FIFA President Sepp Blatter has signalled that the policy of World Cup rotation is about to be ditched.
Speaking to the BBC, Blatter admitted he would welcome England bidding for 2018, a tournament which under the present model, should be held in North or Central America.
"I am advocating we open the market," said Blatter. Back in May, he described rotation as "a milestone", speaking to FIFA delegates in Zurich, while only a month ago, announced that a final decision on rotation with regard to 2018 would come at the end of October.
With 2010 going to (South) Africa and 2014 to South America (Brazil), Europe's next turn would not have been in 2018 (CONCACAF) but in 2022, a ridiculously long wait for that continent's front runner, England.
Given the concentration of money, power, media and fan interest in European football, it seems brave, or foolhardy, to award it the tournament only once every 24 years (there are six FIFA regions).
The traditional system of alternating from Europe to South America was ripe for reform with the global spread of the game and now Japan/Korea, South Africa and the USA have all hosted, or are about to host, the sport's showpiece event.
Outside of the traditional power bases, Australia and China could both mount serious bids before long, but political worries will probably keep the Islamic world, in the form of Morocco and Egypt, excluded for the foreseeable future. The USA is also determined to host the World Cup again after the success of 1994, the the swathe of impressive new American stadia and the arrival of David Beckham to MLS. Mexico, too, is interested in hosting its third World Cup.
It is therefore, unquestionably the world's cup, yet any change to the traditional Atlantic alteration should not be so rigid as FIFA's rotation system. Four years is a long time to wait and in a continent like Europe where England, Russia, Spain, Italy and Holland & Belgium are all itching to host the World Cup, a possible wait of half a century is too long for any country.
Rotation was never fully explained - does Oceania or CONCACAF has as much right to host the World Cup as Europe? , never universally accepted by the football world and was only rushed in as a response to Germany sensationally snatching the 2006 tournament from the heavily Blatter-endorsed South Africa by the narrowest of margins (Oceania's Charles Dempsey abstained on the final vote).
Brazil had a shoe-in for 2014 because South America had not hosted the event since Argentina in 1978.
Brazil and its decrepit stadia and infrastructure is far from ready to host the World Cup however, a fact which swayed Blatter to renege on one of his favourite pet policies.
After Colombia and Argentina withdrew, the one-horse race south of the equator illuminated a flaw in the rotation system if the only contender is manifestly unable to host the month-long show.
"We are not in a very comfortable situation in South America," admitted the FIFA President.
"It is better to have three or four associations trying to get the number one competition of the world."
Rumours abound that a new system will prevent only the previous two host regions from applying, reducing the minimum wait for any country to 12 years.
It should be remembered of course that the FIFA Executive committee and not Blatter ratifies policy and CONCACAF's controversial Jack Warner for one is against any change to the status quo.
However, the days of the half-baked, hasty and unconvincing rotation system are now clearly numbered.
(c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile
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Showing posts with label World Cup 2002. Show all posts
Showing posts with label World Cup 2002. Show all posts
Friday, October 12, 2007
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Australia - "the second Croatia"
Fútbol internacional - Mundial
Australia avanza con ocho croatas
Croacia festeja la clasificación de su "segunda" selección
Croacia "B" también ha progresado al Mundial de Alemania. Naturalmente, hablamos de Australia, una selección repleta de jugadores de origen croata.
No sólo los australianos estaban pendientes del desenlace de la dramática repesca ante Uruguay en Sydney, finalizada con la victoria australiana por penalties, sino también muchos croatas.
El motivo está claro: hasta ocho (o siete y media, para estar precisos) futbolistas de Guus Hiddink son emigrantes de esta república de la antigua Yugoslavia.
Son, concretamente, Zeljko Kalac (Milan), Ante Covic (Hammarby), Jason Culina (PSV Eindhoven), Ljubo Milicevic (FC Thun), Toni Popovic (Crystal Palace), Josip Skoko (Wigan), Mark Viduka (Middlesbrough) i Marco Bresciano (Parma), cuya madre es croata.
Contrario a lo que muchos opinan, a esta lista no pertenece Tony Vidmar, al ser de etnia eslovena y es que nueve croatas ya serían demasiados.
Se espera la presencia de todos los ocho en el primer Mundial en que los "canguros" intervengan, curiosamente, después de la pasada vez en que tal evento se celebrase en Alemania.
Ellos son el motivo porque muchísimos aficionados en Croacia no se perdieron el choque entre Australia y Uruguay, tirándose de los pelos cuando "su" Mark Viduka fallase el penalty en la cuarta serie.
