91Èȱ¬

I really hope England can host the world cup in my lifetime. I watched Euro 96 on the telly and we did a great job. Seeing how Russia would host the world cup be interesting if England can't get it. Spain wouldn't be too bad but Portugal only hosted the Euro's a few years ago!

Let us host it FIFA, you know you want to!!

Whats with the English press? They always seem the do something like this. Are they that money driven that they don't care how their stories could affect England? Or is it the FA's fault for failing to bring them on board?

Any losing bid, be it England, Russia, Spain, Australia - whoever - has every right to make FIFA's life very difficult after the vote is over. I can't think of how this bidding process could have been more badly managed, save perhaps including the 2026 host country in there as well. If a newspaper expose isn't going to force FIFA to clean up its act, perhaps a slew of court cases will instead.

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It would be an utter travesty if England don't get the World Cup in 2018. England Have world-class stadia with a massive reputation - and Russia? They failed to qualify for the World Cup. And I can't name any of there stadia.

I wrote England's bid off before last Christmas, so none of this bothers me very much. As long as they don't give it to Russia, which would be a disaster to rival the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

I cannot believe that a legitimate attempt to spot and report corruption in the bdding process by the English press should have a negative affect on England's bid. If this does affect those who vote then they have no right to be voting at all.

The England bid is clearly the best one. Spain and Portugal is a joint bid, something which should be banned as it has a negative affect on the draw for the tournament as both hosts have to be seeded (remember Japan/South Korea?) and Russia have to host games on plastic pitches (another thing that should be banned). England have the stadiums, the history and infrastructure for a great tournament.

If England finish third in the vote then it will be quite obvious that either corruption was involved or those who voted didn't like the press reports. Either way it would be a disgrace and if it happens England should withdraw from FIFA and as inventors of the sport should take it with us. A court case over ownership of the sport would clearly see the inventors win and result in FIFA becoming defunct and about time too.

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I don't quite understand: 'England are third in the race behind Spain and Portugal's joint bid and Russia' How do you know this David..what actual proof exists?

Exactly why does an 'alleged voting alliance between Spain/Portugal and Qatar who are bidding for the 2022 World Cup' make England's chances any slimmer when it was also reported an 'ALLEDGED' similar pact was made between England and the U.S and concacaf?

How would Fifa and Sepp Blatter justify a World Cup returning to a dual hosting situation when he previously suggested it was the wrong way to go?

Get real everyone.
Do you h-o-n-e-s-t-l-y see Brazil playing in Sunderland, Argentina turning it on in Milton Keynes, the Italians in Bristol and the Germans in, well...Plymouth?
Think on it carefully 'cos I have some bad news for you. It ain't ever gonna happen. More chance of England winning the World Cup (like...NONE) that ever hosting it in our worn-out nation.
The truth hurts eh?

Are you suggesting that the only way England will be in a better position to host the 2018 World Cup is through scandal elsewhere?

You work for the 91Èȱ¬ - so what do you think about Panorama doing a programme so close to the decision date?

In the case of the Sunday Times do they really have to resort to false undercover journalism? What happened to investigative journalism?

Why do our media think they are whiter than white and so claim the moral high ground?

All the media (including the 91Èȱ¬) has done is kill off England’s 2018 chances….

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It is such a shame that it looks like we will not host the World Cup again any time soon (1966 was a long time ago now!), when we have the perfect stadia and infrastructure to make it a success, mainly due to the political machinations of the FIFA men involved in the vote.

How can our press uncovering corruption reflect badly on our bid? Surely it should just reflect badly on those involved in the corruption and show that, as a country, we will not stand for it?

Time for pressure to be brought to bear to relieve Blatter of his post and overhaul FIFA from top to bottom - which, of course, won't happen!

@Mike.

What's with the miserable pessimism? What is it about this country that made you so unhappy that you're prepared to deride it so readily. I live abroad and watching people who have it so good, whine so incessantly, is saddening. Be proud you're English.

