Winter World Cup

[CFC91]

Looking like Qatar will be a Winter World Cup in November/December

What are peoples thoughts on this? Obviously it will massively disrupt the football in Europe but how will they get around it? Run the season into June and shorten pre season or not?

From our point of view in the FL - i assume we will be largely unaffected and may even get more exposure on tv etc on Sky without the Pl taking place.

 

[D B Disco]

I can't see the football league being unaffected, it only needs one team in a league to have players unavailable to cause fixture chaos.

To answer your first question.....awful decision IMO.

 

[RavenBish]

I can't see the football league being unaffected, it only needs one team in a league to have players unavailable to cause fixture chaos.

I assume they'll prolong the season into June anyway which makes rearrangements easier. I don't think any lower league teams will have 3+ players in the world cup though.

The idea that they'd hold a world cup final on the 23rd of December is hilarious.

 

[CFC91]

Assume it will be sporadic in the football league, we had a game called off at Swindon as they had 3 players on duty for Iraq and Australia so I guess in rare occasions League 1 and 2 would be affected but it will ruin the Prem and Championship schedules.

 

[Libertadores FC]

As a big follower of South American football, I can't say I'll be too affected by this decision as most leagues are on break during December and not many players play on the national team. However I have said it before and will say it again, whats the point having the World Cup in a country where the final will be hosted in a city that doesn't exist? Not only that but what will these stadiums be used for after the World Cup is over? Look at South Africa. Their stadiums as far as I'm aware don't fill up. I'm talking about their World Cup stadiums. I'll let South Africa off here as its easily the best country in Africa to do it, a decent size and it had to be done in Africa somewhere, but Qatar? Of course it can't be done in Japan, or Korea. Why not Australia? Qatar is a tiny country and while it has plenty of money, it's just a terrible place to do it and this is further proof.

 

[DarkSithLord]

Awful decision

 

[Libertadores FC]

Just had a thought. What is to happen to the African Cup of Nations and the Asian Cup after this?

 

[Super_horns]

I can't see the football league being unaffected, it only needs one team in a league to have players unavailable to cause fixture chaos.

.

Read somewhere else its suggested no other football will be allowed to be played during the time of the World Cup.

 

[BigDaveCUFC]

Well that would then be ridiculous as we won't be affected at all.

I think a lot more will run on this yet, I can see afew clubs and competitions complaining, possibly tv companies complaining also.

fifa seem to just think they make a decision and everyone is all happy larry with it, but that has changed with this WC because everyone knows how it happened and thus no one really has much patience or time to help them sort it.

 

[mnb089mnb]

I don't mind a winter World Cup. The issues behind what's got us here are the bigger problem.

It appears to be annoying Scudamore and the Premier League so I'm warming to the idea.

 

[Libertadores FC]

If Scotland qualify, the football league's will be affected

 

[mnb089mnb]

England will be home before they've even started their advent calendars. World Cup Final on 23rd December? Magic.

 

[NiallQuinnDiscoPants]

Hate. Hate. Hate

It's the most obvious case of corruption I think there has ever been in sport. You have Qatar. In July. The most hostile weather conditions anyone can play football in. A country with no football links or history whatsoever. But a country with a lot of money.

Yep you can host it.

Oh, wait. No human player can play in those conditions at that time of the year.

But they're a country with a lot of money

So we'll change the whole football calender to satisfy our back pocket's Qatar's needs.

 

[mente captus]

christmas and the wc at the same time? a dream comes true for the sponsors

 

[ArmchairDiehard]

It's a ridiculous decision. The 2022 World Cup bidding process was based on a Summer tournament - Qatar knew this and still went ahead with a bid.

It may well make for a more entertaining tournament though, given that it takes place midway through a season rather than at the end of one.

It still doesn't make it right.

 

[Pliny Harris]

Hoping I'll have the willpower not to watch this one what with the >1,200 deaths surrounding it.

#notarsed about whether it upsets the Premier League's schedule.

