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Proper sport controversy.
Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2022 9:48 am
by Gob
To say the 2022 World Cup in Qatar has not been met with universal approval is quite an understatement.
From the heat to Qatar's rather questionable human rights record to the proposed switch from the promised summer tournament to one in winter, it would not represent a huge shock if FIFA were to remove the tournament from the Gulf state.
But should they? The tournament was, after all, awarded in a free election of FIFA delegates. They chose the location, so it would represent a huge U-turn for them to change their minds and give the competition to another nation.
However, there are various compelling reasons for the tournament's removal from Qatar to another more deserving nation.
Bleacher Report picks six arguments for the 2022 World Cup's relocation.
Re: Proper sport controversy.
Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2022 11:34 am
by MajGenl.Meade
An eight-year old article suggesting the competition could be "moved"? Too late now.
I don't find the "they could have used the money better" argument to be of any value. That's true of all World Cups anywhere. And they wouldn't have used the money "better" - it would be hotels, roads and much of the construction that's happening anyway..
Human rights - well, that didn't stop North Korean, China, Russian etc. etc. world sports competitions. One or two spot boycotts do not a general principle create. See
https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-33019838 for a discussion of migrant worker deaths. They do happen and a chart on "social media contrasts the relatively small numbers who died building facilities for other recent international sporting competitions - from the Beijing Olympics to the Brazil World Cup - with the 1,200 said to have died already in Qatar"
Then Qatar bans homosexuality. So? Don't go - boycott the thing. I'd like to see the teams themselves do it - except of course Arsenal can' tell their international players not to go. It has to be the national team rule - and there seems no hope of that. Or individual players withdrawing. And the TV viewer - are we (who do watch football) going to ignore the games?
The best argument against was the disruption to European soccer caused by having to move from summer (100F) to winter (80F) to preserve life and limb - players and spectators alike.
But it's going ahead in just a month. Should never have been awarded there. We all know why it was - middle East money is the football gravy train and FIFA is as corrupt as the day is long
Re: Proper sport controversy.
Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2022 12:24 pm
by Bicycle Bill
You know why they call it the World Cup, don't you?
To differentiate it from the World Kickball Association's
World Kickball Championships, that's why.
-"BB"-
Re: Proper sport controversy.
Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2022 12:42 pm
by Gob
MajGenl.Meade wrote: ↑Thu Oct 27, 2022 11:34 am
But it's going ahead in just a month. Should never have been awarded there. We all know why it was - middle East money is the football gravy train and FIFA is as corrupt as the day is long
Nailed it.
Of the countless reasons to boycott this World Cup, the first should be the number of deaths linked to the construction of World Cup stadiums. While the World Cups in South Africa (2010), Brazil (2014) and Russia (2018) claimed the lives of two, eight and twenty-one people respectively, the one in Qatar is on a completely different scale and has claimed 6,500 lives .
Re: Proper sport controversy.
Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2022 2:09 pm
by MajGenl.Meade
Bollocks on the 6,500 deaths . . . read the BBC link for the usual nuanced discussion of reality. Ignore the leftist conspiracy!
Re: Proper sport controversy.
Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2022 1:19 am
by Burning Petard
And I thought Formula One racing was a fan rip-off
Fans at the World Cup were offered 'cheap' housing in converted shipping containers, painted a cheery yellow, for only $200 a nite. No running water, wash basin, or toilet.
It has been announced that there will be some refunds. Then what? sleep under the grandstand?
snailgate
Re: Proper sport controversy.
Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2022 1:31 am
by BoSoxGal
There was a spirited conversation at my family’s thanksgiving dinner expressing why nobody was watching this World Cup because of the human rights abuses of Qatar. So, there’s that.
They told me this while they were watching the NFL.
Re: Proper sport controversy.
Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2022 1:49 pm
by MajGenl.Meade
Re: Proper sport controversy.
Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2022 5:06 pm
by Burning Petard
Gen'l explain to me -- is the picture intended as a comment on the Welsh Football team?
Re: Proper sport controversy.
Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2022 5:48 pm
by Bicycle Bill
I thought it might have had something to do with this:
RIO DE JANEIRO — It's probably the most recognized soccer shirt out there: the canary yellow with bright green trim. Brazil has worn it during all five of its record World Cup titles. But at home, the national colors have been steeped in controversy ever since far-right President Jair Bolsonaro adopted them as the emblem of his brand of nationalist politics.
