Head of Strategic Development Column
Football and The Moon!
Probably the two worst footballing World Cup's have been held in new places. 2002 South Korea and Japan and 2010 in South Africa. The first not memorable for anything really, the second remembered for by an annoying horn blown by a half filled stadium at every game. Poor football, poor followings a minimum 10 hour flight for the rest of the football community and really very little for us Europeans to connect with.
So what's it all about? I thought the World Cup was a celebration of football, hosted by nations that influence the sport and make it what it is, rather than the politics? A celebration of South American/Latin flair coupled with the competitive and strategic know how of the European game? I must be wrong.
This isn't Formula 1. Formula 1, led by the vision of the diminutive Bernie Ecclestone had to go to places new to create a huge brand. It was way behind football in terms of followers, and always will be. Football doesn't need to go down that route does it? It was the best way forward for F1, and Ecclestone should be congratulated for the profile raising of F1. Ok he's made himself a billion or so in the process, but it has been for the greater good of the sport. A win-win if you will. International football, as we knew it, has been dealt a severe blow, and it looks like for generations to come.
Looking back at great World Cup's-Argentina '78, Mexico '86, Spain '82, France '98 and in particular from a late 30's Englishman's point of view, Italia '90. The last, great World Cup will be in Brazil, 2014. I fully intend to go as for me, that's the end of the World Cup. By the time FIFA have had their way and the WC has been to Russia, Qatar, China, India, Greenland, The Antarctic and the Moon I'll be in a stationary position six feet under. And all those competition's will be of poor football quality. Europe and the America's is where it's at. Imagine hosting the FA Cup final at Worksop because it can build a stadium to house one 100,000 people on the promise of a "legacy' for years to come for the 39,000 people who live there.
The reasons for appointing Russia and Qatar, two Petrodollar oil states aren't really very clear. "Why not just put the cash in the bag and be over with it?" I heard one commentator say. That cash might not have been delivered to the nations who mattered on FIFA's executive committee in such crude fashion but it still got to them.
It might not be concrete evidence of corruption, but it looks a plain old inducement by any other name to me. Legacy? Qatar has a population of 1.7m, half the size of Wales, and have said they will take their stadiums down and send them to Africa once the competition is over. Perhaps the Swiss dictionary definition of "legacy' varies to the Oxford English Dictionary definition? It certainly can't be a World Cup for the environmental campaigners, massive air conditioning units will be needed to cool down the 50 degree heat within the stadiums. I wouldn't be able to take my girlfriend either as I'm unsure how the ladies will be treated-if allowed in at all. A few ales whilst watching the game will probably be out, it's mainly a dry state due to the religious beliefs. Imagine the fun that football fans could have had making holiday plans for the United States or Australia: huge nations with inexhaustible options for things to do before, during or after the football.
It looks like Russia knew it was getting 2018. Putin didn't bother turning up-no need, and looking at Prince William's face before the announcement-he already knew. Reports suggest they knew 24 hours beforehand, about the same time as Wikileaks announced that the leader of Mother Russia knew all about the planned execution of Alexander Litvinenko in London.So for how long did Qatar know before the announcement? The manner of Qatar's advertising campaign was that more of a tourist information board. They knew they had it. I knew they had it. They were already preparing for it. The $125m sponsorship of Barcelona advertising the Qatar Foundation? Shame on you Barca, for selling out. The Unicef sponsorship was a great example, lead by one of the World's greatest football club's-but now they too have sold out. So who else sold out? Zinedine Zidane picked up a cool $15m for his part in the TV advert and FIFA have almost certainly sold the game. Blatter and his cronies (how many of them would you trust to babysit your kids?-when you get back they too had probably been sold-or at least an organ will be missing!) have lined their pockets (according to investigative TV programs) and their families will be looked after for generations to come. And their mistresses.