 

[shane]

Genuine question - why don't the clubs just tell FIFA to fuck off? Seeing as they pay the wages and effectively market the players who make the tournament, can't they just turn around and say "either have it in the Summer or forget it"?

I just don't see why everyone has to bend over backwards to accommodate them, and yet the corruption goes completely unpunished....?

 

[Christian Slater]

This isn't money talking, it's money swearing. We have officials so blatantly corrupt they are licking the balls of their paymasters in public. This is unapologetic and unashamed greed performed in the face of the public, with those benefiting smiling while it happens.

 

[Dazza]

Wasn't the tender for the World Cup for a Summer world cup? Fifa making the rules up as they go along.The Premier League may be annoyed but are the other major leagues in Europe that upset by it?

 

[Christian Slater]

Wasn't the tender for the World Cup for a Summer world cup? Fifa making the rules up as they go along.The Premier League may be annoyed but are the other major leagues in Europe that upset by it?

Yes and yes. Bayern Munich are demanding FIFA financially compensate the clubs the WC will affect.

 

[Alty]

As it now appears the Qataris lied about being able to deliver super-duper air-conditioned stadia, then this was the only decision that could be taken if you don't want players dying on the pitch but still want it in Qatar...

What should actually happen, of course, is for the World Cup to go somewhere worthy...like Australia.

 

[Richard Cranium]

I think this will get moved. This is going to disrupt everything across Europe. It might not change much in L1/L2 here but there will be a couple of clubs who end up having a player have to go to play for someone like Angola!

 

[ArmchairDiehard]

FIFA are a law unto themselves. None of us should be too surprised by any of this.

 

[BigDaveCUFC]

I wonder what would happen if the PL decided it just wasn't going to change and refuses all players to go...............be an interesting cog into the works if they did.

 

[mnb089mnb]

It's all linked isn't it? Premier League clubs are all registered under the English FA. FIFA could just ban England from playing in their competitions and put pressure on UEFA to ban England from its competitions (including Champions League). I doubt very much that it would happen.

 

[THE TERRACEMAN]

Problem solved.
Blatter and his crownies can have there World Cup, UEFA and its member leagues tell FIFA they are not competing and hold an extra European Championship in its place. Let the clubs stick together and refuse to release players of other nationalities and totally devalue Blatter's nonsensical World Cup. idea.
If Qatar can't hold the World Cup when they are supposed to their bid should be invalid
The needless disruption throughout all of Europe is being caused because the country that bid for the World cup can't stage it at the correct time, that's their problem not the rest of the football worlds.

 

[Stagat]

Honestly, I reckon the European clubs and leagues complaining about it should pipe down a bit and just live with it.

To my mind, the World Cup is still the pinnacle of the game, and has more stature and prestige than any national league ever will. Someone's gonna mention the money involved in club football here now, but it's not about that. The World Cup is every four years, it's special, and I'm sure the clubs and leagues can make a one-off concession for it. Selfish tossers if not.

There's still a hell of a long time for them to get ready for it too. It's not even the next World Cup. I'm sure seven years notice is enough to get some plans in place to get around whatever their issues are going to be.

As for Qatar winning the bid and having to move the goalposts now, obviously that's not right. The toys-out-the-pram complaining coming out of Scudamore, the Premier League, fans of Premier League clubs, and other European leagues and clubs too though is actually making me want them to hold it in the winter as a way of reminding them what the World Cup actually is: the pinnacle of world football.

 

[Tilbury]

'winning the bid' that's very subjective.

 

[Stagat]

Ha ha! An innocuous turn of phrase I admittedly lazily let slip in expertly picked out there.

Owt of value to add in response to the bigger picture I spent my time describing, or are we just doing semantics?

 

[ArmchairDiehard]

It doesn't actually bother me that Qatar won the rights to host the tournament. They could hold it in San Marino for all I care. What I can't accept however, is that the bidding process was based on the event being a Summer tournament.

Had they stated their desire to hold it in the winter before the votes were cast, I suspect we may well have had a different outcome.