The future of FIFA World Cup

With the success of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa which broke barriers and records, several countries are now bidding to organize and host the 2018 and 2022 editions.

Eleven bids were submitted in 2009, covering 13 nations, with two joint bids: Belgium-Netherlands and Portugal-Spain. Mexico also submitted a bid, but withdrew theirs in 2009, while Indonesia had their bid rejected for lack of government support.

For 2018 and 2022

England

FIFA President Sepp Blatter has said he would welcome a 2018 bid from "the homeland of football." England has previously hosted the 1966 World Cup which it won and Euro '96, as well as previously bidding for the 2006 World Cup. Should England succeed, it would be the sixth nation to host the World Cup for a second time.

United States

With all good audience results, soccer gaining more popularity and supported by the financial and attendance records of previous hosted 1994 FIFA World Cup, the United States are going to be a big England's competitor for the 2018 bidding. The US Soccer has submitted two bids: one for 2018 and in case they don't get it, another for 2022. The 18 host cities were already chosen: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle, Tampa, and Washington DC.

Russia

Russia comes strong for the bidding due to the FIFA's rotation policy. However, they are not as well structured as the USA and England, but the country is ready to spend some $10 billion on the tournament, especially to build stadiums following FIFA standards. Russia hopes to have five stadiums fit to host World Cup matches ready by 2013, which will be used for the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Portugal and Spain

The joint-venture consists in Spain leading a 12-stadium project with eight of the venues, and the opening and final games would be held in Lisbon and Madrid, respectively. Spain has previously hosted the 1982 World Cup, while Portugal organized the Euro 2004. If the Portuguese-Spanish joint bid succeeds, Spain would become the sixth nation to host the World Cup for a second time.

 

Belgium and the Netherlands

Using the same model as per Portugal and Spain, Belgium and Netherlands would share the building of stadiums which comply with FIFA standards. Luxembourg will also help in the World Cup organization in case the bid is the winner, however it will not host any game neither be automatically qualified for the event.

 

 

 

For 2022 only

Australia

Initially Australia confirmed a bid for 2018, which was eventually withdrew months later. One possible stumbling block to the bid is that almost all of Australia's largest stadiums are used by other major Australian sports (Australian Football and Rugby) whose domestic seasons overlap with the World Cup. Australia has hosted several tournaments: U-20 Soccer World Cup, 2000 Summer Olympics, 2003 Rugby World Cup among others.

 

Japan

Japan is bidding to become the first Asian country to host the World Cup twice; they co-host the 2002 World Cup with South Korea. They have also withdrew the bid for 2018 and analysts say that their chances for 2022 are very low as well.

 

South Korea

As their previous partner of 2002 World Cup, South Korea has put forth an offer to host the 2022 edition. Due to the rotation policy and FIFA willing to take soccer to places that it needs to be developed, the likelihood is not good for South Korea's (and Japan's) bid.

 

 

Qatar

Qatar is attempting to become the first Arab nation to host the World Cup. Qatar is planning to promote this bid as an Arab unity bid and hope to draw on support from the entire Arab world, and are positioning this as an opportunity to bridge the gap between the Arab and Western worlds. Some concerns with Qatar's bid deal with the extreme temperatures especially in June and July, but according to them, this is not a problem at all, stadiums with controlled temperature will be built, once they win the bid for 2022.

Canada Soccer Association was also willing to pull together a bid for 2022 edition. With the expectation that the United States will land the 2018 or 2022 event, while other continents will also get to host it as it rotates from one region to another, they decided that it does not worth to move forward with an official bid. However, the 2015 Women's World Cup is more likely.

Whether Canada's chances to host or not a World Cup is low, I do hope see Canada team being part of the 32 nations in Brazil 2014.

About Paulo Porto

World Cup Déjà Vu

Due presumably to this morning's thunderstorm and the inconvenient schedule I ended up watching the Mexico-Uruguay game in an empty pub over a cup of coffee and Irish breakfast, which I couldn't finish after losing my appetite two minutes before half-time.  As I sat among the empty tables of the Brazen Head staring at the television I started thinking about previous world cups and the many similarities between them and the current World Cup in South Africa.

