OT: BC Govt balking at subsidizing 2026 World Cup bid

[CorbeauNoir]

OK clearly I'm wrong, and FIFA can continue to go to places like Qatar to host a tournament while Canada cannot.

While Canada doesn't have a stadium with 80,000, at least they built them without major human rights violations.

Sure. all the more reason Canada shouldn't have any affiliation with FIFA whatsoever. Frankly I just see it as even more evidence of Justin's hypocrisy that his government will unquestioningly kowtow to an organization that will openly tolerate such practices.

 

[Epsilon]

OK clearly I'm wrong, and FIFA can continue to go to places like Qatar to host a tournament while Canada cannot.

While Canada doesn't have a stadium with 80,000, at least they built them without major human rights violations.

Talk about a false dichotomy. FIFA can avoid fiascos like Qatar while still not having to settle for a C-grade situation like what Canada would be offering. Just rotate it between all the countries with adequate existing facilities, there's more than enough of those with all the European powers, the USA, Brazil, Argentina, Russia, China, Japan, etc. etc. etc.

Also, what's the evidence that a WC hosted in Canada would be "scandal-free"?

 

[Bjorn Le]

Talk about a false dichotomy. FIFA can avoid fiascos like Qatar while still not having to settle for a C-grade situation like what Canada would be offering. Just rotate it between all the countries with adequate existing facilities, there's more than enough of those with all the European powers, the USA, Brazil, Argentina, Russia, China, Japan, etc. etc. etc.

Also, what's the evidence that a WC hosted in Canada would be "scandal-free"?

Obviously Canada wouldn't be a good solo host, but it's not as if FIFA has been picking great ones in the first place. They're not going to rotate it among coutnries with adequate existing facilities, they're going to have some good hosts sparsed in with downright horrible ones like Qatar and Morocco. If the joint bid isn't accepted, they go to Morocco, a country whose bid relies on the promise that they will build more than a half-dozen stadiums (despite the entire country having a GDP a third of what the city of Toronto has).

 

[Aavco Cup]

Would you sign a contract with this many uncertainties?

Exclusive: FIFA demands 2026 World Cup bidders guarantee a tax holiday, copyright protection and exemption from labour laws - theBreaker

They need unlimited foreign currency exemptions to take all their bribe money home?

and allow it to import and export unlimited amounts of foreign currency

 

[Jumptheshark]

A few more details in this story. It’s kind of breathtaking that cities would cotton to this nonsense.

Mike Smyth: No soccer for you! Inside the government’s fight with FIFA

There is a lot more than just those.

But for the amount of games Vancouver might get Is what makes the demand silly.

4 games at most and Fifa wanted a blank check.

Btw

During that two month free use of bc place FIFA could concerts and claim all the money

 

[MNNumbers]

In regard to the specific case of Vancouver....

#1- It's Canada, not US. The requirements that the WC makes are not specific to US. Vancouver and BC apparently feel that those requirements are too loosely defined to make it worth the risk. They mentioned the visa situation, and the open ended claim to BC Place.
#2- If it were only a matter of expedited visas for players and staffing, I don't know why that would be a problem. The fact that visa is mentioned in BC's announcement suggests that FIFA was not limiting the suspension of normal rules, and wanted a blanket open door of some kind.
Conclusion on this particular case: No need to accuse anyone of bigotry on the basis of BC bowing out of hosting.

On Minneapolis - Same thing. The city backed off because the requirements were too broad. There is serious money involved, because it's an artificial surface, and they would need grass, and it seems FIFA is very pedantic in its rules. City takes all the risk, and there isn't much that the city gets back, other than prestige and any tourism that goes with it (which is likely to be very small in Minneapolis). Again, no racism involved.

Chicago - see Minneapolis.

As for FIFA and its association with Qatar.... These are simply my opinions, and I'm willing to be corrected....
But,
It was well known that Qatar had this foreign worker system.
Therefore, when FIFA awarded the bid, if they thought about it, they would know it would be foreign workers building the stadia.
Since those workers have been abused for a long time, that makes FIFA a little bit culpable.
However, not so much culpable about that, because we all know that Qatar didn't win on merit. FIFA voted according to their own $$ pleasure and the promises of perks of various kinds. That's what FIFA is all about.
Qatar bid for prestige. There is not going to be enough tourist money to make up for what it costs them to build. So, they were willing to pay whatever for the sake of prestige.

That makes FIFA very similar to IOC.

And, it gives exactly the reason needed, if they want one, to put 2026 in Morocco.

Basically, FIFA is corrupt on multiple levels. And, one doesn't need to be racist to say so.

