FIFA Vice President says "USA bid deserves red card"

[Michael2010]

FIFA vice president and Korean football leader Chung Mung-joon has launched a withering attack on the country’s 2022 World Cup bid rivals, suggesting they have waged a dirty tricks campaign for which they “definitely deserve a yellow card, if not red".

Speaking at the Leaders in Football conference in London, Chung said there was a “lingering suspicion” that a rival bid had deliberately taken out of context China’s desire to run for the 2026 tournament to suit its own ends. Chung said that Chinese FA head Wei Di had denied to Asian Football Confederation colleagues quotes attributed to him in the Chinese state media in July, in which he entertained plans for a bid to host the 2026 finals.

Chung said he suspected a rival bid – motivated by “wishful thinking to sway the bidding competition in its favour” – had exploited the comments to prejudice the bid race.The state media reports were picked up by Reuters on July 17, and widely reported elsewhere. “My Asian colleagues believe that, if true, such attempts definitely deserve a yellow card, if not red,” he said. Chung stopped short of naming the rival bid nation, but the USA appears to be the only nation to benefit from China hosting the later tournament.

http://worldfootballinsider.com/Story.aspx?id=33785

 

[usalion]

Looks to me like he was rubbishing other bids as well from the article- and he never directly named the US....I mean, it was reported by China's state papers, which hardly has connections to the US bid group- and picked up by Reuters.....

so what? Show us how this ties in with people on the bid committee from the US? Sure, he has a vote, but I can't see his remarks influencing anyone who looks at it with a rational eye.

He also said....


“The fans are the true owner of the beautiful game and then the legacies will outlive us to inspire our posterity,” he said.

“What matters in this regard [the fans], is the easy access to stadiums, the weather conditions of the host nation during the months of June and July and international traveling distance to the host country.”


Sounds to me like he is describing the USA with those comments- well over half the nations within an eight hour flight of the USA, stadiums with excellent access for fans and weather that is OK for football, with several bid stadiums (Houston, Dallas, Indianapolis and Glendale, from memory) with the ability to be closed and played in absolutely perfect conditions.

 

[Puddy]

the governing soccer bodies are probably best off keeping the soccer world cup in countries where soccer is popular

 

[Dimenhydrinate]

the governing soccer bodies are probably best off keeping the soccer world cup in countries where soccer is popular

Why would they do that? The 1994 WC in the US was the best attended in history.

 

[Zidane98]

Looks to me like he was rubbishing other bids as well from the article- and he never directly named the US....I mean, it was reported by China's state papers, which hardly has connections to the US bid group- and picked up by Reuters.....

so what? Show us how this ties in with people on the bid committee from the US? Sure, he has a vote, but I can't see his remarks influencing anyone who looks at it with a rational eye.

He also said....


“The fans are the true owner of the beautiful game and then the legacies will outlive us to inspire our posterity,” he said.

“What matters in this regard [the fans], is the easy access to stadiums, the weather conditions of the host nation during the months of June and July and international traveling distance to the host country.”


Sounds to me like he is describing the USA with those comments- well over half the nations within an eight hour flight of the USA, stadiums with excellent access for fans and weather that is OK for football, with several bid stadiums (Houston, Dallas, Indianapolis and Glendale, from memory) with the ability to be closed and played in absolutely perfect conditions.

Australia is within 8-10 hours travel time of nearly 1/4 of the world's population. We win in the weather stakes hands down - USA 94 was remembered for the midday kickoffs in order to appease European viewers and sweltering heat - Australian games will kick off at 8.30 at night to appease the European viewers - Australia is clearly in a better position weather wise then the US.

Lately, the US bid has been resorting to desperation - the legacy surcharge on all tickets indicates that the US are really having trouble convincing FIFA that a World Cup in the US so soon after the last one will leave any sort of a legacy. And it doesn't surprise me that the China story mat have been leaked from the US.

 

[usalion]

Australia is within 8-10 hours travel time of nearly 1/4 of the world's population. We win in the weather stakes hands down - USA 94 was remembered for the midday kickoffs in order to appease European viewers and sweltering heat - Australian games will kick off at 8.30 at night to appease the European viewers - Australia is clearly in a better position weather wise then the US.