The most notable of these similarities lies in the grouping of teams in England 1966 and South Africa 2010.  Forty-four years ago, Group 1 was also composed of the host nation (England), Uruguay, France, and Mexico.  In that occasion England and Uruguay advanced while Mexico took the third spot of the group.  Today Mexico came close to dropping to that third place again.  Fortunately for all of us Mexican followers, that was not the case and Mexico will play the round of 16.

The next and most obvious resemblance is Mexico's rival in the next stage of the tournament: Argentina.  Four years ago in Germany Mexico advanced as second place with one win, one draw and one loss (huh...) to face Argentina and be defeated with the best goal of that World Cup.  I will not make any predictions on whether Mexico can change the outcome and be the one to score that decisive goal on Sunday because we all know what happens with my predictions (and if you don't just read my entry from last night).

In my humble opinion, the most unfortunate similarity to previous world cups is the reappearance of Oscar Perez (last seen in Korea-Japan 2002 under the management of Javier Aguirre) and that of Guillermo Franco (called to Germany 2006 by Antonio Lavolpe).  It is disappointing to see coaches ignoring the past and repeating these kind of mistakes.  I am aware that Aguirre is the coach and he is the one who makes decisions (as he so frequently reminds everyone), but simply due to curiosity I have tried to understand his reasoning and the only explanation that seems logical is that of a very strong friendship with the mentioned players.  In any case, I hope they can prove me wrong on Sunday and surprise the world with a positive result against the Argentinians. 

Mexico 2 - 0 Uruguay

No, you haven't missed the match.  This is simply an average of the predictions that people offered today in anticipation for tomorrow's closing game of group A.  The predictions in this highly informal survey ranged from 0-0 to 3-0 in favour of Mexico where the most popular score was a 1-0.  Will this result come true?  I definitely hope so.

What is certain is that Mexico's confidence and spirit have grown significantly after defeating one-time champions, France.  If Mexico can continue to control the ball and keep its possession as they did last Thursday then we'll be guaranteed a very entertaining match.  Although a tie will serve both teams in advancing to the round of 16, it is unlikely that we will see an uneventful match as anyone would prefer not to have to face Argentina immediately. Aguirre will need to modify his initial line-up with the absence of Efrain Juarez and Carlos Vela.  "Chicharito" Hernandez and Pablo Barrera have already proven that they are ready and deserve a spot in the starting eleven.

The history of this game also gives Mexico a slight advantage: out of 17 games Mexico has won 10 and Uruguay only 7.  Their most recent encounter ended in a 3-1 victory for the Mexicans in Copa America 2007.  Of course, Tuesday at 10 o'clock EDT this will all be irrelevant and a new figure will enter the statistics.

I have decided to watch the game at the Brazen Head in Liberty Village (165 East Liberty Street).  If you happen to work/live in the area and are able to take the time off from work or other commitments please come by and show your support.

I would like to close this short blog entry by extending my sympathy to all French fans in Toronto and elsewhere.  The highly unprofessional behaviour of the French national players is sad to observe and disappointing to all of us who follow this magnificent sport.  I sincerely hope that "Les Bleus" realize that they are no longer 5 years old, that they are professional soccer players, and that tomorrow they give their supporters a performance that they deserve.

About Mauricio Sierra

How to pick a European winner 101

With the recent spate of surprising results

• Italy : Paraguay - 1:1
• Mexico : France - 2:0
• Spain : Switzerland - 0:1
• Serbia : Germany - 1:0
• Greece : Nigeria - 2:1 (If the Greeks thought that they could actually win a match, then there must have been some ouzo in that tsatsiki)

I've determined a formula on figuring out whether a European team will win their next group match. Take the Euro, then determine a country's relative GDP in comparison to overall European economy. The higher the relative GDP, the lower is that country's chance of winning a match.

How else can one explain Germany losing to Serbia and the Greeks winning anything but the lottery? :D

If one doesn't like this theory of football predictive analytics, I have heard that Maggie the Monkey is looking for work - she is excellent in hockey picks, stock analysis and manages Hedge Funds in her spare time.

BTW what a comeback! Who knew the Americans had that spirit! Best game of the World Cup so far but Honduras isn't looking that bad right, are they? 