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The bookmakers still have England narrowly 2nd, and Spain 3rd, so I wasn't sure where the bit about England being 3rd in the race comes from.

Although if Eurovision is anything to go by, England are probably 4th favourites.

@ Mike.

Okay, now you're in troll territory and it's no longer worth addressing you.

@ Dogless.

Hey Dogless, so you quit the UK then matey? Must have something to do with the fact that the place is sliding into terminal decline. If you think it's a great place to live, I suggest you come back as soon as perhaps? What's to be proud about in being English anyway? Watching the drunk Brit yobs on holidays perhaps? Having 5 million out of work? Being taxed to death on every last £ you can earn? Young families with no chance of ever owning their own homes? Face it, the UK has a great future...behind it.

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I don't understand.one of the elementary parts of creating a report is stating your sources.you can't just say something like "England are third in the race..." without any justification or source whatsoever.Even reading papers like The Sun, you notice that they nearly always quote their sources.
Will be interesting in how the excessive media coverage will affect our bid (don't place all the blame on the Sunday Times, nearly all the media outlets went crazy with the story).
"...might give England a slim chance of getting back into the contest." Similarly to my point above, you have absolutely no way of knowing how slim England's chances are, without any sources (or have you chosen not to state them?).
Another bit of user feedback-it would be nice for you to reply to some of the comments on here Mr Bond. Helps to keep in touch with readers, which clearly is becoming ever more important, judging by many comments (including my own) on your blogs/reports/articles.

With all due respect David I think you're guessing just as much as anyone else when you say "England are third in the race behind Spain and Portugal's joint bid and Russia."

The beauty of a secret ballot process for any organization is that at the end of the day it can construct whatever argument it wants for public consumption to justify a decision it has made amongst its members. This doesn't mean its members necessarily have all the same opinions and starting positions in the selection decision but what it does mean is that the selection CRITERIA do not necessarily bear any relation to what the public (or even the press or any so-called "insiders") think they are or have been told they are.

This also applies to events that occur along the way that might change committee members' opinions or votes. For example, I have a sneaking suspicion that the "backlash effect" of the English press may have little or no impact on the bid decision because the committee members are basing their decision on what they consider are the truly important criteria. Now, I'm not saying this means England still have a great chance of winning the bid because I (and I contest very few others) really know what the most important criteria are.

Here's ultimately what I mean. If the most important selection criteria ends up being (or always was) a philosophical one based on allowing a new country to host the World Cup then it doesn't matter about any gaffs that Russia makes during the process - RUSSIA WILL WIN.

But if the most important selection criteria ends up being (or always was) most profitable then it doesn't matter about any gaffs that England makes during the process - ENGLAND WILL WIN.

Of course there are other criteria that could end up driving the decision but the point is that in a secret ballot process the committee will make up their mind based on fundamental philosophical viewpoints and not on the latest day to day events be they good or bad for any of the bidders.

On December 2nd the 2018 World Cup will be awarded to Country X for Reason Y and if you ask me I'd say it's greater than a 90% chance that X and Y are known this very moment. It's simple philosophy.

@Mike
You call a spade a spade, fair dues to you.

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Mike.You don't like the UK, so don't live here.let other people make the decision for themselves.There is that great idiom "grin and bear it".
Did FIFA not release a press statement saying that our bid has been unaffected by this? Though I wouldn't actually believe it..

FIFA are a joke. The whole process has been a joke.

if I were a member of FIFA I would vote for the Netherlands just to mess with everyone

Seeing as Brazil have already played in Derby and at the Emirates I don't know what one guys on about + seeing as we've got some of the best stadiums in the world (the Emirates, Stamford Bridge, Old Trafford, Anfield, SJP as some major venues) then that should be one of the biggest incentives and countries would kill to play at some of those, maybe not SJP but still

Spain/Port wouldn't be too bad to host the WC + their climate is a lot better and considering our usual summer we'll involve the usual 1 week of sun then the rest cats and dogs

Not being english I think the only thing that stops England getting the World Cup is the british press. England has the footballing tradition and the infraestructure, despite of one of you who says is a joke, I lived in the UK an it is not (maybe for Japan or Germany) but for the rest of the world is great. Spain/Portugal looks good, but Spain hosted in 1982 and there are only 2 Portugal cities in the bid. Russia looks interesting, but I think FIFA wants to go to with a safe bid in terms of getting done things on time, because SA and Brazil are kind of a gamble, and with the problems that Ukraine/Poland has had is better to play it safe.