Bolsonaro downplayed the coronavirus pandemic and oversaw a devastating COVID-19 death toll. He slashed Amazon protections leading to record deforestation. And he has tried to challenge the election results after electoral authorities declared victory last month for his rival, President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Supporters of Brazil's far-right president say he was the the subject of fraud.
So in Brazil, the yellow shirt has become the equivalent of the red MAGA hat worn by followers of Bolsonaro's ally, former President Donald Trump. Bolsonaristas, as the president's followers are known, wear the jerseys and wrap themselves in the Brazilian flag at marches and rallies supporting his conservative, religious, anti-LGBTQ, and pro-gun rights messages.
-"BB"-
Re: Proper sport controversy.
Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2022 9:10 pm
by MajGenl.Meade
Burning Petard wrote: ↑Fri Nov 25, 2022 5:06 pm
Gen'l explain to me -- is the picture intended as a comment on the Welsh Football team?
Yes. Sad, innit? Almost down the drain..not that England are likely to flush them down
Re: Proper sport controversy.
Posted: Sun Nov 27, 2022 5:12 am
by Scooter
Re: Proper sport controversy.
Posted: Sun Nov 27, 2022 5:06 pm
by Long Run
This is a pointless topic for Americans.
Re: Proper sport controversy.
Posted: Sun Nov 27, 2022 11:22 pm
by Big RR
I don't know; while soccer is not a major professional sport in the US, I do think many watch the world cup--especially given all the kids and youth soccer programs there have been over the past few decades When I played soccer in high school (I did it because I hated many guys on the football team) it was pretty hard to even have a few subs show up at any game--now the teams often rival to HS football teams (at least outside of Texas
) and many of those previous and current players will watch high level soccer, even if they won't support a local level professional team. Add to that recent immigrants, and it's no surprise that the viewers are setting records with matches this year.
And FWIW, I think Scooter's post is hilarious, even though it could be true.
Re: Proper sport controversy.
Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2022 3:48 am
by Burning Petard
Lots of High Schools in USofA are dropping football (and field hockey for girls) and adopting soccer. The big argument is that it produces less injuries and is cheaper.
snailgate
Re: Proper sport controversy.
Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2022 9:06 am
by Gob
MajGenl.Meade wrote: ↑Fri Nov 25, 2022 9:10 pm
Yes. Sad, innit? Almost down the drain..not that England are likely to flush them down
Yep. The Welsh side were bragged up by the media, and fell flat on their faces. Having supporters with good singing voices doesn't put the ball in the net.
Re: Proper sport controversy.
Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2022 9:11 pm
by Long Run
Time for the US to get knocked out. Better than the alternative.
Re: Proper sport controversy.
Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2022 11:15 pm
by Burning Petard
So sorry (not) USA over Iran 1-0
snailgate
Re: Proper sport controversy.
Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2022 11:50 pm
by Long Run
That was satisfying, especially with the constant fouling style of Iran. But realists look at the US v. Netherlands in the knockout stage and prepare for an early exit. Not sure why the US doesn't do better. Soccer gets first crack at a wide swath of American kids, huge resources are put into the sport, we've been at it at this level for over 30 years, and yet we can't get better than mediocre on the men's side.
Re: Proper sport controversy.
Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2022 12:58 am
by MajGenl.Meade
I think you're overlooking 2010. They were within an ace of making it to the quarter-finals; Round of 16 was a notable achievement as it is this time around.
Why not better? Two possible reasons, I guess. First, the US soccer league has too many foreign players. A minor point. More importantly, not enough US players achieve the level required to leave the USA and play in Europe. Footballers need to compete with the best to improve. Corollary - there's not enough top-class opposition here to play against.
Yes, Europe isn't always producing the best national teams - Brazil's World Cup Record shows that. But the European domestic leagues (UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, even France a bit) are composed of the best players from all over the world - even a couple of yanks. Playing with them and against them is the breeding ground for developing skills - not to mention the superior training facilities, coaches and big bucks.
Most of the foreign players who join the MSL are at the twilight of stellar careers - so, they take up space and don't add much to the advancement of US players.
My theory anyway
