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Real Reason Countries Don't Want to Host the World Cup

Mar 27, 2024
The World Cup is coming to town! This massive football event, held every four years, is one of the most important sporting events in the

world

. After a qualifying phase, thirty-two teams will compete in a tournament until one of them lifts the championship trophy. The event is watched by more than 500 million people each time, and the final match was watched by more than one in ten people

world

wide in 2018. This is a huge attraction, not to mention the masses of fans. who will be lucky enough to see it in person! Clearly, it is a great honor to

host

and

countries

must be aligned to compete for the right.
real reason countries don t want to host the world cup
Mistaken. Organizing the World Cup is a complicated business and fewer and fewer

countries

are interested in it nowadays. It is a huge financial investment, it is not clear that it will pay off in the long term and many countries are not prepared for it. So this year the World Cup will be held in... Qatar, a small but rich country on the Arabian Peninsula. He gained this privilege after an extensive lobbying campaign, and this put this little-known country in the public eye for the first time for many people. But this exposure was not purely positive. Because the World Cup in Qatar could be the most controversial in the history of this sport.
real reason countries don t want to host the world cup

More Interesting Facts About,

real reason countries don t want to host the world cup...

On the one hand, the event is held for the first time in November, as it is usually held in summer. This is because Qatar is brutally hot in the summer; After all, it is a desert nation near the equator. Trying to organize it during the summer would probably have resulted in many athletes (and spectators) passing out due to heat stroke. Even in November, the temperature is unlikely to drop below 79 degrees Fahrenheit during day games, a brutal prospect for athletes. This not only meant changing the World Cup schedule, but at the same time affected the current European League.
real reason countries don t want to host the world cup
And there are other major problems with the new

host

country. Qatar is apparently a constitutional monarchy, political freedoms are limited and laws are very restrictive. The country maintains a strict ban on homosexuality and former FIFA chief Sepp Blatter once advised that gay fans and players should avoid sexual activity during their visits. Additionally, Qatar is famous for having a massive population of temporary workers, many of whom work in dangerous conditions. At least 6,500 migrant workers have reportedly died since Qatar was granted the right to host the World Cup. Why were they working so hard? Because Qatar has no football infrastructure!
real reason countries don t want to host the world cup
The country does not have a long history of football, so it does not have stadiums capable of hosting massive World Cup matches. It is estimated that it will cost more than $200 billion to build the hotels, stadiums and other facilities needed to hold this World Cup, which is almost a hundred times what it cost other countries like South Africa to prepare for their World Cup. . So with all these problems, why is this event happening in Qatar? Because almost everyone else shook their heads and backed away slowly. On paper, organizing a World Cup has many advantages. You're attracting a massive tourist audience, and if they have a good time, they may return for future sporting events or just touring the area.
It will also do a lot of business in foreign trade, as countries will