Do you think England will have to offer any incentives or gifts to FIFA to smooth the bid for them? Also, what was the nature of the deal done between England and USA? Since public spend is involved in the bid might these issues be pursued by journalists? Should be open to scrutiny? Little point in some making criticisms of FIFA if you are also playing the game.

#26
Should everyone who complains about the UK and not being a flag-wrapper leave? Are you going to fund relocation?

am i missing the point. I wouldn't be upset if England lose the bid, to oust corruption is the moral high ground. Spain, Portugal or Russia can host, but if you cheated to gain what you wanted then the quilt sit's with you.

I've been repeatedly surprised by David Bond's comments - and indeed others on this site - downplaying the chances of england winning the 2018 bid. According to most of the remarks on this site, england would be third favourites to win the bid - perhaps you guys know something that every other professional gambler in the world doesn't?! Over the last few months, england have been solid favourites with the bookmakers to win, and even this week, russia are only marginal favourites (currently at 5/6 or evens) with england at around evens, and spain/portugal as long as 8/1 (those odds courtesy of oddschecker). (edit - hudjer makes a reference to this in an above post too) If you're so sure that england can't win, i'd suggest that you rush down to the bookies pronto and lump your wages on the other contenders. Personally, i'm waiting to see decent odds on usa winning the vote for 2022; not because i'd like to see them win it (i wouldn't - i'd like an excuse to visit korea, or japan again), but because of politics - some in fifa would like a china bid for 2026, which would rule out an asian bid winning in 2018.
cheers!
steve

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Just wanted to say after 3 attempts at posting were removed due to 'breaking the house rules' that I didn't realise that this level of censorship was one of the chinese exports we've heard so much about!

I will never post on the 91Èȱ¬ again... very disappointed.

Being selfish and as an expat construction manager I want Russia and Qatar to win for the work it will bring! However I disagree totally with joint bids especially when they involve two countries more than capable in holding the event on their own. As for some peoples comments regarding the Uk transport being a joke they could not be more wrong. It is a common misconception that we are a global laughing stock. In fact it is the aim of most countries to achieve the sort of extensive coverage we have in the UK. It is certainly far better than any of the other bidding nations; indeed in most of Russia public transport is little more than a twenty year old mini van. I think one of the most ridiculous situations these bids give us is that we have ended up with a lot of strong bids for 2018 and poor options for 2022. The mere fact that Qatar is a serious contender for 2022 emphasis this point; as someone currently living in Doha I can assure u this is not the place to hold any large tournament especially in the summer.

How on earth doe sanyone know, because lets remember this is a vote, that the England bid is third?? That's surely impossible?? To make such claims is incredible despite the fact that most of FIFA obviously do not like England for some reason or other. Could you next week do a blog on the upcoming lottery results please Mr Bond!!

More of a concern for me is the British newspaper (despite being owned by a US company) not realising that they're damaging our bid with their antics, and then the 91Èȱ¬ above, saying that there's will be damage done by an upcoming Panorama programme, which is going to be aired just before voting.......WHY??? Can we not delay this until AFTER the voting has occurred?? If it's not going to make a difference to the voting, and in fact make the situation worse on Englands bid, then why hasn't someone stopped to think, "Hang on a minute, is this really the right moment to be pouinting all this stuff out??".

