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Qatar must be happy. Fewer witnesses.

Basically the story is that bribes were just FIFA's way of doing business no matter where. Sort of like getting a license for something in India. ;)

Yes, I would hold a hockey world cup there. Why? Because ridiculous teams like the Arizona Coyotes and Los Angeles Kings exist as legitimate NHL franchises. If your nation can find a way to play the sport to begin with, the only reason to say it is "unsuitable" for others is really just a...

That's delusional. There are tons of haters in Europe who think the WC has no business being in a football wasteland like the U.S. and yet are as incensed as anyone that Qatar won the bid.

Then my argument is that you're no longer a World Cup. You're a "World-Except-the-Middle-East Cup".

I like that: "muzlimz" ;) But the truth is there are some who feel the WC should never be hosted in the Middle East, period, even has they shovel money indirectly into the Qatari Foundation as Barca fanboys. This clouds things a little bit.

Dude... the only way to improve that is the confetti canons they use when teams lift the cup.

I wasn't fixated just on the body count, which is a lost cause in any case, but the financial and construction investments to date.

Given that he had Qatari deck-sucking emblazoned on his Barca jersey, why am I not surprised? Let's also remember that some 4 thousand people who have died already will essentially have died for naught. Not a reason to keep it there, but if any appreciable progress has been made, that kind of...

I've always wondered why my morning cup of coffee is expected to bear the world's burdens of child labor laws, environmentalism, and social justice with its Fair Trade, Direct Trade, Rainforest Alliance, Organic, etc., requirements ... and meanwhile I'm encouraged to buy clothing made in...

I would much rather watch that video.

Betcha China would pull that off if they held it in the South China Sea.

I'm not scared of that as much as wankers who want the World Cup held in England every 4 years.

I think it was a rushed oversight, a secondary detail. If it truly was a selection criteria for FIFA, Qatar should have never made it to the nomination stage to begin with. Some may have thought Qatar would a/c the whole country. Others may have thought political resistance to the heat or to...

More comedy incompetence than corruption in that specific example. I never presume conspiracy where incompetence suffices as an explanation. And Barca's Qatari Foundation? ;) I'm not saying I'm a fan of the Qatari bid, but if you're gonna gripe -- do so for legit reasons and not whiny...

You play in November in Qatar and it's no big deal. To presume the whole world has to revolve around the seasons of the northern hemisphere is completely ethnocentric. You're either a World Cup or a Half a World Cup. And I don't know of any sherpas playing atop Everest or football leagues under...

My point is that how a local footballing culture enjoys the sport doesn't necessarily dictate how a World Cup is hosted. Andries was making the point that it should be played as originally designed, on grassy fields. But good luck finding those in Africa, for instance. If nations can put a...

Many Brazilians play it on asphalt.

But that would be worthy. If you are a world sport, who are you to ban portions of the world from play where humanity already lives, breathes, works, and dies? If your players aren't conditioned to play there, either forfeit or play the players on your team that can hack it. Otherwise we...

Home field advantage. It's not Bolivia's fault that they live in a place where the rest of the world feels is inhospitable.