 

[member 105785]

Maybe off topic but I noticed that Toronto FC and Montreal Impact is on CTV. I think the World Cup will be the event that pushes soccer's North American popularity past hockey. Past the border into Mexico. It is a sport after all that anyone can play. With Bell and Disney on board already, they have good media exposure.

The Women's World Cup did not have much of a presence in Winnipeg. Surprised Edmonton bid. Does Vancouver have good outdoor stadium for soccer? Because I think international fans tend to find dome soccer tacky.

BC Place is outdoor with 60k seating

 

[NSHPreds1835]

I think Arthur Blank is wanting Atlanta to be part of the joint North American World Cup bid.

 

[Voight]

Talk about a false dichotomy. FIFA can avoid fiascos like Qatar while still not having to settle for a C-grade situation like what Canada would be offering. Just rotate it between all the countries with adequate existing facilities, there's more than enough of those with all the European powers, the USA, Brazil, Argentina, Russia, China, Japan, etc. etc. etc.

Also, what's the evidence that a WC hosted in Canada would be "scandal-free"?

FIFA is not going to hold a World Cup in Canada using sub-par venues when they could always just toss it into one of the many European countries with adequate facilities. It's not like they are hurting for potential World Cup hosts to the point they have to consider a Canadian bid featuring old dumpy stadiums with substandard capacities and artificial turf.

Canada has adequate facilities. BMO Field seats 30,000 and is fine for preliminary games. That's just in Toronto. Montreal has the Olympic Stadium (61,000), Edmonton has the Commonwealth (56,000), . Those are comparable with all but two of the Stadiums used in the 2014 World Cup.

I'm sure all major games would be held in the US given they have the most stadiums. I imagine the final few games would be in LA/NYC/Dallas or Houston. Maybe ATL.

FIFA Stadium Requirements are -

Opening match	80,000
Remaining group stage matches	40,000
Round of 32	40,000
Round of 16	40,000
Quarterfinals	40,000
Semifinals	60,000
Third place play-off	40,000
Final	80,000

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

So in theory Canada could host every game except the final and opening match.

Yea they could "toss it in" any random European country but that's not how they like to do things. They like to run thru all the continents before giving a tournament back to a host continent. In 2010 you had Africa (first time ever), 2014 South America, 2018 Europe and 2022 Asia. By 2026 it would be 32 years since North America last hosted it and soccer has grown tenfold in that time.

 

[mouser]

Btw

During that two month free use of bc place FIFA could concerts and claim all the money

Does BC Place really do much business besides the CFL and MLS teams? I'm looking at the BC Place schedule right now and it looks like they don't have a single concert scheduled until October?

 

[Killion]

Does BC Place really do much business besides the CFL and MLS teams? I'm looking at the BC Place schedule right now and it looks like they don't have a single concert scheduled until October?

Thats pretty much it, ya. They host some consumer shows, Boat, Automotive, Home etc.

 

[Jumptheshark]

Does BC Place really do much business besides the CFL and MLS teams? I'm looking at the BC Place schedule right now and it looks like they don't have a single concert scheduled until October?

I know when I lived near BC place they held a lot of private functions and other stuff. For 2 months FIFA would control ALL aspects of the Stadium including. Because not all of the functions they hold are open to the public--they are not well known or advertised

 

[Big McLargehuge]

Not automatic in case of a joint bid - FIFA discretion. SK and Japan were granted automatic qualifiers in 2002. Even with three teams I can't imagine FIFA not granting automatic seeds especially when the tournament will expand to 48 teams. Imagine if USA choked like they did for 2018 and were not to participate as host nation. Absolutely no chance FIFA will take this risk.

I was 50/50 on Canada getting a bid if this goes through before the World Cup expansion (CONCACAF is sending 3 teams to the World Cup this year, after all), but with the expansion I don't see a good reason to not have all 3 automatically there.

That said, there's no way in hell the US doesn't get an automatic bid as the primary host. FIFA won't have to sweat that part out one way or another.

 

[CorbeauNoir]

I was 50/50 on Canada getting a bid if this goes through before the World Cup expansion (CONCACAF is sending 3 teams to the World Cup this year, after all), but with the expansion I don't see a good reason to not have all 3 automatically there.

That said, there's no way in hell the US doesn't get an automatic bid as the primary host. FIFA won't have to sweat that part out one way or another.

CONCACAF's president is Canadian. Just from the perspective of FIFA's closed-door politics alone it would make zero sense for Canada not to be automatically qualified.

 

[LeHab]

Official bids now available -> 2026 FIFA World Cup bid books now available