Having said all that, money has dominated the sport in England and has changed the game from the way we knew it pre Premier League. Agents fees, the biggest clubs being mortgaged to the hilt, massive TV rights and gigantic player's salaries. However it has been for the benefit of the football we watch, and the rest of the world watches. The Premier League is the most popular league in the world, by some distance. Why? Because it is played out in front of some of the world's most passionate fans, within a culture that has been created over many generations and it has the best players in it (with the exception of a splattering at Barcelona).
The 2018 World Cup bid which we put together, was in my mind exceptional. It was delivered as well as any commercial presentation I have ever seen. The World Cup in England would have been the best for football. Instead we (again) go to a dangerous country and will have to fly between 11 time zones if we are to watch a good spread of football. That won't be cheap either. Getting in also won't be cheap. Not just to the games, but into the country, as a visa will be required for each entrant. Only the Lord knows why, as you won't want to stay there once the competition is over!
But in England football is our culture. I'd even go as far to say it is a religion, followed by a massive percentage of the population who go watch or stay at home and watch football. It is not class defined. The active head of the FA is royalty. Big Daz who comes down to watch non league football with ketchup down his shirt, is not. But they clearly both love the game, and that will never go away in any of us.
Like it or not, it is ingrained into our society and has been for well over 100 years. It is almost genetic, passed down through the generations to both males and females. It is the same in Brazil, Germany, Holland, Spain, Argentina, Mexico, France, Chile, Peru and Poland. These World Cup's have not been awarded for the benefit of those who have made the game a great one.
So where does that leave us? Well, licking our wounds and damaged pride in the first instance, but once you sit back and have a look, we shouldn't get too upset. We still have a great culture in which we can enjoy watching and playing football. It's a shame other populous will not be able to sample it, but we can still enjoy it. If you want to really enjoy football at it's cultural best, then a regular trip to non-league football is a must. You can have a pie and a pint, not get hassled and watch some good, honest, down to earth football. Or if you prefer the glitz and the magnificent stadium's then head off to professional football-either way the English game can accommodate and satisfy all types of fans. It's just a shame Blatter and the boys refused to acknowledge that absolute fact!
Probably the two worst footballing World Cup's have been held in new places. 2002 South Korea and Japan and 2010 in South Africa. The first not memorable for anything really, the second remembered for by an annoying horn blown by a half filled stadium at every game. Poor football, poor followings a minimum 10 hour flight for the rest of the football community and really very little for us Europeans to connect with.
So what's it all about? I thought the World Cup was a celebration of football, hosted by nations that influence the sport and make it what it is, rather than the politics? A celebration of South American/Latin flair coupled with the competitive and strategic know how of the European game? I must be wrong.
This isn't Formula 1. Formula 1, led by the vision of the diminutive Bernie Ecclestone had to go to places new to create a huge brand. It was way behind football in terms of followers, and always will be. Football doesn't need to go down that route does it? It was the best way forward for F1, and Ecclestone should be congratulated for the profile raising of F1. Ok he's made himself a billion or so in the process, but it has been for the greater good of the sport. A win-win if you will. International football, as we knew it, has been dealt a severe blow, and it looks like for generations to come.
Looking back at great World Cup's-Argentina '78, Mexico '86, Spain '82, France '98 and in particular from a late 30's Englishman's point of view, Italia '90. The last, great World Cup will be in Brazil, 2014. I fully intend to go as for me, that's the end of the World Cup. By the time FIFA have had their way and the WC has been to Russia, Qatar, China, India, Greenland, The Antarctic and the Moon I'll be in a stationary position six feet under. And all those competition's will be of poor football quality. Europe and the America's is where it's at. Imagine hosting the FA Cup final at Worksop because it can build a stadium to house one 100,000 people on the promise of a "legacy' for years to come for the 39,000 people who live there.
The reasons for appointing Russia and Qatar, two Petrodollar oil states aren't really very clear. "Why not just put the cash in the bag and be over with it?" I heard one commentator say. That cash might not have been delivered to the nations who mattered on FIFA's executive committee in such crude fashion but it still got to them.