About Rishi Sankar

No Surprises in a Slow Start for Group A

Unfortunately, I cannot write a cheerful blog today; Mexico's rescued tie in the opening match this morning felt more like a loss for Mexican fans after all the expectations.  South Africa played a great game, defending very well and never losing their concentration.  Mexico was unable to convert a 65% ball possession into a historical first triumph over the host nation in an inaugural match.  Although disappointed by the final result, I believe the result was a fair one, judging by both teams' performance today.

Individually, I would highlight Giovanni dos Santos's outstanding performance in the first game.  Gio played a fantastic game, carrying the team forward, creating opportunities for Mexico and attempting a fabulous shot to the upper corner which was saved by South Africa's goal keeper, Khune, who also had a notable game.  It is very comforting to see that Gio did not allow his brother's, Jonathan dos Santos, departure from the team to affect his performance.

In contrast to Giovanni's performance, Franco had a mediocre appearance on the pitch today, posing no threat whatsoever to the South African net.  The Argentinian-born player's lack of ideas and creativity has always affected Mexico's ability to get on the scoreboard, and today was no exception.

Another less-than-perfect performance for Mexico today was that of goalkeeper's Oscar Perez.  Although South Africa's first goal derived from a defensive mistake, Perez had the opportunity to close down Tshabalala and force a quicker and less accurate shot from the winger.  His indecisiveness during the play contradicts Aguirre's arguments to start him in goal over Guillermo Ochoa.

I believe the general feeling of Mexican fans is a sense of disappointment towards Javier Aguirre's decision to bench young players, such as Javier Hernandez and Guillermo Ochoa, in favour of older, "more experienced" players who continue to hinder Mexico's performance.

The tie in the other match of Group A between France and Uruguay has set up some very interesting games for next week.

What do you think?  How do you feel about today's game?

Where will you be cheering for Mexico?

 The inauguration of South Africa 2010 is very close and I'm sure most of you already have plans to watch the opening match on Friday.

If you will be watching the game (and supporting Mexico) in a public venue in Toronto please comment on this post and let us know where you plan to be.  This will allow others to find a great spot to watch the game in the company of other Mexican fans.

Unfortunately, I will not be in Toronto for this game, but I will post my plans for upcoming games.

¡¡¡Vamos México!!!

About Mauricio Sierra

Can Aguirre and his men change World Cup history?

In just over 72 hours the Mexican national team will have the honour of opening the 2010 FIFA World Cup against the host nation, South Africa.  It is an honour to which Mexico is not unaccustomed, but an honour that weighs down very heavily on their odds.  A quick review of World Cup history can reveal that Mexico has all odds against it as we near the inauguration of South Africa 2010.

Since the World Cup began in Uruguay 1930, Mexico has played 3 opening games (including Uruguay 1930 against France) and a total of 6 games in the first day of the competition.  Out of these 6 games Mexico has not won a single one and, in fact, their best result was in Mexico 1970 in the opening game against the Soviet Union in which they obtained a 0-0 draw. 

The other five games ended in a defeat for the Mexican team.  If this weren't enough, let's consider the number of times that any host nation has lost their first game in a World Cup: 0!  Not even the Americans, who were disqualified in the first round of USA 1994, lost their first game (they tied 1-1 against Switzerland).

Despite the very strong historical evidence, there is an astonishing sense of enthusiasm, confidence and high hopes among the Mexican community that this year's national team may be the first in World Cup history to defeat the host nation in an inaugural match... this could make up for being the first team to ever score an own goal in a World Cup. 

This confidence is founded mainly upon the 66-spot gap in the FIFA team ranking (Mexico ranked at 17th place and South Africa ranked at 83rd), Mexico's last week's 2-1 win over defending World Cup Champions Italy, as well as the hype built up over the past couple of years by the Mexican media.

We cannot ignore the facts, and Mexican coach Javier Aguirre and his 11 chosen men for Friday have a tremendous challenge ahead of them.  For now, all I can say is "¡Sí se puede!" (loosely translated as "Yes, it can be done!").

About Mauricio Sierra

Spanish language games on TLN

I would assume that all Spanish speakers out there already know, but it’s still worth mentioning. TLN will be broadcasting all World Cup games in Spanish and/or Italian languages. According to the website it is the first time ever that all World Cup games will be broadcast in Spanish and Italian in Canada.

They will also replay a “Feature Match” at 7p.m.

Check out TLN’s website here.

And here is a complete schedule of the games and broadcast language.

About Alejandro Rossano