Dear FIFA,
Earlier this month, Dec. 2, FIFA’s Executive Committee voted to have Russia host the 2018 World Cup. You selected Russia over England, the birthplace of soccer, which was a surprising selection.
Even more shocking was your choice for the host of the 2022 World Cup, which was also voted for the same day. You chose Qatar, a country in the Middle East, over the United States. Your decision will bring the World Cup to the Middle East for the first time ever.
I do think your idea of bring the World Cup to a region for the first time is acceptable, but when looking at all other factors, this is probably the stupidest decision you have ever made.
Somehow Qatar earned your choice over a U.S. bid delegation which included Bill Clinton, Morgan Freeman and Landon Donovan and their arguments for why the US should be the host.
The United States was, of course, the best option to host the 2022 World Cup. With all the diversity, huge stadiums and increasing love of the game, the United States has all the pieces in place for the world’s people to have a grand time.
When the United States hosted the 1994 World Cup, the attendance record was shattered each game and a total of 3.6 million people attended the tournament.
With Qatar hosting the 2022 World Cup, this also means that its national team will qualify for the first time with an automatic host bid. You should not allow a nation to host this event for which they have never qualified in the past. They need to earn the right to host the World Cup.
Not only has Qatar’s soccer team never qualified for a World Cup, it is currently ranked 113 in the FIFA rankings. The team is also famous for showing on Sportcenter’s “Not Top Ten” and online as one of their strikers shot the ball from three yards away, off the post and did not score with the goalie out of the play. Go ahead, search “Qatar soccer epic fail” on YouTube and see for yourself.
You really think a team this bad can compete with the world’s top squads?
Let me now focus on criticizing this arid region and how it will be unable to meet the expectations of hosting the World Cup.
This sand box peninsula, which is smaller than the state of Connecticut, will be in the spotlight for a whole month. You selected a country lacking any patches of natural grass which to host the world’s largest stage with average summer temperatures above 106 degrees Fahrenheit.
Qatar contains only three stadiums. Two of them have a seating capacity of less than 22,000. Even though Qatar plans to build nine more stadiums of a capacity around 45,000 each, why not choose the US which already has American football stadiums with seating capacities over 70,000?
While I have no doubt that this oil-rich nation has the money to build soccer stadiums, they do not have enough workers to build these stadiums. However, I’m positive their dictatorship will make sure the job gets done. Moreover, I do not think that they could pull through with the stadium designs to beat the heat that they promised.
The proposed stadiums are supposed to employ cooling technology capable of reducing temperatures within the stadium by up to 20 degrees Celsius. Also, the stadiums look particularly interesting in their design plans, yet the air conditioning technology without a closed roof seems too good to be true.
Although many people say, “So what, this World Cup is not for another 12 years,” it means a lot
more than that. Many Americans will have to wait longer to attend the event at home, in arguably the best venue for the tournament. With all the diversity the United States has, every country will have a large fan base and feel as if it is playing in its own country.