want

to be represented there. And that's not including the internal boom! Even the most soccer-crazy countries will need a lot of new infrastructure, because the stadiums that host home games simply aren't big enough for World Cup matches. And that means a lot of construction and a lot of new jobs for workers, probably with a lot of overtime! So what's the downside? It turns out…a lot. For one thing, as much as it may seem like governments are simply printing money, there is a limit to how much they can take out of the treasury, and the discretionary spending needed to equip a country for the World Cup can far exceed that annual budget.
That means countries often need to go into debt to establish themselves, and then need to hope that the boost in tourism they get from the World Cup makes up for it. It will work? Well, the more expensive the setup part, the less likely the country will get its money back, meaning Qatar could be in for a rude awakening in 2023. But hey, at least they have permanent improvements left. , good? This is true, but only to a certain extent. The many hotels and lodges being built for the World Cup will come in handy after the event, but only if the country sees a boost in its tourism sector after the event.
This is a great resource that countries that already have a thriving tourism sector can benefit from, but countries that are not experiencing high levels of tourism will see these hotels remain largely empty until another big event comes to town. And then there are the stadiums: enormous beasts that often sit virtually empty and degrading in the years after the World Cup, with matches of this size unlikely to be played in the country again. Some use them anyway to host national matches, no matter how uncomfortable the empty seats are. And the less infrastructure a country has, the more challenging it becomes.
Qatar is the most extreme case, and the amount it spends on its World Cup is almost five times the total amount spent by all other countries that have hosted the World Cup since 1990, combined! But every country faces financial challenges when hosting the World Cup, because for the world's biggest sporting event, it's surprisingly difficult to make money. Even the most successful World Cup will leave the country in the hole, because they don't receive much of the money from the biggest World Cup money generators. What are you doing? Let's meet the great man. This is FIFA, the French International Federation of Association Football, a huge international governing body that covers multiple types of football, or soccer, for everyone but the United States.
It was founded in 1904 and now has 211 national associations divided into six regional confederations reflecting the continents. They organize the World Cup, choose who will host it every four years, and make sure the country's efforts are up to their standards. And in exchange… they keep most of the profits! The World Cup makes its money primarily from three sources of revenue: ticket sales for in-person matches, broadcast rights for the billions of people watching at home, and advertising rights at matches, which provide to advertisers the largest platform in the world. And all three of these revenue streams go directly back to FIFA, causing countries to try to raise money during the event through... concession sales?
It's a little more complicated than that, but countries often try to harness the power of local tourism to offset the costs. FIFA helps foot the bill, but not even completely. The money FIFA provides to host countries will vary: FIFA will provide just under $2 billion to Qatar for its World Cup. That includes nearly $500 million that would go to the winning teams in prize money, making the funding Qatar received less than one percent of the total spending on the event. However, for other countries, it could easily account for around fifty percent of total spending, which is helpful, but still leaves them in a bind.
World Cups typically generate about $5 billion in revenue for FIFA, making them a win for the organization, but not necessarily for the home country. But at least FIFA is an honest broker, right? Hold! Because everything related to the World Cup has to go through FIFA, and that is an increasingly risky prospect. FIFA has grown from strength to strength since its founding in 1904 to govern European football leagues, and is now a huge organisation, and the bigger something is, the easier it is for corruption to go undetected. The organization used to alternate venues between Europe and South America, but in 2002 it held its first World Cup in Asia and its first in Africa in 2010.
Now, any member country can host a World Cup, with interested countries submitting candidacies that are voted on by the FIFA council. But it turns out that not everything is so simple. In 2015, a massive scandal erupted around the world when US federal prosecutors revealed a massive corruption conspiracy that reached to the highest levels of FIFA. Fourteen people were indicted on charges including wire fraud, extortion, and money laundering, and they had previously pleaded guilty! It turned out that there had been massive collusion involving several major football organizations to trade influence and split events. It was already a huge scandal, and then seven current FIFA officials were arrested in Switzerland accused of receiving $150 million in bribes!
The investigation spread around the world and led to the then current FIFA director, Sepp Blatter, being removed from his position and banned from FIFA activities for eight years. While he was acquitted of criminal charges, it was the biggest disgrace in FIFA history. So have they improved his performance since then? It depends on who you ask. FIFA denies that there is any bribery in the current administration and that all World Cup bids are approved on merit, but companies bidding are told how to curry favor with FIFA, and that is usually It involves a commitment of large investments.
The richer a country is, the easier it will be for it to deal with this. In the wake of the controversy, FIFA appointed an independent ethics investigator who examined the bids and substantiated allegations of bribery, and cleared Russia's 2018 bid of any wrongdoing. However, many people argued that the report was incomplete and There were still many doubts surrounding the process. Those doubts would only increase in 2022. So how exactly did Qatar win the World Cup? Many candidates dropped out because of all the negatives, and that cleared the way. The small kingdom lobbied hard and the oil-rich nation was willing to invest massively in the infrastructure needed for the event, but that still left many logistical problems to solve along the way.
It was a strange selection that left many scratching their heads, and in 2020, a whistleblower from Australia published a book that confirmed suspicions about why FIFA chose Qatar. Bonita Mersiades, who spearheaded Australia's bid for the 2022 cup, claimed Qatar-based Al Jazeera offered a $100 million bribe for Qatar to secure the cup, and that it was approved by a top executive at the cup. FIFA who was later expelled for corruption. . Later leaked documents refuted the $100 million price tag: it was reportedly $400 million! However, the documents could not be fully authenticated and an investigation is underway as preparation for the World Cup continues.
But not everyone will attend. Hosting a global event has become more complicated than ever, and hosting dozens of clubs in your territory can be a balancing act and sometimes dangerous too. And this is more true than ever in 2022. There is always the possibility that two countries with unpleasant political problems will clash and force a resignation when one refuses to play. This is common in other sports, where athletes from countries like Iran are paired with Israeli athletes and refuse to compete. This is not likely to happen on the big stage: neither Iran nor Israel are world powers in football, nor are the other nations that refuse to recognize Israel.
But the world has not become more peaceful since the last world cup. After the 2018 World Cup in Russia, you'd think everyone would be happy to get out of there. After all, Russia is known for arresting tourists and even famous athletes who arrive in the country on often incomplete charges. But then came the invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, and soon Russia's mere presence at the event became a storm! Many people called for Russia to be banned entirely from sporting events, while others said it was unfair to punish individual athletes. FIFA attempted to find a middle ground and banned official matches from being played in Russia, only for teams from several European nations to say they would not compete against Russia.
Facing a massive storm, FIFA ultimately decided to exclude Russia from the World Cup, leading many to call this hypocrisy because countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia were allowed to compete despite their massive human rights violations. And, of course, there is the country of origin. Qatar is facing a bumpy road as it tries to prepare to host the Cup, including Paris and other French cities announcing they would boycott the broadcast in protest of violations ofhuman rights taking place in Qatar. While local French soccer fans will probably be able to watch big games of their favorite sport via streaming, it's another big black eye for FIFA that the organization definitely doesn't need.
So why couldn't they get anyone else to take over? For one thing, once the contracts are signed, there will be years of legal wrangling if Qatar is stripped of the World Cup late in the process. Much of the infrastructure was already built when the controversy escalated, and it would cast a cloud over the entire process. And few countries could take over in a short time, unless they already had the infrastructure from a previous World Cup in place. And obviously, the previous host from 2018 was a resounding one for many