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How can England 2018 be blamed for English newspapers actions? It's even more sickening since those newspapers are fighting against corruption and exposing FIFA voting shortcomings. You'd expect a praise from FIFA and Sepp Blatter towards British newspapers as they're helping FIFA to sort out bad guys. Instead, they get sticks. Makes one wonder why Blatter and Co. are so incensed!? Why are they sympatising with crooks and corrupt officials and not with truth-discoverers!? Reminds me of classic Hollywood movie: an devout journalist exposes criminal ring inside police department and reports to a police department's chief, only to realise that chief himself is a part of the ring.

David

Is there any point in this story as a blog? Anything which could be said to be remotely 'cutting to the chase' on this whole issue will fall foul of moderation. That's not to say that I don't understand why, at this perhaps delicate time, that words are being chosen carefully and only guarded opinions being given.

Unusually for me, I look forward to the media's reaction if England do not get the world cup. At that point, there could be an equivalent of all hell breaking loose! At the same time of course, if England do win, any media silence on issues that they may otherwise exploit might also be telling about people falling in line.

Whatever happened to the morals of the people of this country? When footballers cheat on their wives and girlfriends its all ‘’so what, what they do in their private life doesn’t matter, everyone does it’’ blah blah blah.

Now we have people who are criticising the national press because they are uncovering possible corruption in the organisation that runs the biggest sport in the world.

Give me a choice between holding a World Cup, or having a corrupt free sport, I know which one I would choose.

But then again, maybe my parents where wrong to bring me up teaching me about honesty and morality.

Ask who wins if the early favorite drops out the back, looks beaten coming into the straight but gets a clear run to the winning post?

11. At 8:58pm on 11 Nov 2010, Mike wrote:

Get real everyone.
Do you h-o-n-e-s-t-l-y see Brazil playing in Sunderland, Argentina turning it on in Milton Keynes, the Italians in Bristol and the Germans in, well...Plymouth?
Think on it carefully 'cos I have some bad news for you. It ain't ever gonna happen. More chance of England winning the World Cup (like...NONE) that ever hosting it in our worn-out nation.
The truth hurts eh?

CLOWN!!!!

The football bubble needs a country like Russia to host 2018. This might fatally tip the balance leading to the football crash, a restructure and then somewhere approaching normality/ sanity. What other industry could treat its customers so contemptuously (i.e. many, many people with nowhere near enough disposable income to have the opportunity to go to live games – can we look at ticket pricing and strategy again, please, Mr Blatter – and Mr Scudamore..?)

The British Media are complicit in this bubble, too. For example, the messiah effect on Rooney over the summer was typically British (i.e. set ‘im up to knock ‘im down) and their coercing tactics serve mostly to increase their own market share.

Having said that, if there is corruption in any sphere it needs to be exposed. The whiff of a scandal that could batter Blatter is wafting over the alps, though, and this is promising. We should all support investigative journalism even if it could lead to WC2018 going to Russia. I can almost imagine Blatter staring into his shaving mirror and seeing Putin - and looking forward to the day ahead.

I can't believe how many people are blaming the media. It is FIFA's, ahem, questionable practices that are the real issue here. I am proud that the England bid team do not seem to have entereded into any, ahem, questionable practices. And who is it that is investigating these not-beyond-question practices that have been alledged? That's right - FIFA! I think we are better off not getting involved in another bidding process until FIFA are moderated be an independent body and we can be sure of a level playing field.

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If the bid were UK wide and would prove a catalyst for ending the anachronism of separate English, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish teams/FAs, then I'd be all for it.

Since that's not the case and we cannot even cobble together a UK olympic football team, let's give the world cup to someone else and avoid a repeat of the 2 years of tedious friendlies that we endured before Euro 96.

As a yank looking in I would have to say that it would be a big shame if England lost out to Spain/Portugal or Russia for the mere fact that those two bids were put together by FAs who won't take a strong stance against ending racism in football. It would be disgraceful to FIFA and everything they've accomplished (and everything they still need to accomplish). The stance of an FA against racism (as also backed up by actions) should be the first thing to determine whether your bid is worth even looking at.