Las relaciones entre Croacia y su diáspora son muy estrechas porque muchos croatas se desplazaron al extranjero durante la existencia de Yugoslavia, al haber sido perseguidos políticamente por su etnia.
Es que la cuestión de sangre es muy importante para los croatas y de hecho cualquiera persona que puede comprobar que tiene raíces croatas tiene el derecho a la ciudadanía. Un poco como los judíos, en fin y al cabo.
Algunos australo-croatas, de hecho, han optado por jugar con la camiseta ajedrezada, en lugar de la amarilla. Son el lateral izquierdo Anthony Seric y el portero Joseph Didulica, si bien por el momento son suplentes en la selección que dirige Zlatko Kranjcar.
Ahora, los seguidores croatas tendrán dos opciones para hacerlo bien en el próximo Mundial, al estar sus esperanzas depositadas en la propia Croacia y - Australia.
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Australia avanza con ocho croatas
Croacia festeja la clasificación de su "segunda" selección
Croacia "B" también ha progresado al Mundial de Alemania. Naturalmente, hablamos de Australia, una selección repleta de jugadores de origen croata.
No sólo los australianos estaban pendientes del desenlace de la dramática repesca ante Uruguay en Sydney, finalizada con la victoria australiana por penalties, sino también muchos croatas.
El motivo está claro: hasta ocho (o siete y media, para estar precisos) futbolistas de Guus Hiddink son emigrantes de esta república de la antigua Yugoslavia.
Son, concretamente, Zeljko Kalac (Milan), Ante Covic (Hammarby), Jason Culina (PSV Eindhoven), Ljubo Milicevic (FC Thun), Toni Popovic (Crystal Palace), Josip Skoko (Wigan), Mark Viduka (Middlesbrough) i Marco Bresciano (Parma), cuya madre es croata.
Contrario a lo que muchos opinan, a esta lista no pertenece Tony Vidmar, al ser de etnia eslovena y es que nueve croatas ya serían demasiados.
Se espera la presencia de todos los ocho en el primer Mundial en que los "canguros" intervengan, curiosamente, después de la pasada vez en que tal evento se celebrase en Alemania.
Ellos son el motivo porque muchísimos aficionados en Croacia no se perdieron el choque entre Australia y Uruguay, tirándose de los pelos cuando "su" Mark Viduka fallase el penalty en la cuarta serie.
Las relaciones entre Croacia y su diáspora son muy estrechas porque muchos croatas se desplazaron al extranjero durante la existencia de Yugoslavia, al haber sido perseguidos políticamente por su etnia.
Es que la cuestión de sangre es muy importante para los croatas y de hecho cualquiera persona que puede comprobar que tiene raíces croatas tiene el derecho a la ciudadanía. Un poco como los judíos, en fin y al cabo.
Algunos australo-croatas, de hecho, han optado por jugar con la camiseta ajedrezada, en lugar de la amarilla. Son el lateral izquierdo Anthony Seric y el portero Joseph Didulica, si bien por el momento son suplentes en la selección que dirige Zlatko Kranjcar.
Ahora, los seguidores croatas tendrán dos opciones para hacerlo bien en el próximo Mundial, al estar sus esperanzas depositadas en la propia Croacia y - Australia.
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Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Financial Boost from World Cup for Japan
World Cup Economic Effect: $3.58 billion in Japan
The Japanese Dai Ichi Seimei economic research institute estimates that next summer’s World Cup will have a $4 billion economic effect for qualifier Japan. Sales of flat-screen televisions, tours to Germany, and more will expand greatly in 2006. Looking at data from last summer’s Athens Olympics, in addition to sales of televisions, DVD recorders, and digital appliances, the surge in electricity use late at night all resulted in an economic boost of $227 million, or a bump of 0.2% in Japan’s GDP. The World Cup is expected bring in considerably more in “special demand,” and resulting in another positive blip in the nation’s economy.
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The Japanese Dai Ichi Seimei economic research institute estimates that next summer’s World Cup will have a $4 billion economic effect for qualifier Japan. Sales of flat-screen televisions, tours to Germany, and more will expand greatly in 2006. Looking at data from last summer’s Athens Olympics, in addition to sales of televisions, DVD recorders, and digital appliances, the surge in electricity use late at night all resulted in an economic boost of $227 million, or a bump of 0.2% in Japan’s GDP. The World Cup is expected bring in considerably more in “special demand,” and resulting in another positive blip in the nation’s economy.
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