measured brick wall square with a drill. Not as the case may be in 2015 where it appears Fifa have taken a sledgehammer to Uefa’s fortress with the hope that officials can put the ruined jigsaw back together without too much damage.
At some stage in the next 20 years, the Gulf will host another World Cup. Whether that be Qatar once again, the United Arab Emirates or even Saudi Arabia. By that point hopefully the world will be ready to accept this new power in sport and will watch the best footballing nations in the world take the stand with some but manageable disruption. Just not right now or in seven years’ time for Europe.
https://www.atthematch.com/article/why-uefa-should-boycott-the-2022-world-cup
It was Plato who said, “He, O men, is the wisest, who like Socrates, knows that his wisdom is in truth worth nothing”
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