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I have been saying for a while that I wanted the 2022 FIFA World Cup to be held in the US. It is definitely one of the sporting events that is on my bucket list and with games being right here it would have made things really easy. So yes, I was disappointed yesterday when Qatar beat out the US on the 4th ballot to secure the rights to host the 2022 World Cup. There are some out though who are taking this to an extreme and turning this into a hate campaign against Qatar.
The outrage is flat out ridiculous. Some are trying to turn this into a political thing. Why would you even want to start with that? Qatar's political landscape isn't like that of the US or England so somehow that makes them less qualified to host a World Cup? If sports were about politics only, I think it'd be fair to exclude the United States from hosting events for a while given the amount of innocent civilians who have been killed in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq thanks to the US military. If we want to make this about human rights lets exclude England from ever hosting anything because of what they did when they were an empire. There is no need to mix sports and politics. China just hosted the Olympics in 2008, South Africa had the World Cup this year, Adolph Hitler's Germany hosted an Olympics but people want me to be outraged because Qatar doesn't have diplomatic ties with Israel?
I've heard complain about the alcohol ban in Qatar. I understand that alcohol consumption has become a big part of sporting events but no one one ever died from not getting it at a sporting event. A few less drunk hooligans is a good thing, not bad. Muslims have survived without halal food at sporting events, Vegetarians without their food, etc. It's not that big of a deal. Anyways, there are bars and hotels in Qatar where consumption is legal. It is illegal to be drunk on the streets and the enforcement of that law is a good thing, not bad.
I've heard people try to turn this into a human rights issue because of Qatar's laws against homosexuality. I must have missed the part where the west became the beacon for equality as far as homosexuals are concerned. Again, why are people are ignoring the incidents in Baltimore, Seattle and Los Angeles. Should those incidents have been held against the USA bid? Why the hypocritical stance?
I have heard people complain about how weak Qatar's soccer team is. So what? Why is everyone forgetting that the US hadn't qualified for the World Cup in 40 years when they were named the hosts for the 1994 World Cup? Japan had never qualified for the World Cup when they were named hosts of the 2002 tournament.
The Qatar victory also looks like a major win for "green" technology.
Each of the five stadiums will harness the power of the suns rays to provide a cool environment for players and fans by converting solar energy into electricity that will then be used to cool both fans and players at the stadiums. When games are not taking place, the solar installations at the stadia will export energy onto the power grid. During matches, the stadia will draw energy from the grid. This is the basis for the stadiums' carbon-neutrality. Along with the stadiums, we plan to make the cooling technologies we've developed available to other countries in hot climates, so that they too can host major sporting events.
That is taken straight from their bid website.
People need to realize that sports are a business. It is the World Cup, not the America or European Cup. Qatar is spending $32.9 Billion on infrastructure for this World Cup. Sports in the Middle East are spreading fast. Cricket, Golf, Tennis and Formula One have all been smart to start tapping that market. The sponsorship money is huge.