It might not be concrete evidence of corruption, but it looks a plain old inducement by any other name to me. Legacy? Qatar has a population of 1.7m, half the size of Wales, and have said they will take their stadiums down and send them to Africa once the competition is over. Perhaps the Swiss dictionary definition of "legacy' varies to the Oxford English Dictionary definition? It certainly can't be a World Cup for the environmental campaigners, massive air conditioning units will be needed to cool down the 50 degree heat within the stadiums. I wouldn't be able to take my girlfriend either as I'm unsure how the ladies will be treated-if allowed in at all. A few ales whilst watching the game will probably be out, it's mainly a dry state due to the religious beliefs. Imagine the fun that football fans could have had making holiday plans for the United States or Australia: huge nations with inexhaustible options for things to do before, during or after the football.
It looks like Russia knew it was getting 2018. Putin didn't bother turning up-no need, and looking at Prince William's face before the announcement-he already knew. Reports suggest they knew 24 hours beforehand, about the same time as Wikileaks announced that the leader of Mother Russia knew all about the planned execution of Alexander Litvinenko in London.So for how long did Qatar know before the announcement? The manner of Qatar's advertising campaign was that more of a tourist information board. They knew they had it. I knew they had it. They were already preparing for it. The $125m sponsorship of Barcelona advertising the Qatar Foundation? Shame on you Barca, for selling out. The Unicef sponsorship was a great example, lead by one of the World's greatest football club's-but now they too have sold out. So who else sold out? Zinedine Zidane picked up a cool $15m for his part in the TV advert and FIFA have almost certainly sold the game. Blatter and his cronies (how many of them would you trust to babysit your kids?-when you get back they too had probably been sold-or at least an organ will be missing!) have lined their pockets (according to investigative TV programs) and their families will be looked after for generations to come. And their mistresses.
Having said all that, money has dominated the sport in England and has changed the game from the way we knew it pre Premier League. Agents fees, the biggest clubs being mortgaged to the hilt, massive TV rights and gigantic player's salaries. However it has been for the benefit of the football we watch, and the rest of the world watches. The Premier League is the most popular league in the world, by some distance. Why? Because it is played out in front of some of the world's most passionate fans, within a culture that has been created over many generations and it has the best players in it (with the exception of a splattering at Barcelona).
The 2018 World Cup bid which we put together, was in my mind exceptional. It was delivered as well as any commercial presentation I have ever seen. The World Cup in England would have been the best for football. Instead we (again) go to a dangerous country and will have to fly between 11 time zones if we are to watch a good spread of football. That won't be cheap either. Getting in also won't be cheap. Not just to the games, but into the country, as a visa will be required for each entrant. Only the Lord knows why, as you won't want to stay there once the competition is over!
But in England football is our culture. I'd even go as far to say it is a religion, followed by a massive percentage of the population who go watch or stay at home and watch football. It is not class defined. The active head of the FA is royalty. Big Daz who comes down to watch non league football with ketchup down his shirt, is not. But they clearly both love the game, and that will never go away in any of us.
Like it or not, it is ingrained into our society and has been for well over 100 years. It is almost genetic, passed down through the generations to both males and females. It is the same in Brazil, Germany, Holland, Spain, Argentina, Mexico, France, Chile, Peru and Poland. These World Cup's have not been awarded for the benefit of those who have made the game a great one.
So where does that leave us? Well, licking our wounds and damaged pride in the first instance, but once you sit back and have a look, we shouldn't get too upset. We still have a great culture in which we can enjoy watching and playing football. It's a shame other populous will not be able to sample it, but we can still enjoy it. If you want to really enjoy football at it's cultural best, then a regular trip to non-league football is a must. You can have a pie and a pint, not get hassled and watch some good, honest, down to earth football. Or if you prefer the glitz and the magnificent stadium's then head off to professional football-either way the English game can accommodate and satisfy all types of fans. It's just a shame Blatter and the boys refused to acknowledge that absolute fact!
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