On 02/12/2010 at 20:13, Whispering_Jack said:

It's all about oil and political footballs, not computer generated kangaroos and alleged tax cheats.

Heaven help the sport (and the rest of the world) if the Iranians take over Qatar before 2022.

Emmn, totally, wheels within wheels. And lots of back scrubbing.

  On 03/12/2010 at 04:27, dee-luded said:

Emmn, totally, wheels within wheels. And lots of back scrubbing.

Greased Palms do not come cheaply. As if ever in a million years Australia was going to out bid the Oil Barons!!! I find the whole thing quite humorous-expensive yes, but definately funny.

All the Soccer Guru's on SBS are blaming the AFL!! Get real........ B)

  On 02/12/2010 at 19:34, pitmaster said:

I know plenty of Aussie Rules fans would have been happy to see us win the World Cup but I am glad soccer in tis country is not getting a free kick from FIFA.

The fact that 300 people in Sydney turned up to a live site for the announcement sums it up. Three hundred gave a damn, but when it came to the Olympics 10,000 turned out for the announcement. It simply ain't a dominant sport here.

It is hilarious that whenever Australia bids for one of these events (Melbourne 1996 another example) many people suddenly believe we deserve it. FCS this is the first time we have shown interest in the World Cup and we have barely ever qualified. Knocked out in the first round while Qatar scores in every round should tell you something.

TV scheduling may have turned FIFA voters off, but let's not forget these international circuses are totally corrupt and we don't know how to play these games so well.

Fundamentally, it's good for our indigenous game - footy - that Australia missed out. Maybe they can go back to calling it soccer again.

If the history of bids for this type of thing is any guide then...

1. The economic benefits are overhyped and not subject to proper comparison ie. if we spent the money on x versus y / improved infrastructure or more marketing of Australia as a tourism destination - India (Com Games) and South Africa (WC) are two examples where the inbound tourism didnt achieve anything like the economic benefits suggested - the Australian Grand Prix may be similarly overhyped.

2. The cost of hosting the games, estimated before the bid (at a level to win government backing) is then progressively increased because we are hostage to a commitment we cannot recant. For example how much more did the AOC President John Coates extract from the Australian taxpayer after the initial budget?

3. If the cost benefit cannot fly then dont rely on quantifiable benefits go for qualitiative benefits that appeal to Australians' sense of international insecurity - "this will put us on the international map" "recognition money cant buy" - selling this to populist politicians too eager to spend your money is not hard

4. The choice of the winning applicant is highly influenced by kickbacks and a corrupt selection process. The corruption of FIFA delegates is all over the news.

I am celebrating our loss to Qatar -is that a throat disorder or a nation state?

I will enjoy unfettered access to the facilities that my taxes and memberships (I guess) paid for while I watch the greatest game in the known universe.

Oz got 1 vote in 1st round. Was that OUR vote? Does that mean we got 0 votes?

Anyone know?

We should have convinced Putin to put a few threats in for us

no it was not

  On 03/12/2010 at 05:36, daisycutter said:

Oz got 1 vote in 1st round. Was that OUR vote? Does that mean we got 0 votes? Anyone know? We should have convinced Putin to put a few threats in for us

$ 45 Million for that...Value for money definately!!! You could build a hospital for that coin..this world is getting more weird...! and as PB says above, there is absolutely No Guarantee that any country makes any money out of these Big Events. It is all Political Ego ...

  On 03/12/2010 at 05:53, why you little said:

$ 45 Million for that...Value for money definately!!! You could build a hospital for that coin..this world is getting more weird...!

and as PB says above, there is absolutely No Guarantee that any country makes any money out of these Big Events.

It is all Political Ego...

according to a commentator on 3AW the real spend was closer to $100 mil

choke on that wyl

there should be some very highly paid consultants asked a few questions

  On 03/12/2010 at 02:31, hardtack said:

Actually, it is bigger than the Olympics with a much larger worldwide viewership.

"The World Cup was first televised in 1954 and is now the most widely-viewed and followed sporting event in the world, exceeding even the Olympic Games.The cumulative audience of the 2006 World Cup — including all of the matches — is estimated to be 26.29 billion. 715.1 million individuals watched the final match of this tournament (a ninth of the entire population of the planet). The 2006 World Cup draw, which decided the distribution of teams into groups, was watched by 300 million viewers."

And that's the problem with soccer. Their supporters think that because soccer is the biggest in the world, then it automatically means it's the best. If that's true then Mcdonalds have the best restaurants in the world.

What a flawed process too. We got one vote - rumoured to be from Kaiser Franz and only because we appointed his mate as Australian coach.

We raved about how a vote for Australia will bring the world soccer audience to Australia, yet there were 2 other competing countries with much stonger connections to Asia. We went in naively with a poor presentation and relied heavily on frank Lowy.

Frank Lowy wouldn't have it any other way.

............we also didnt bribe anybody.