Lately, the US bid has been resorting to desperation - the legacy surcharge on all tickets indicates that the US are really having trouble convincing FIFA that a World Cup in the US so soon after the last one will leave any sort of a legacy. And it doesn't surprise me that the China story mat have been leaked from the US.

Well, I've already shot your points full of hles in my post...but to reiterate...

1) Travel time- Australia is at least 20 hours from Europe and a fair shot from Africa and South America as well....USA is within 8 hours of most of Europe and south America, which takes up over half the teams right there....That's the comment the Korean chap was making

2) Weather- yup, if we play in the southern states, it can be bad, but as i pointed out, several brand new stadia are built for climate control- Cowboys, Glendale, Houston and Indy....and playing at 8 PM in Melbourne and sydney in June/July can mean cold and wet....

Show me where the China story may have been leaked by the US- since when do we have any say on stories posted in the China state run paper? Sure t was picked up- why wouldn't it be? World Cup is one of the biggest events going....

As for legacy, you guys have the same problem- soccer is not, nor will it be, a major sport in Australia or the US- where can FIFA get the most fans? Simple- the USA, which packed stadia in 1994 and will do so again in 2022. And you can bleat about population- but where is the consumer market? The Americas and Europe....

 

[Checker Hughes]

Lion-you're deluded
There are 90 million football followers in the USA alone-how is that not major?????

Chung was referring to the non Asian bid being the source of the leak-their is only 1 non Asian bid for '22 and thats the USA

BTW,the WC is the biggest event going by a huge margin.It had a global combined audience nearly 9 times higher than the Beijing Olympics lol despite far less event time(96 hours) for broadcast

Obviously the USA are presently being wedged by UEFA and the AFC but they have the rock solid absolute luxury of 2026 anyway so its not all bad.Still 4 WCs in 56 years for FIFAs least important confederation besides the OFC so you gotts be happy with that

 

[Zidane98]

Well, I've already shot your points full of hles in my post...but to reiterate...

1) Travel time- Australia is at least 20 hours from Europe and a fair shot from Africa and South America as well....USA is within 8 hours of most of Europe and south America, which takes up over half the teams right there....That's the comment the Korean chap was making

2) Weather- yup, if we play in the southern states, it can be bad, but as i pointed out, several brand new stadia are built for climate control- Cowboys, Glendale, Houston and Indy....and playing at 8 PM in Melbourne and sydney in June/July can mean cold and wet....

Show me where the China story may have been leaked by the US- since when do we have any say on stories posted in the China state run paper? Sure t was picked up- why wouldn't it be? World Cup is one of the biggest events going....

As for legacy, you guys have the same problem- soccer is not, nor will it be, a major sport in Australia or the US- where can FIFA get the most fans? Simple- the USA, which packed stadia in 1994 and will do so again in 2022. And you can bleat about population- but where is the consumer market? The Americas and Europe....

You are grasping at straws here lion.

FIFA aren't too concerned about distance from Africa - very few fans from Africa would travel to World Cups (apart from the recent one in South Africa).

The biggest problem for the US bid is the fact that ticket revenue goes directly to the host nation as of France 98. Meaning that FIFA don't really care too much if they can get an extra 1 million fans through the gates - TV rights is where the $$$$$$ are at. Australia - perfect for the Asian TV market (the largest in the world) - and no kicking off games in 30 degree plus midday heat to satisfy European TV audiences.

In terms of legacy, football has a far greater potential in Australia then the US - just look at how the country went football mad in 2006 - you will never see scenes like that in the US. Infact, when you guys made the 1/4's in 02, it hardly made a mention in the US media. Australia has the legacy side of things downpat, the US are really going to struggle there.

 

[usalion]

You are grasping at straws here lion.

FIFA aren't too concerned about distance from Africa - very few fans from Africa would travel to World Cups (apart from the recent one in South Africa).

The biggest problem for the US bid is the fact that ticket revenue goes directly to the host nation as of France 98. Meaning that FIFA don't really care too much if they can get an extra 1 million fans through the gates - TV rights is where the $$$$$$ are at. Australia - perfect for the Asian TV market (the largest in the world) - and no kicking off games in 30 degree plus midday heat to satisfy European TV audiences.