Forgive my naivety, I thought Blurterer (Blatter) has 1 tie-breaking vote. So by convincing Blauterer to vote for England, may not erase the hurt caused by the Press in targeting delegates for scandalous reasons. The pain is real and may affect all delegates especially from 'poorer' countries. The England bid should expect a fatal backlash.

It is not in FIFA,s interests to let England come third. The excellent quality of the bid has already been acknowledged by Sepp Blatter and a third placing would say that bid quality does not matter and England shouldn't bother bidding again for a long time. Both would damaging to the prestige of the World Cup competition.

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Low chance of winning the world cup on home soil I mean.

Same old rubbish from the British press, if it isn't ruining our chance of the WC it is waiting until a week before a big game or tournament and then releasing stories about all our top players etc, all the papers care about is selling their paper and not the effect it could have on the Country or the peple who live here.

PS lol @ Mike, everyone has got it bad not just England, cheer up mate lol

Also would like to add that a free media is a sign of social democratic free country. You wont get that in Russia or Spain or Italy. Fifa as a global assosciation must realise that the media can always do what they want and are entitled to. Maybe they are jealous about that. Certainly the same cannot be said for some of the other countries who are voting .

I've commented on this before on some other website, as this is quite an important issue.

It boils down to free speech vs hosting the WC. Some may argue that the Sunday Times piece was not investigative journalism, but would they have posed as such if there was no chance of corruption within the upper eschelons of FIFA?

As a private enterprise backing the worlds' most publicised sport, FIFA should have expected such reports, and the mere fact we have not seen more may suggest they have been even more focused on strengthening the curtains.

What I do not like is FIFA, and other media outlets, insinuating our chances have been hurt because of articles written by our free press. There should never be a situation where any organisation dictates what and what does not appear in the publics eye. If there were any irregularities in the article, the Times would be subject to lawsuits and libel charges from FIFA - and that's the way it should be.

From another perspective, I do agree with one of the users above stating that it is likely the host nation is already known, given the philosophical viewpoints of the voters.
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32. At 11:58pm on 11 Nov 2010, bimble wrote:
am i missing the point. I wouldn't be upset if England lose the bid, to oust corruption is the moral high ground. Spain, Portugal or Russia can host, but if you cheated to gain what you wanted then the quilt sit's with you.

----And so do the billions in revenue they will make from hosting the WC.
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42. At 10:05am on 12 Nov 2010, Duncans_Pigeon09 wrote:
Whatever happened to the morals of the people of this country? When footballers cheat on their wives and girlfriends its all ‘’so what, what they do in their private life doesn’t matter, everyone does it’’ blah blah blah.

Now we have people who are criticising the national press because they are uncovering possible corruption in the organisation that runs the biggest sport in the world.

Give me a choice between holding a World Cup, or having a corrupt free sport, I know which one I would choose.

But then again, maybe my parents where wrong to bring me up teaching me about honesty and morality.

-----For 'morality' to work, everyone would have to live up to, and work up to, the same levels that, say you or I, would live up to. Would a politician? Banker? Footballer? I generalise, but you what I mean.
Unfortunately, in the land of poor, green is king, and morality is pushed even further down the priority line. And the WC generates a lot of green.

In an ideal world, 91Èȱ¬ would show the Panaorama programme, the best bid would win (following the technical review) and further investigations would be carried out into the sybaritic lifestyles of FIFA in general.

Should we accept corruption in sport for the pleasure of hosting the World Cup? Do I really want to go to the matches rather than (not) watch on TV. Exactly how many games were worth attending in South Africa?

If we really want the World Cup in England, forget corruption, go to blackmail. Give us the competition or we really will reveal everything about FIFA.

England: the country that’s neither skilful enough nor corrupt enough to win the World Cup. I don’t think that’s anything to be ashamed of.

Is everyone at FIFA really so stupid??

FIFA should be far more worried about the antics of our media if we lose the vote, I expect hundreds, maybe thousands of articles about corruption all over the footballing world as a backlash should we lose to anything but a FAIR vote and a fair vote is impossible the way FIFA is actually run.

