WORLD CUP 2014 - BRAZIL
- Thread starter Brando
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I wonder if this will increase or decrease the number of rich Nigerians who want to send me money.
Jysin
Ahn'Qiraj Raider
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Just caught up the last 6 pages or so. I saw a lot of talk about Qatar hosting the cup. As someone who lives in and has lived in Qatar the last 8 years, I figured if anyone had any questions I would be happy to answer them about what I know. Few things I can say:
The Heat:
Fuck yes, legitimate concern. It hit a crazy 52C (126F) back in May this year during a heat wave which is the hottest I have ever seen it here. It has calmed down recently and been back to a normal mid-40s (~113F) temps during this WC time. The proposed solution during the bidding process was that they would use solar powered AC tech to cool these stadiums. This is also as-of-yet unproven technology.
Logistics:
When a country wins hosting rights, it is generally spread around different cities to ease the cluster of fans on infrastructure and accommodation, etc. The thing I can't wrap my head around is that while Qatar won the bid, Qatar is honestly really ONE city (Doha). One of the proposed Stadiums is to be built in a currently non-existant city (Lusail).
Infrastructure:
Doha itself is massively behind on infrastructure and has already cut the promised 12 stadiums down to 8. There's been lots of promises on development of a Metro (train) system as well as other forms of public transportation, but nothing has really got off the ground. The new Hamad International Airport has just opened a few weeks back after a TWO YEAR delay. These types of delays are very typical of the region. Gross mismanagement and negligence at every step of a project. Huge questions remain as to how Qatar will keep up on deadlines necessary for the Cup to happen.
Winter Cup / Sponsors / Euro Leagues:
As has been mentioned, people have said the Cup should be moved to winter. Temps here are actually very pleasant during winter months, but there are a whole host of issues with that. #1 The acutal bidding process that Qatar won over other nations was for a traditional summer tournament. If the WC is requested to move to the winter, the other bidding nations could cry foul and demand it to be rebid (new bid for a winter cup).
#2 The biggest factor in this would be a massive impact on sponsors. In the USA, for example, Fox News paid nearly half a billion dollars for exclusive rights to the 2018 and 2022 World Cup. This was also under the assumption of a normal summer cup. Fox does NOT want to compete WC viewership directly with the regular NFL season.
#3 Moving to a winter WC would also directly clash with European Football league schedules and therefore their own Euro league sponsors.
Culture Issues:
Some of the bigger issues I have yet to see addressed properly are to do with Qatar's culture. As it stands, drinking is restricted to hotel bars only. There is only 1 shop in the country that sells alcohol for home / personal consumption but you need to have a Work Visa with sponsor (employer) permission. Drinking in public is outright illegal and can get you thrown in jail / deported. For the World Cup, they have said there will be "Fan Zones" outside of the stadiums for fans to drink. As of right now, there is no alcohol to be consumed within the stadiums. How the hell do they expect this to fly??? Especially considering Budweiser has announced they are sponsoring 2018 and 2022 World Cups!
Another major issue is the fact that homosexuality is illegal in Qatar. Considering the World Cup's massive draw of all nationalities, cultures, and personalities, there is sure to be some LGBT public displays that would currently have people thrown in jail / deported. No comment has been given on how this will be handled during the cup.
There are still a million other issues from modern slavery to bribery as to why Qatar should be stripped of the cup. Just figured I would throw a few facts out there for people. There's quite a bit more to discuss, so hit me with any questions and I can give you the best answers I can. For the record, I have friends (American and Euro) who are working for Qatar 2022 here and I get quite a bit of the gossip.
PS. Go team USA!!
The Heat:
Fuck yes, legitimate concern. It hit a crazy 52C (126F) back in May this year during a heat wave which is the hottest I have ever seen it here. It has calmed down recently and been back to a normal mid-40s (~113F) temps during this WC time. The proposed solution during the bidding process was that they would use solar powered AC tech to cool these stadiums. This is also as-of-yet unproven technology.
Logistics:
When a country wins hosting rights, it is generally spread around different cities to ease the cluster of fans on infrastructure and accommodation, etc. The thing I can't wrap my head around is that while Qatar won the bid, Qatar is honestly really ONE city (Doha). One of the proposed Stadiums is to be built in a currently non-existant city (Lusail).