In terms of legacy, football has a far greater potential in Australia then the US - just look at how the country went football mad in 2006 - you will never see scenes like that in the US. Infact, when you guys made the 1/4's in 02, it hardly made a mention in the US media. Australia has the legacy side of things downpat, the US are really going to struggle there.

C'mon, WC2022- at least rEAD what I wrote- the closeness of the US for both Europe and South America- that makes up 22 of the teams in the comp, including the qualifiers from N/Ceentral America...

Ad revenue still counts for Europe and the Americas, which are the largest consumers by far- yes, the population is in India and china, but how much will they be investing in western goods? And don't forget- the major sponsors of the World Cup will come from which country? You got it- the USA!

You guys didn't do a whole ,lot post 2006- hardly a blip on the radar of world football. and you are badly hamstrung by the three other football codes in Australia, just like we are hurt by the giant that is the NFL. Can't see soccer being in the top rung of either country's sports, to be honest- so there goes your legacy.

What don't you understand about climate controlled stadia? We've taken out the major problem of the summer heat- sure, there will be some matches that will be in hot conditions, but when you take in areas like California, Denver and Seattle on top of the stadia I've already mentioned, the US will provide excellent conditions for the games- no fear of rain to destroy the spectacle. And you may not like it, but FIFA woiuld love to have as many fans come to the festival as possible- which is what will happen with the Us bid- because we are closer to 2/3 of the countries and because our stadia will hold 50 000+ and more fans.

 

[usalion]

Lion-you're deluded
There are 90 million football followers in the USA alone-how is that not major?????

Don't see soccer overtaking football, baseball, or basketball anytime soon- and if one wants to include crap like NASCAR, soccer falls even further behind. Yes, there are millions of followers in the uSA, but it isn't in the tp rung of sports, and may take a long time to get there, if it ever does.

 

[Puddy]

*Deleted*

*This is not the place for that kind of post Puddy. If that's your opinion on the sport, it's best you don't post here.*

 

[Checker Hughes]

Don't see soccer overtaking football, baseball, or basketball anytime soon- and if one wants to include crap like NASCAR, soccer falls even further behind. Yes, there are millions of followers in the uSA, but it isn't in the tp rung of sports, and may take a long time to get there, if it ever does.

Who said it was as big as the other 3.
Same with Aussie Rules-it will always be the big boy in the Australian market,and thats ok

A few myths have been dispelled through all of this and facts are now common knowledge
-I-The FIFA World Cup is easily the biggest sporting event in the World(9 times the ratings even though the most populous nation in the World held the Olympics)
-2-There are a huge amount of Americans that like the game of association football(90 million is a huge amount)

 

[usalion]

Who said it was as big as the other 3.
Same with Aussie Rules-it will always be the big boy in the Australian market,and thats ok

A few myths have been dispelled through all of this and facts are now common knowledge
-I-The FIFA World Cup is easily the biggest sporting event in the World(9 times the ratings even though the most populous nation in the World held the Olympics)
-2-There are a huge amount of Americans that like the game of association football(90 million is a huge amount)

Agreed on both points- never a real doubt on #1....as fopr #2, well, the number of folks watching 2010 was the largest group I've seen- and places showing the games- yes, even after the US went out of the tournament.

As I've said before, good luck to the Aussies on the bid- may the best country win!

 

[Zidane98]

Agreed on both points- never a real doubt on #1....as fopr #2, well, the number of folks watching 2010 was the largest group I've seen- and places showing the games- yes, even after the US went out of the tournament.

As I've said before, good luck to the Aussies on the bid- may the best country win!

Agree that the US have put together a very competitive bid and I believe if all things were equal and the US didn't host World Cup 94, I think that the US would just edge it. In the final analysis, I see USA 94 counting very heavily against the US succeeding - Mexico are the only country who have hosted 2 successive World Cups in a shorter period and then only because Colombia pulled out thanks to financial issues caused by a natural disaster. Italy 1934-1990, France 1938-1998, West Germany 1974-Germany 2006 (technically 2 different nations) - Brazil 1950-2014 and most likely England 1966-2018 - I really cannot see FIFA bucking that trend. As you said, may the best nation win - it will be interesting in December.