The way our tabloid media works, just about every single person involved in football who has any kind of power, will have their entire lives scrutinised by journalists and if they don't find anything of worth they'll just continue with their "stings" until they have the stories they want.

WolfiePeters wrote:

If we really want the World Cup in England, forget corruption, go to blackmail. Give us the competition or we really will reveal everything about FIFA.

----------
love that idea.

Thanks again media Britannia. If we fail in our bid, it will be as a direct result of that wonderfully revealing article. What, an organization run by Sepp Madrid Blatter is corrupt? Nooo...

On this particular moral issue I sit firmly on the side of fence which is not obstructing my view of international football on home soil. Yes corruption is bad and all that, but is anyone going to think that when the first ball is kicked in a world cup?

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Mike, at a guess, an Aussie?

England appear to be FIFA's nememis with all the speculation and findings by our press and now Panorama have something up their sleeve to reveal.

There is an old saying; ' Keep your friends close but keep your enemies closer'

With that old saying in mind If you were FIFA, where would you place England?

Hmmm... maybe Lord Triesman really did know something was going on? As for FIFA... well... they think having 6 refs on the pitch is a good idea, so ensuring a World Cup host vote is squeaky clean and above board may be a tall order.

But agree with other posters here: where are facts/quotes that suggests that England bid is third?

I would be far happier if the press took FIFA apart, I really do not want to be seen doing deals with these people or organisations. There is no transparency in FIFA and the system is administered and organised such that corruption can flourish readily. When Blatter continually tries to protect the game and players in the amount of games played, fans must be scratching their heads when FIFA subsequently organise team and international tournaments and crowbar them into a full schedule. Does anyone believe that the World club championships or the Confederation cup has any other main purpose but to generate revenue for FIFA?

I have always thought that governments should stay out of bodies such as the Olympics, FIFA and the FIA. But these organisations have no independent policing and are all rife to being exposed to corruption. Being based in some neutral venue and escaping independent authority by cross border operations is unacceptable. No respectable government should view the likes of FIFA and it's officials as nothing more than suspect, when you look at the manner they have organised themselves.

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REPOST OF POST @ 52 & 66 (PROBABLY REMOVED BECAUSE IT POSSIBILY IS DEFAMATORY)

" I have to admit that the process has not been very clear. It seems funny to me how only 26 people of the world get to vote. Why have it so select unless you want it corrupt. The vote should be over thousands not 26.

I think the world cup is going down hill anyway. The way the teams are seeded is wrong and I also feel that the qualification in some areas is wrong. SA was the worst world cup in my lifetime and in fact the worst international tournament I have ever seen.

Blatter should resign to resign. Anyone who has been in power for over 8 years un-challenged, is at risk of not doing their job properly. He is a bad face of the modern game he is not impartial and I think it's time he should resign.

Funnily enough I don't want England to win as our chances of winning the WC even on home turf are low. But why do we it keep seeing it go back to the same countries. I don't think a country that has held one in the past 50 years should be allowed to host it.

Would rather see it in Russia than Spain. "

In 2002 a Russian player tested positivefor a druges test in a UEFA qualifier. They should have been expelled fromn the comptition for that. UEfFA did nothing. This should bar them from ever hosting an international competition. If Russi win it will be victory for those who are in favour of drug taking in sport.

Why should anyone be surprised that Blatter is a bit brassed off with the English Press. He and his cronies seem to have had their hands in the cookie jar for years and nothing it seems can be done within FIFA without some kind of back hander being involved. Anyone who has the audacity to question him is dealt with - that will be the reward for the English FA (no chance of the world cup.

I would urge everyone to read "Foul - The Secret World of Fifa" by Andrew Jennings if you want the real low down on how FIFA is run.

BTW There is no way that England will will the world cup vote - it will go to Russia and the resultant contracts for running the tournament will be awarded by Blatter based on his own criteria!!!!

It really is about time that FIFA and the executive were held accountable.

