[Scarlett.]

An interesting watch, also makes me wonder why the World Cup organisers keep picking countries that quite obviously have a huge divide between rich and poor.

[arista]

Originally Posted by Chewy

An interesting watch, also makes me wonder why the World Cup organisers keep picking countries that quite obviously have a huge divide between rich and poor.

Yes of course



Life In The Fast Lane

[Z]

Corruption and bribery brought the World Cup to Qatar, allegedly. I still find it a really weird choice of location. If you're going to pick an Arab country to host the World Cup then surely pick one with more of a footballing tradition like Egypt or Tunisia...

[Scarlett.]

It annoys me, because FIFA could hold Qatar at ransom, basically say "Improve working conditions or no World Cup" but nope, they're happy enough because someone slipped a wad of cash into their back pockets, I hope corruption charges are brought against those responsible, and that Qatar is indeed stripped of the World Cup.

[MTVN]

FIFA has always been corrupt and thats probably why it went to Qatar but I'm not against a Middle East world cup in principle really, bringing football to a region which is becoming really important in world football and where the general population is mad for it despite their league's not being very well established atm. The WC wouldn't just be about Qatar, it would be about tapping in to a whole new market. It's been the goal of the tournament in recent years really, hence why its been held/will be held in N. America, S. America, Africa, East Asia, Western Europe and Eastern Europe, why not the Middle East as well really.

It is true though that the Qatar choice is proving a mess, have a bit of an interest in it staying there though because I've a relative just starting a new job out there as part of the infrastructure boom which has been driven by the WC. Taking away the tournament now would be a disaster for the country.