 

[McCrann]

C'mon, WC2022- at least rEAD what I wrote- the closeness of the US for both Europe and South America- that makes up 22 of the teams in the comp, including the qualifiers from N/Ceentral America...

Ad revenue still counts for Europe and the Americas, which are the largest consumers by far- yes, the population is in India and china, but how much will they be investing in western goods? And don't forget- the major sponsors of the World Cup will come from which country? You got it- the USA!

You guys didn't do a whole ,lot post 2006- hardly a blip on the radar of world football. and you are badly hamstrung by the three other football codes in Australia, just like we are hurt by the giant that is the NFL. Can't see soccer being in the top rung of either country's sports, to be honest- so there goes your legacy.

What don't you understand about climate controlled stadia? We've taken out the major problem of the summer heat- sure, there will be some matches that will be in hot conditions, but when you take in areas like California, Denver and Seattle on top of the stadia I've already mentioned, the US will provide excellent conditions for the games- no fear of rain to destroy the spectacle. And you may not like it, but FIFA woiuld love to have as many fans come to the festival as possible- which is what will happen with the Us bid- because we are closer to 2/3 of the countries and because our stadia will hold 50 000+ and more fans.

Another point in regards to money is, in relative terms the US is declining compared to China.

Therefore, the biggest net benefit would be to hold 2022 in the US, and then 2026 in China. You win in 2022 as the US will still be the largest economy in the world, and in 2026 China will have grown another 30-40% from 2022, so it makes sense to then go to China.

It makes sense in that order whichever Asian country you go to really, because there's little doubt which continent will be doing more growing between 2022 - 2026.

 

[Zidane98]

Interesting to see that the whole China hosting the World Cup is complete BS. As stated previously, FIFA wouldn't touch it anyway - pollution, over crowding - certainly not the sort of environment you would want to host a football tournament in. Besides, FIFA don't get ticket revenues anymore - the money for them is in TV rights and they can capitalise on the chinese TV rights quite nicely by hosting in Australia.

 

[McCrann]

Interesting to see that the whole China hosting the World Cup is complete BS. As stated previously, FIFA wouldn't touch it anyway - pollution, over crowding - certainly not the sort of environment you would want to host a football tournament in. Besides, FIFA don't get ticket revenues anymore - the money for them is in TV rights and they can capitalise on the chinese TV rights quite nicely by hosting in Australia.

That comment will come back to bite you mate. Sure, maybe it won't be 2026, but it'll be before 2040.

 

[Michael2010]

That comment will come back to bite you mate. Sure, maybe it won't be 2026, but it'll be before 2040.

I'm sure there are plenty of comments on here that will come and bite you so one comment isn't too bad is it now? China struggled with hosting the Olympic games, that's a single city event. The World Cup is a multi city event and their traffic chaos is only getting worse on top of that their football team is pathetic and the football administrators are laced with corruption. People go China China (as stated it's been the US who's been trying to butter up their own bid) but really they don't have a clue what they're talking about, even China knows it can't host it till minimum 2034, if not 2046 or 2058 (which for me might be the most realistic date).

 

[scotto_01]

“What matters in this regard [the fans], is the easy access to stadiums, the weather conditions of the host nation during the months of June and July and international traveling distance to the host country.”


Sounds to me like he is describing the USA with those comments- well over half the nations within an eight hour flight of the USA, stadiums with excellent access for fans and weather that is OK for football, with several bid stadiums (Houston, Dallas, Indianapolis and Glendale, from memory) with the ability to be closed and played in absolutely perfect conditions.

i dont 100% disagree that he could be talking about usa with that comment, but it could also be australia.

stadium access in australia is fine, the majority are easilly accessable on foot or by a stort train/bus trip.

the weather is fine for a world cup, ok sure its not summer but that hardly matters, infact its probly better for australia that we arnt bidding to host it here in summer.

international travel is fine- australia gets plenty of visitors a year to these shores, it doesnt stop those people coming down under, and it wont stop football fans from coming either. if somebody will travel from say rio to jo'burg, then they would travel to syd/melb/bris/ect

also- i noticed somebody mention kick off times to suit european viewers, this works in our favour reasonably well

at a guess (assuming my timezone guesswork is right)

1st game -2pm-4pm (early morning european time, but its the 1st game of 3.