reason

s! Even if they took the event from Qatar, they might not be able to find another host.
Because many rich countries have learned that hosting such a big event is not worth it thanks to another global sporting phenomenon. It used to be that the Olympics were the most prestigious sporting event in the world, as the global games occupied a major city for several weeks and brought the world together to watch dozens of events every two years between the summer and winter events. But now, the bidding process has been overrun by accusations of money-trafficking, the events have been plagued by accusations that they coddle nations that violate human rights, and host cities are often left deeply in debt, as has the Cup. of the world. .
But in terms of infrastructure, the hit that countries hosting the Olympic Games take is usually much bigger. This event requires the construction of a massive structure called the Olympic Village. It can lead to the expulsion of countless buildings and their residents, and when the games are over... it just sits there! There's no

real

use for an Olympic Village after the games, and the Olympics certainly aren't coming back any time soon, so cities have to try to figure out what the heck to do with it. So is there a way to get the crowd back? Both FIFA and the Olympic Games need willing host cities.
Some have said the Olympics should be committed to permanent host cities, perhaps Athens, in a tribute to the games' origins. But FIFA is more complicated, since the organization has many members and interests. So experts have discussed how they can make hosting the World Cup more attractive again, and it all comes down to the fact that the event is no longer about the host city. In fact, it often seems like the host city is paying for the privilege of hosting a massive event that doesn't

real

ly benefit them. And focusing on local issues could save FIFA. Right now, bids are submitted by countries choosing a city as their headquarters, but the actual people in the city often have little to say.
This means the city gets a massive federal infrastructure project that leaves it with less living space, cramped housing, and plenty of un

want

ed guests. Some cities want to raise their profile by hosting an event, especially if they are not a well-known city, as is the case with Lake Placid, home of the Olympic Games. But that impulse usually doesn't last. Ideally, choosing cities with already huge soccer stadiums and providing money for improvements might be the safest move, but that would limit the number of cities and countries that could host the World Cup. But would that necessarily be a bad thing?
If the World Cups in Qatar and Russia, both hosting it for the first time, have taught FIFA anything, it's that sometimes a World Cup simply doesn't belong in a country that isn't a football nation. Not only does it not have the necessary infrastructure for an event of this type - especially obvious in the case of Qatar - but it may not have the necessary fan base to support it. On the other hand, if a FIFA World Cup host has a huge soccer market like Brazil or France, those huge stadiums will most likely continue to be used after the event.
After all, a stadium filled to 50% capacity isn't great, but it's a lot better than 10%. And then there's the big elephant in the room. A country or city might want to host the World Cup, but do its people want it? You will often see people in major cities protesting against new developments because they think they will overpopulate the city or bring in a different element that won't fit. These people are often called NIMBYs (Not In My Backyard) and can make building even a new apartment building a herculean task. A huge football stadium and associated buildings have a much larger impact on a city's infrastructure, and concerns are greater and attract even people who are normally pro-development.
As awareness of this impact becomes more widespread, cities could see their World Cup bids stopped in their tracks by angry protesters. So how can FIFA solve this problem and get more cities and countries back in the game? The answer might be quite counterintuitive for a massive organization: They might have to be willing to make a little less money. FIFA earns several billion dollars from each World Cup, mainly from ticket sales, advertising and broadcast rights. Offering a profit-sharing deal to willing hosts could make prominent countries more willing to invest in new infrastructure. Additionally, scheduling smaller tournaments over the years in venues that have previously hosted a World Cup could help keep revenue flowing instead of leaving those giant stadiums empty.
But could an Olympic solution work for the World Cup? Talks have focused on creating a permanent venue for the Olympics, but that is more complicated with FIFA. Only a few countries have hosted the World Cup more than once: Brazil, Italy, France and Mexico. Germany is included if you count East and West Germany as the same country. Additionally, in recent years, FIFA has begun to divide organizing duties between neighboring countries: Japan and South Korea were joint hosts in 2002, and the 2026 World Cup will be hosted by the trio of the United States, Mexico and Canada. . While finding a single venue for the World Cup will not be as easy as it might be for the Olympic Games, it is clear that some countries are much more up to the task than others, and heavy investment by FIFA in them could prevent any future. waste.
But does this indicate a bigger problem for FIFA? The host city selection process has clearly spiraled out of control, with allegations of corruption leading to international criminal conspiracy. But despite that, interest in the World Cup is stronger than ever. Will Qatar see the same level of attendance as in past World Cups? We'll see, but if not, it will be Qatar that will be seen as a warning, not FIFA. FIFA will likely see the same massive viewing figures around the world as millions of football fans watch breathlessly to see who lifts the trophy. And that means that FIFA will ultimately be able to find a place to host its World Cup, even if it had to change its business model to make it worthwhile for the host country.
Want to know more about FIFA's dirty little secrets? See "How much does the World Cup cost?" for a deeper look, or see “Soccer Player Killed for Scoring Goal” for one of the darkest days in sports.

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