Infrastructure:
Doha itself is massively behind on infrastructure and has already cut the promised 12 stadiums down to 8. There's been lots of promises on development of a Metro (train) system as well as other forms of public transportation, but nothing has really got off the ground. The new Hamad International Airport has just opened a few weeks back after a TWO YEAR delay. These types of delays are very typical of the region. Gross mismanagement and negligence at every step of a project. Huge questions remain as to how Qatar will keep up on deadlines necessary for the Cup to happen.
Winter Cup / Sponsors / Euro Leagues:
As has been mentioned, people have said the Cup should be moved to winter. Temps here are actually very pleasant during winter months, but there are a whole host of issues with that. #1 The acutal bidding process that Qatar won over other nations was for a traditional summer tournament. If the WC is requested to move to the winter, the other bidding nations could cry foul and demand it to be rebid (new bid for a winter cup).
#2 The biggest factor in this would be a massive impact on sponsors. In the USA, for example, Fox News paid nearly half a billion dollars for exclusive rights to the 2018 and 2022 World Cup. This was also under the assumption of a normal summer cup. Fox does NOT want to compete WC viewership directly with the regular NFL season.
#3 Moving to a winter WC would also directly clash with European Football league schedules and therefore their own Euro league sponsors.
Culture Issues:
Some of the bigger issues I have yet to see addressed properly are to do with Qatar's culture. As it stands, drinking is restricted to hotel bars only. There is only 1 shop in the country that sells alcohol for home / personal consumption but you need to have a Work Visa with sponsor (employer) permission. Drinking in public is outright illegal and can get you thrown in jail / deported. For the World Cup, they have said there will be "Fan Zones" outside of the stadiums for fans to drink. As of right now, there is no alcohol to be consumed within the stadiums. How the hell do they expect this to fly??? Especially considering Budweiser has announced they are sponsoring 2018 and 2022 World Cups!
Another major issue is the fact that homosexuality is illegal in Qatar. Considering the World Cup's massive draw of all nationalities, cultures, and personalities, there is sure to be some LGBT public displays that would currently have people thrown in jail / deported. No comment has been given on how this will be handled during the cup.
There are still a million other issues from modern slavery to bribery as to why Qatar should be stripped of the cup. Just figured I would throw a few facts out there for people. There's quite a bit more to discuss, so hit me with any questions and I can give you the best answers I can. For the record, I have friends (American and Euro) who are working for Qatar 2022 here and I get quite a bit of the gossip.
PS. Go team USA!!
Quineloe
Ahn'Qiraj Raider
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the new Airport BER was supposed to open in 2010. Our governmental incompetence and bureaucracy is superior to anyone elses.
Quineloe
Ahn'Qiraj Raider
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Kahn and others repeatedly praised him before the game and then he does this shit, hilarious.
fucking hell we might lose this.
Intrinsic
Person of Whiteness
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C'mon laying on the ground writhing while holding your ankle is a universal language. I kid, I kid.
Asked the same question this weekend and all we could come up with was through emphatic hand gestures and pointing, and since it generally follows some action on the pitch I don't think you need real specific verbs and adjectives to get your point across. Plus tone and everything else... cussing is kind of universal in ways.
Neki
Molten Core Raider
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I thought he was given a new 4 year contract at the start of the tournament?
He's not doing that bad of a job, why you dislike him so much?
Asshat Brando
Potato del Grande
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Don't understand why they are letting someone play with a maxi pad on their head.....
Howedes and Mustafi as Full Backs, Low has finally lost it as Lahm is way better than either and then you can bring in a actually good midfielder as well. Stupid....
Howedes and Mustafi as Full Backs, Low has finally lost it as Lahm is way better than either and then you can bring in a actually good midfielder as well. Stupid....
Quineloe
Ahn'Qiraj Raider
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He's been ignoring one of our best strikers for years (Stefan Kie?ling), instead insisting on taking Grandpa Klose along (and then not even using him).
He's constantly switching the defense around with no regard as to what positions the players are best at, and I think today he found the worst defense formation you can build with these players.
Every single tournament, he talks the players down until their spirits break, no matter how well they've performed. After a great game they are suddenly timid in the next round and let the enemy walk over them. This time, he managed to achieve this in the round of 16 against Algiers already.
I doubt the new contract would survive being eliminated in RO16. He won't be fired, that's not how the DFB does it, but he'll be hung out to dry in the media fires until he resigns himself, that's what they did with Ribbeck when we were eliminated in 2000.