2nd game 5-7 this is more around the breakfast time over in europe

3rd game- 8-10- mid morning euro time

would also add that these games would be primetime for the lucrative asian market which is where alot of the wc viewers come from.

 

[Zidane98]

Yep, midday kickoffs caused some real issues during USA 94. And despite what some say about climate controlled stadia, it will always be an issue. Australia has the perfect climate to suit all of the European based stars - they would much rather play in an Australian winter then a blistering summer in the US.

 

[McCrann]

I'm sure there are plenty of comments on here that will come and bite you so one comment isn't too bad is it now? China struggled with hosting the Olympic games, that's a single city event. The World Cup is a multi city event and their traffic chaos is only getting worse on top of that their football team is pathetic and the football administrators are laced with corruption. People go China China (as stated it's been the US who's been trying to butter up their own bid) but really they don't have a clue what they're talking about, even China knows it can't host it till minimum 2034, if not 2046 or 2058 (which for me might be the most realistic date).

Maybe they'll host an Australian Football World Cup before then.

 

[Hoops]

-I-The FIFA World Cup is easily the biggest sporting event in the World(9 times the ratings even though the most populous nation in the World held the Olympics)

How do they measure the ratings for the Oympics? I've asked this a couple of times but never got a satisfactory answer. It's easy to measure the ratings for the world Cup by accumulating the figures over each game to get a sum totaof viewers. But how do you do it over a multi-sport event like the Olympics? How do you weight the viewers from a 100m sprint against the marathon and then compare it to the world cup?

after investigating this, I've found that the TV rights for each event is about the same.

 

[Checker Hughes]

How do they measure the ratings for the Oympics? I've asked this a couple of times but never got a satisfactory answer. It's easy to measure the ratings for the world Cup by accumulating the figures over each game to get a sum totaof viewers. But how do you do it over a multi-sport event like the Olympics? How do you weight the viewers from a 100m sprint against the marathon and then compare it to the world cup?

after investigating this, I've found that the TV rights for each event is about the same.

Its got nothing to do with rights

Its the total amount of viewers over that event and although it had been thought that the World Cup was only 3 times the size of the Summer Olympics,common thought now is that 5 times is closer to the mark.
An Australasian World Cup will absolutely smash the existing record to somewhere over 60 billion

 

[Checker Hughes]

i dont 100% disagree that he could be talking about usa with that comment, but it could also be australia.

stadium access in australia is fine, the majority are easilly accessable on foot or by a stort train/bus trip.

the weather is fine for a world cup, ok sure its not summer but that hardly matters, infact its probly better for australia that we arnt bidding to host it here in summer.

international travel is fine- australia gets plenty of visitors a year to these shores, it doesnt stop those people coming down under, and it wont stop football fans from coming either. if somebody will travel from say rio to jo'burg, then they would travel to syd/melb/bris/ect

also- i noticed somebody mention kick off times to suit european viewers, this works in our favour reasonably well

at a guess (assuming my timezone guesswork is right)

1st game -2pm-4pm (early morning european time, but its the 1st game of 3.

2nd game 5-7 this is more around the breakfast time over in europe

3rd game- 8-10- mid morning euro time

would also add that these games would be primetime for the lucrative asian market which is where alot of the wc viewers come from.

4.688 BILLION IN PRIMETIME
All matches to Europe and the UK in Daylight-54 matches after 10am at worst

 

[Hoops]

Its got nothing to do with rights

Its the total amount of viewers over that event and although it had been thought that the World Cup was only 3 times the size of the Summer Olympics,common thought now is that 5 times is closer to the mark.
An Australasian World Cup will absolutely smash the existing record to somewhere over 60 billion

Define total amount of viewers and how it relates to Olympic games viewers? What constitutes a viewer?