The International Football Federations Thread

[Bobfoc]

I preferred the idea of a World Cup in Morocco, but there you go. With 48 teams in the competition, I'm sure we'll see plenty more joint bids in the future.

Also, with OFC now having one definite qualifying spot, New Zealand never have any reason not to qualify ever again.

[DFF]

1 hour ago, Bobfoc said:

I preferred the idea of a World Cup in Morocco, but there you go. With 48 teams in the competition, I'm sure we'll see plenty more joint bids in the future.

Also, with OFC now having one definite qualifying spot, New Zealand never have any reason not to qualify ever again.

Until Australia turns heel and rejoins out of spite haha

[Colly]

I hate 48 teams. Just go 64 and it still works properly. 

[Naitch]

I agree. 16 groups of 3 where only the bottom placed nation is eliminated makes the whole first round seem pointless. I'd much rather an expanded group stage of 5 teams per group where only the top 2 still go through.

[MDK]

6 minutes ago, Colly said:

I hate 48 teams. Just go 64 and it still works properly. 

128 team knockout tournament. No seeding. ET and pens if it is a draw.

[Moses Julep]

I always said I wanted to see Canada at the World Cup in my lifetime  

[Gazz]

Which is a shame when you get annexed next year by the United Americas of Trumplandia.

[Lineker]

Quote

The Football Association has held secret talks with the other home nations about the possibility of a joint bid for the 2030 World Cup. The FA chief executive, Martin Glenn, and chairman, Greg Clarke, met their counterparts from Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland in Moscow on Tuesday and discussed a potential UK-wide push to host the 48-team event.

Over the next year the FA will weigh up the pros and cons of bidding for the World Cup for the first time since a bruising defeat by Russia for 2018. It has agreed to consult the home nations before beginning any campaign.

The former Scottish FA chief executive Stewart Regan believes an England-led home nations bid is on the radar. “Everyone would like to see World Cup football in England and possibly the wider UK and it would be very strong financially,” he said.

“It would definitely be viewed as a low-risk bid. Not many countries have the quality of large stadiums that England has while Wales have hosted the Champions League final recently and Scotland is a Euro 2020 host and has a reputation for successfully staging major sports events. Northern Ireland may not meet the stadium requirements but could possibly be used for training venues.”

Any bid would face opposition from a joint campaign by Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. They opened Conmebol house in Moscow on Thursday in a ceremony attended by Fifa’s president, Gianni Infantino, and it was heavily branded with 2030 promotional material bearing their slogan: “Believe big”.

As part of the FA’s effort to improve its image on the world stage Gareth Southgate will introduce himself in the future as being from the “English FA”. The manager and other executives believe it will help remove any perception of English football as arrogant. In 2015 Glenn said the Football Association’s name was the “ultimate expression of arrogance”.

[Adam]

Footballs coming home!

Although, a tournament in Uruguay on the 100th anniversary of the first World Cup would probably get plenty of support.

[Lineker]

 

[The Lusophone]

Yep that's the issue with Qatar 2022. The scheduling.

Football people are the worst sometimes.

[Colly]

The scheduling is pretty rats tbf. 

[Adam]

58 minutes ago, MexicoJack said:

Yep that's the issue with Qatar 2022. The scheduling.

Football people are the worst sometimes.

It is a huge issue though, and frankly is the one most people will immediately discuss due to the practicality, or lack thereof.

You can get into all the human rights stuff, sure. To be honest that has been the main discussion point about this tournament up until now, but you can highlight multiple issues without lessening the importance of each of them respective to another.

[The Lusophone]

19 minutes ago, PanamAdam said:

It is a huge issue though, and frankly is the one most people will immediately discuss due to the practicality, or lack thereof.

You can get into all the human rights stuff, sure. To be honest that has been the main discussion point about this tournament up until now, but you can highlight multiple issues without lessening the importance of each of them respective to another.

And yet Lineker and other sports types seem rather unwilling to discuss the human rights situation there, probably has nothing to do with how he was employed by Qatar based Al Jazeera at all of course...

[Colly]

Didn't he famously get into a slanging match with Richard Keys because he did criticise the human rights situation in Qatar, Keys stupidly assuming that working TV over there meant he condoned them? 

[The Lusophone]

1 hour ago, Official Collyombia said:

Didn't he famously get into a slanging match with Richard Keys because he did criticise the human rights situation in Qatar, Keys stupidly assuming that working TV over there meant he condoned them? 

No, he just criticised FIFA corruption and the scheduling, as far as I could see.

[DFF]

On a lighter note, have you guys heard how Qatar will have to enter the earlier qualifying rounds, as it doubles up as qualifying for the 2023 Asian Cup? 

[Lineker]

Didn't the same happen before the South Africa 2010 World Cup - where some of those qualifiers doubled up as Cup of Nations qualifiers?

[MDK]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/44998080

Quote

World Cup 2022: Fifa need to conduct "independent investigation" into Qatar bid claims

Football's world governing body Fifa has been urged to conduct an "independent investigation" into claims the Qatar 2022 World Cup bid team ran a secret campaign in 2010 to sabotage competing host bids.

The chairman of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee Damian Collins said the "serious allegations", published in the Sunday Times, would be a breach of Fifa's rules if true.

"It requires a proper independent investigation and Fifa should make clear that will happen," he said.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 live, he added: "If the Qataris have broken the rules, they should face some sanctions."

In a statement Qatar's Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy said it "rejects each and every allegation put forward by the Sunday Times".

[Lineker]

We're up to sixth in the flawed Fifa world rankings!