The Game's Gone

[villa4europe]

43 minutes ago, Davkaus said:

They've just bought the world cup in plain sight and nobody seems to care

But they've bought it with cash over the table rather than under it 

Exactly how it should be

The corrupt shady side of fifa was only part of the problem, the openly and greedy part of them which is legitimate within their own rules and echoed by the principles of every other football governing body so will never be held accountable is going nowhere 

[bobzy]

18 hours ago, Davkaus said:

They've just bought the world cup in plain sight and nobody seems to care

Aren't they the only "bidder" anyway?

 

Same with the Qatar World Cup.  There'll be some fuss, but basically everyone will watch it because no-one really cares at all.

[osmark86]

Good little read about the doom & gloom of modern football:

https://luketmurphy.medium.com/nottingham-forest-the-end-of-history-and-the-last-fan-cd380863c74e

Quote

The Spanish have a saying. “I kill a dog and you call me a dog killer.” As fans of Nottingham Forest find their club themselves labelled “Rule-Breakers”, locked in the stocks and stripped of their points for overspending during the last accountancy window they may find the ironic phrase useful. Now ‘Rule-Breakers’ precedes their name as if it is something connected to their identity forever.

 

[Davkaus]

54 minutes ago, bobzy said:

Aren't they the only "bidder" anyway?

Because it was rigged so that most of the world was ineligible.

I have little doubt that the world cup before the one they've bought was only awarded to countries across 3 continents so that those 3 continents had "their turn" so it could go to one of the oil money countries again ahead of schedule.

They also lowered the requirements so that Saudi Arabia would find it easier to bid and significantly curtailed the bidding window so there was less time for rival bids.

Edited April 26 by Davkaus

[Davkaus]

Decent article on it here. You're absolutely right that 99.999% of people won't care and will still watch though, @bobzy

Infantino had been working on enabling this tournament for years, presumably for no reason other than he thinks that Saudi Arabia is a wonderful country, and it's a great opportunity to spread the love of football in what will be a fun filled festival of football in a progressive nation that welcomes everyone. 

It's a much longer article, I've trimmed it down to the relevant bit. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/15/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-fifa-world-cup.html

Quote

In 2018, for instance, Mr. Infantino stunned members of FIFA’s board by demanding permission to close a deal for new competitions with investors whose identity he refused to reveal. (After the deal collapsed, it emerged that the group behind the offer, SoftBank, counted Saudi Arabia among its biggest backers.) Three years later, Mr. Infantino infuriated many in soccer by saying FIFA would study a proposal — offered by Saudi Arabia’s federation — to hold the World Cup every two years. (The unpopular concept was shelved after a furious response.)

Despite those failures, the relationship between Mr. Infantino and Saudi Arabia only grew closer. He has frequently promoted its events on social media, and in 2021 he starred in a video released by its ministry of sports. In August 2022, he and Prince Mohammed shared a suite at a boxing match in Jeddah. Months later, the FIFA president repaid the favor at the opening game of the World Cup in Qatar. Only last month, the men were photographed sitting side by side at yet another event in Riyadh.

At the same time, Mr. Infantino was also engaging in private diplomacy that benefited Saudi Arabia’s World Cup ambitions.

After Italy passed on partnering on a World Cup bid, Saudi Arabia approached Greece with the offer, and Mr. Infantino discussed the idea with the Greek prime minister on the sidelines of a U.N. meeting in September 2021. But that idea was withdrawn after Morocco joined forces with Spain and Portugal in a potentially unbeatable bid for the 2030 World Cup.

Instead, Saudi Arabia shifted its focus. Realizing the Spain-Portugal-Morocco proposal would probably succeed over an unlikely four-nation offer from South America, the Saudis realized they could benefit from FIFA rules that would bar countries from Europe and Africa from challenging for the 2034 tournament when that bidding process began.

Then FIFA made two more curious moves.

The first three games of the 2030 World Cup, it suddenly announced, would be played in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay as a celebration of the World Cup’s centenary. (The first World Cup was played in Uruguay in 1930.) That brought South America into the Portugal-Spain-Morocco bid — and eliminated yet another continent from the eligible bidders for 2034.

But with the 2030 hosts sorted, FIFA unexpectedly said that it was bringing forward the bid process for the 2034 tournament by at least three years, limiting the countries who could bid for it in ways that favored the Saudi bid, and planning to complete it in what for most countries represented an impossible timeline: Interested nations were given only 25 days to express their intent, and only a few weeks more to submit official bids, which typically require significant government backing.

Mr. Infantino claimed there had been “widespread consultation” on the decision. But Ms. Klaveness, the president of the Norway federation, said she only learned of it when the official news release went out, and Australian soccer’s chief executive said the changes “did catch us a little bit by surprise.”

Among those not surprised? Saudi Arabia. Within minutes, it released a statement, attributed to Prince Mohammed, that it would bid for 2034. A few hours later, the head of Asian soccer declared the Saudi effort would have the full support of his entire membership.