  On 03/12/2010 at 06:26, E25 said:

Frank Lowy wouldn't have it any other way.

Fair go, the bloke put his heart and soul and plenty of own hard earned into the bid and into reviving soccer in this country.

Definitely not fair to bag him because one of the rival bidders was so well versed in the art of backsheesh.

  Quote

WIKILEAKS: Qatar's relationship with Iran is one in which "they lie to us, and we lie to them."

  On 03/12/2010 at 06:30, Benno said:

............we also didnt bribe anybody.

Now we have got to the bottom of things!

just remember the soccer boys and the olympics boys

Are in the top two positions for the World Honesty Stakes

( lack of it that is )Championship".

It beggars belief that we ever thought Australia would win.

I feel too many people were too scared to say "we cannot win" for fear of being

seen to be negative and un australian.

  On 03/12/2010 at 06:30, Benno said:

............we also didnt bribe anybody.

well not successfully anyway

  On 03/12/2010 at 06:03, daisycutter said:

according to a commentator on 3AW the real spend was closer to $100 mil

choke on that wyl

there should be some very highly paid consultants asked a few questions

Aah Consultants, THE job of the 80's yes, where the office was Long Lunches paid by....someone.

Obviosly FIFA still work that way...what a disgrace, around $100 Million for 1 vote out of a possible 22.

Was it Joolia's Voice that did the damage?? But seriously i am not amused if that is Tax payer Dollars

(and please do not say that Frank Lowy paid for this bid from his own pocket.) Westfield etc will retrieve the costs....through us at the counter. B)

  On 02/12/2010 at 23:22, E25 said:

I love the game (not as much as AFL) but it really does have some ugly elements to it.

It's like a beautiful girl who wears too much makeup and fake tan.

More like a prostitute that fakes the orgasm and steals your wallet .

  On 03/12/2010 at 06:46, Fork said:

More like a prostitute that fakes the orgasm and steals your wallet .

or Falls asleep on the job!!

  On 03/12/2010 at 02:31, hardtack said:

Actually, it is bigger than the Olympics with a much larger worldwide viewership.

"The World Cup was first televised in 1954 and is now the most widely-viewed and followed sporting event in the world, exceeding even the Olympic Games.The cumulative audience of the 2006 World Cup — including all of the matches — is estimated to be 26.29 billion. 715.1 million individuals watched the final match of this tournament (a ninth of the entire population of the planet). The 2006 World Cup draw, which decided the distribution of teams into groups, was watched by 300 million viewers."

A few months ago I saw figures showing that the world cup viewing audience was in fact doctored (may have been on Crikey or even in the Green Guide) and that the Summer Olympics had a far greater viewing audience - more than twice that of the world Cup.

Stands to reason really! How many nations compete in the Soccer World Cup? 32! How many in the Summer Olympics? Just about every nation on earth!

Resisted commenting all day but ...

The fact that they voted for Qatar tells me that it is a great thing we didn't get this event. I can't help but think that the whole of FIFA senior people has lost the plot, and is run by people who have totally lost any sense of reality. Happens when there is undemocratic organisation with too much money and very little accountability.

Aparently Qatar is going to dismantle some of the stadium and donate them to disadvantaged countries. So Qatar "may" (they will have already have held the event) ship their white elephants off to countries where people are crying for basics.

Not that I am a Soccer hater.

My son played for 4 years. I stuck at it despite high levels of parent anger on the sidelines and coach flattening an umpire on the pitch (and he wasn't even sacked). Last straw was when they hiked the fees $250 to $450 for the year. it wasn't the money, but the reason. I asked why and the response "There are so may kids who want to play we can charge what we like and the senior team needs the money". I suppose that some of this happens in footy as well, but I don't see it in my son's team, so can't comment.

Also used to watch it on TV, but is just too easy for a game to be influenced by diving or a poor refereeing decision. Not blaming the refs, just they make mistakes and in such a close game can decide the game.

Actually best reason for not getting the World Cup of Associate Football is their local supporters. If there is one thing worse than a Collingwood supporter is a one eyed soccer supporter..

"Aussie Rules isn't football, they use their hands...."

"We have to accept Soccer coz it's the World Game, and we are so backward in Australia coz we don't follow it..."

Sorry bit of a ramble

Bet we will have forgotten it all in a week's time.

I don't get how a country like Qatar can get the world cup. FIFA shouldn't have let them bid! The voting's rigged anyway!

  On 03/12/2010 at 09:04, jarnott10 said:

I don't get how a country like Qatar can get the world cup. FIFA shouldn't have let them bid! The voting's rigged anyway!

oil talks my friend.

  On 02/12/2010 at 23:17, Dappa Dan said:

I don't care what the round ball lovers here will say. I'm pumped that we missed it... Why? The last world cup was torture. The only games that were bearable were the US ones... the rest of it was appalling to watch IMO. In its current state, it's an awful, awful game to watch.

Could not agree more!