Was the announcement by Franz Beckenbauer in the past few days, that he is leaving FIFA and his position on the executive committee anything to be read into;

Maybe he already knows what the findings of the ethics committee are and has distanced himself and his reputation away from FIFA.

I see there was no mention of this by Mr Bond

As a father of two boys aged 3 & 1, I'd dearly love the world cup to come to England in 2018, as it's just down the road (I'm in Glasgow), I'd be able to take my boys on a wonder holiday and get them to experience the thrills of the event. I'd bet that Scotland would not qualify, but that's irrelevant, we could adopt a country and follow them.

This would be repeated thousands of times over for other young boys from all over the UK and could fire off a new wave of enthusiasm for the game and inspire the players of tomorrow to reach for new heights.

If it was in Russia or Spain/Portuga this wouldn't happen.

I would like to see the FA put as much zeal into putting a decent team out for a major tournament as they are with this bid. While I would love to see England Host in 2018, the thought of watching the wretched performances we saw in South Africa repeat themselves at Wembley is anything but appetizing.

Hosting is a great honour, but contending for the title is really the most important thing. Please give us a team to be proud of even if it means we don't get to host the tournament. Besides, the best revenge would be to lift the trophy in Moscow.

It's ridiculous people are blaming the media; they should be thanked. ICC have discovered the dodgy behaviour of certain countries. I believe the media should try to catch all the (possible) dodgy members.

#71 (Rankis) - Best post for me this! This is the viewpoint that doesn't get stressed enough. When all the ethics committees and slagging off each other's countries is done this is what it should be about - a Dad wanting to give his sons the experience of a World Cup. Right on!


"As a father of two boys aged 3 & 1, I'd dearly love the world cup to come to England in 2018, as it's just down the road (I'm in Glasgow), I'd be able to take my boys on a wonder holiday and get them to experience the thrills of the event...

...This would be repeated thousands of times over for other young boys from all over the UK and could fire off a new wave of enthusiasm for the game and inspire the players of tomorrow to reach for new heights."

Why are the F.A. and the bid team being blamed for a newspaper's investigations? The quality of the bid has nothing to do with the fact that England is part of a country where newspapers can print what they want.
What did FIFA expect the FA to do?

I still expect England to win bid to host 2018 World Cup despite all these allegations.

Just under 3 weeks left and the competition between the bidding nations is getting exciting.

I would not be surprised in Russia wins the bid to host 2018 World Cup.

Whatever action FIFA take, whatever they propose, whatever they do, they are bad for football, they have been exposed as being corrupt, therefore the whole world cup bidding process becomes more political as more pressures and larger promises are brought to bear. FIFA by their inaction and by their actions are causing much damage to the game. There will always be politics in football but politics should be kept apart from football as much as possible, IT'S A SPORT. What we get with this FIFA conglomerate is the bureacratisation of football, nationalist and rascist agendas, greed, injustice, strangling limitation and the ruination of the game by stealth.

F.ilistine
I.deas
F.avourable
A.ssociations

FIFA's choice of venue for a Champions League Final resulted in Chelsea and Man Utd, two of the richest clubs in the world, being played in the most expensive city in the world, in a country where democracy is in very short supply. Made by FIFA.

FIFA's choice of world cup venue has very little significance when compared to what will actually happen at the Final of Sport when the two sets of warmongering, win at all costs, gladiators meet, as to the dirty vulgar kung fu war tactics used at the last World Cup Final. Made by FIFA.

@goonergetit

FIFA don't select the venue for the final of a competition administered by EUFA, in case that one escaped you.

...or even by UEFA. >.>

I know some of the venues chosen by the FA are poor (like Milton Keynes for example), but England still has the best bid it has had for decades. If England don't get the nod for 2018 then when will we get it? Wouldn't we be better off just leaving FIFA, I mean what's in it for us? We are more interested in club football than national football, the World Cup is a sham based on luck, and the EPL is rich enough to stand on its own two right feet.