Days later, Mr. Infantino left little doubt about the outcome he favored. At a summit of Asian soccer officials in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and again during an online meeting of many of the same leaders a week later, the FIFA president urged the Asian confederation — which includes Australia — “to be united for the 2034 World Cup.” The message was not explicit. But it was received.

Indonesia, which only a week earlier had talked of bidding, dropped its plan. Australia, the only potential bidder left, pulled out hours before the deadline. Its top official, James Johnson, later said his country had concluded that any proposal stood no chance against a rival with such powerful public support. “The numbers,” he said, “are stacked against us.”

 

 

They got what they paid for, and now the money is flowing to reward their FIFA lapdogs.

The last FIFA corruption scandal saw law enforcement cut off the head, but the corruption ran much deeper than that.

[bobzy]

2 hours ago, osmark86 said:

Good little read about the doom & gloom of modern football:

https://luketmurphy.medium.com/nottingham-forest-the-end-of-history-and-the-last-fan-cd380863c74e

That’s really good, actually, and succinctly covers a lot of what I feel about the modern game. 

[villa89]

Quote

EFL Cup matches will be scheduled in weeks where European competitions take place, so it is possible the clubs involved on both fronts - more likely to be those involved in the Europa League and Conference League - will have two midweek games.

Just read that. Basically teams in Europe will all just bin off the league cup. Not long before it's scrapped now. 

[villa4europe]

9 minutes ago, villa89 said:

Just read that. Basically teams in Europe will all just bin off the league cup. Not long before it's scrapped now. 

For me personally that's exactly the shot in the arm the LC needs

The winner gets a European place, the European teams aren't in it, means a new European team every season 

That and making it finished by Xmas like they do up north

If villa were in it and didn't go all out for it I'd be absolutely fuming, "big" clubs should be well up for it 

[imavillan]

 

[sne]

Quote

NBC Sports ‘push’ for 39th Premier League game in USA with Masters and Co. ‘very open’

NBC Sports are in talks to host Premier League games in the United States, with Richard Masters and Co. said to be “very receptive” to the idea.

Back in 2008, the Premier League attempted to introduce a 39th round of fixtures. These games would have been played across the world but they were forced to scrap these plans amid huge backlash.

Yet, according to NBC Sports’ president of acquisitions and partnerships – Jon Millar – these plans are now back on the table.

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Premier League chief Richard Masters caused a stir last month when admitting that “the door looks ajar for matches abroad” and in an interview with The Athletic, Millar has discussed these proposals in detail.

NBC has been working with the Premier League since 2013 and they are one of the division’s leading partners as they contribute huge funds to contribute to the growth of the division.

“They’ve been very open and receptive to listening to me…”

When asked whether he would be keen to hold Premier League games in the United States, Millar answered:  “Very much so. And this is a point that we’ve had conversations with the Premier League and they’ve been very open and receptive to listening to me.”

https://www.football365.com/news/nbc-sports-push-39th-premier-league-game-usa-masters-co-very-open

[villa4europe]

Same as last week - the 39th element of it kills it before it even begins 

A regular game will happen one day though 

It'll be the same set up as the NFL international series

[Davkaus]

On 24/04/2024 at 15:13, Davkaus said:

Been quite a while since we tried that, with that 39th game BS, but when I look at the fan parks they have set up over there just to turn up and watch the PL among other fans...yeah, it'll probably happen

 

Even I'm shocked that this came up again quite so soon

[fightoffyour]

How about a 39th game for the Sky 6 only but it doesn't count towards the league unless Man Utd need the points to avoid relegation

[sne]

Just play the Charity Shield that no one cares about anyway in whatever nation state pays the most. Be it the US, Saudi, Qatar or North Korea. Guess they will never trump the money the FA makes from Wembley.

[Zatman]

26 minutes ago, fightoffyour said:

How about a 39th game for the Sky 6 only but it doesn't count towards the league unless Man Utd need the points to avoid relegation

Dont think would give points for a loss

[Zatman]

3 minutes ago, sne said:

Just play the Charity Shield that no one cares about anyway in whatever nation state pays the most. Be it the US, Saudi, Qatar or North Korea. Guess they will never trump the money the FA makes from Wembley.

Could go the La Liga way and invite all the Sky 6 and maybe have a mini league in Qatar

[duke313]

43 minutes ago, villa4europe said:

Same as last week - the 39th element of it kills it before it even begins 

A regular game will happen one day though 

It'll be the same set up as the NFL international series

Who decides what game?  Does the team that lose their home advantage have a say?

[Zatman]

2 minutes ago, duke313 said:

Who decides what game?  Does the team that lose their home advantage have a say?

Its up to the home team. Think was Girona were willing to give away a home game vs Barcelona a few years back to play it in US

Assuming is a bigger payoff for them

[villa89]

5 hours ago, Zatman said:

Its up to the home team. Think was Girona were willing to give away a home game vs Barcelona a few years back to play it in US

Assuming is a bigger payoff for them

Plenty of premier league teams will give up a home game in exchange for American dollars. It's only a matter of time before all 20 clubs have to have one home game abroad. 

[GlobalVillan]

I'm sure Burnley v Wolves will pack out pubs and bars of Lansing, Michigan before the inevitable scramble for match tickets.