And 46million of taxpayer $$ to get a single vote!? If my Lowy thinks it was worth it and is planning on making another bid it better all be out of his pocket!!! disugsted

  On 03/12/2010 at 05:02, poseidon burke said:

1. The economic benefits are overhyped and not subject to proper comparison ie. if we spent the money on x versus y / improved infrastructure or more marketing of Australia as a tourism destination - India (Com Games) and South Africa (WC) are two examples where the inbound tourism didnt achieve anything like the economic benefits suggested - the Australian Grand Prix may be similarly overhyped.

First off, I really can't let this go. There is a very good reason the financial benefits failed to materialise for these two events. There were massive concerns for the safety of international fans at these events. The threat of gang violence and terrorism kept many supporters away, to the point where they were in many cases unable to even give tickets away. This threat was realised in South Africa where a number of Australians were involved in a violent robbery situation.

Compare this to Australia. There is a significantly lower likelihood of visitors being attacked and/or robbed during the event. We are a popular tourist destination already. The It is a given that every game would be a sell-out if it were held in Australia. You can not possibly compare the economic benefits we might derive from this event to the two examples you have used.

As for the whole screwed up mess of a voting system...

It is a sad fact that the powers that be in FIFA largely regard Australia as upstarts who haven't yet earned a place at the table. This has been born out repeatedly over the last decade or so. We briefly succeeded in spearheading a push to have the Oceania confederation granted a full qualifying place to the world cup, only to have the decision overturned within months, before we had even had a chance to compete for the vanishing place. The fact that the FFA then managed to find a back door by moving into the Asian confederation may have been a masterstroke in helping us to get into the cup, but it has done us no favours in political terms. Many of the Asian nations see us as taking a place they might otherwise fill, and as such we are in a position where even our own (adopted) confederation will not support us.

We were the only country bidding for the tournament not to have a vote to cast. We had been told repeatedly that we would not be backed by the Asian vote. This coupled with our whole above-board, clean as a whistle approach to the bid speaks of massive naivete to me. Our stated tactic was to attempt to survive the first rounds and pick up the votes of those who had been pushed aside. This is a defeatist attitude that was never going to win us the support we needed.

If there is one positive to be taken from this, it is that the FFA may have been given a lesson in how to play the game at an international level. The fact that the two best equipped bids with the highest likelihood of running the tournament successfully and well were bypassed a tiny nation with a massive bankroll and no hesitation to make a shady deal is a clear message. If we want to bid again, we will need to do so from a position of strength withing the FIFA community and we will need to be ruthless in our pursuit of the prize.

I would also like to note to all those complaining about a low-scoring game, that one of my biggest gripes about Aussie rules is the ease with which goals are scored. One player getting their hands on the ball for a second is enough for a goal to happen. Where are the tactics in that? Where is the team play? What so many bemoan as boring because there are no goals being scored is to me a tight tactical battle. How can you not love seeing the resolution as an hour's work results finally in a breakthrough goal?

  On 03/12/2010 at 06:52, why you little said:

or Falls asleep on the job!!

Speaking from experience there WYL ?

  On 03/12/2010 at 10:04, RalphiusMaximus said:

First off, I really can't let this go. There is a very good reason the financial benefits failed to materialise for these two events. There were massive concerns for the safety of international fans at these events. The threat of gang violence and terrorism kept many supporters away, to the point where they were in many cases unable to even give tickets away. This threat was realised in South Africa where a number of Australians were involved in a violent robbery situation.

Compare this to Australia. There is a significantly lower likelihood of visitors being attacked and/or robbed during the event. We are a popular tourist destination already. The It is a given that every game would be a sell-out if it were held in Australia. You can not possibly compare the economic benefits we might derive from this event to the two examples you have used.

We can compare our doubtful economic benefits with countries in Europe and America that have hosted the cup and lost money. We should also have a good hard look at our own costings. We are a nice place but security will still cost us a fortune, and it's no good building new stadiums that turn into white elephants like Homebush.

I would also like to note to all those complaining about a low-scoring game, that one of my biggest gripes about Aussie rules is the ease with which goals are scored. One player getting their hands on the ball for a second is enough for a goal to happen. Where are the tactics in that? Where is the team play? What so many bemoan as boring because there are no goals being scored is to me a tight tactical battle. How can you not love seeing the resolution as an hour's work results finally in a breakthrough goal?

Sometimes a ball comes loose near the goals and someone scores. That happens in football and soccer. As for ease of scoring, I'll takes 20 goal per game AFL vs 2.2 goals per game in soccer anyday, even though it's getting tougher to score in AFL compared to 20 years ago when Plugger and Dunstall were monstering backlines.

The problem with soccer is - when that first goal is scored - the other side has less than 10% chance of winning the game. That's one reason why i don't love it anymore.

  On 03/12/2010 at 10:27, High Tower said:

Speaking from experience there WYL ?

No HT i am pleased to say i have not been there!! Close a couple of times but always completed all tasks before Turning in!!

How 'bout yourself??