I remember in 1995 that both Arsenal and Chelski reached the semi-finals of the Cup Winners Cup, and that UEFA proposed moving the upcoming final from Paris to Wembley, which of course wasn't needed as CFC lost their semi.
However by 2008, it wasn't a UEFA option to move a final as the Man U/Chelski took place in Russia (why the hell was that allowed to happen?). Who knows how many back-handers went on behind the scenes to keep that game there? One can only guess.
Therefore I have no doubt that Russia will host 2018 for much the same reasons: i.e MONEY! The Arabs will also get 2022.
Anyway, look for the good in all this. Who wants to pay inflated ticket prices (I'm being guided by those at the 2012 Hackney/Tower Hamlets Olympic Games on this) to see overseas football players at our stadia and have our urban ares full of foreigners every which way you turn? Additionally, who wants to put up with excessive english yobs drinking and causing havoc in the towns and cities of 'Merry England' of an evening?
Oh hang on a moment...We have to do that ANYWAY in 2010 and it's a fact of life here now which will never change. Why make matters worse (adding to our 5 trillion national debt at the same time = higher taxes) by poncing about trying to host 2018 at such soccer hotbeds as Milton Keynes and Plymouth?

@Auqakuh.
Do you honestly believe that there is no collusion between the Conglomerate that is FIFA and the Farce that is UEFA.
Red Card for you Auqakuh !

At 8:56pm on 12 Nov 2010, SportsFan wrote:

I still expect England to win bid to host 2018 World Cup despite all these allegations......... I would not be surprised in Russia wins the bid to host 2018 World Cup.


Make your mind up, which is it? =)

England should forget all this rubbish about the FIFA World Cup and host our own tournament. Enough of our friends and rivals will want to turn up and I'm sure it will generate enough money as an incentive for anyone unsure.

In truth I'm not overly concerned if England don't get the World Cup in 2018. Whilst Euri 96 was superb the two years of endless friendlies leading up to it were a major bore. The big attraction of England battling at a World Cup is that it takes place on foreign soil.

I think the major stumbling block for our 2018 bid is that everyone hates England.

I mean honestly if you had to make a list of countries who actually like us who would be on it?

Malta maybe, a few other insignificant small countries who haven't got to know us properly yet, nobody remotely influential.

I remember looking forward to Euro '96 and the chance to show off to the rest of Europe and the world just how passionate we are about our football. Aside from the more talked about highs and lows of our perfomances during the tournament (dull 1-1 draw with Switzerland, 4-1 trashing of Holland, going out on penalties in the semis), my most lasting memory of the tournament is of half empty stadiums for most of the matches due to an an embarassing lack of enthusiasm towards the tournament by the English public towards anything that did not concern the England team. The only obvious exception to this was the group match between Germany and Italy at Old Trafford which was always going to be a sell-out (go look at the attendance stats which in my view are quite frankly shocking). While this was not at the same level of antipathy that was apparently displayed by the Indian public towards the Commonwealth Games, I still felt embarassed at the way the home of football had shownthe footballing world how much we care about having being hosts to other teams and the tourament as a whole.

From a technical point of view, we clearly have the best bid for 2018. However, judging by this most recent experience, I hope that we do NOT get to host the World Cup in 2018 - let it go to somewhere new (why NOT Russia?) and give a new audience the chance to show their enthusiasm and appreiciation of having the beautiful games most prestigious tournament on their doorstep - English fans are not worthy.

"Truth Decay"

Hey: Why does the 91Èȱ¬ ban comments which are clearly true? My comment #16 which stated that one (of the many) reasons 2018 will not be coming to England was the poor quality of our over-priced hotels was banned.
Imagine my utter delight to discover tonight that FIFA has high-lighted this very thing in a press release...ON THE 91Èȱ¬ WEBSITE NO LESS!
Oh yeah, #90. I fully agree that apart from England games, the lack of support at Euro 96 games was awful.
Who's going to turn out to see Togo vs Chile at Sheff Wed for £100 a throw for example?
Let the Russians have it 'cos it is not going to ever happen here.
Get it yet everyone?