The official student newspaper of Walter Johnson High School

The Pitch

The official student newspaper of Walter Johnson High School

The Pitch

The official student newspaper of Walter Johnson High School

The Pitch

World Cup Locations for 2018, 2022 Announced

FIFA has stunned soccer fans across the globe with its blindsiding decision to hold the 2018 World Cup in Russia, and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The United States has been vying for a bid for the better part of the last twenty years, but was snubbed yet again.

To be honest, I knew the FIFA officials weren’t going to hold the tourney in three major countries in a row (the 2014 Cup will be held in Brazil) so as soon as they announced Moscow as the 2018 location, it was obvious that it would be at least 16 years before the Cup would come to the U.S.

That being said, never did I consider the idea that the Cup would be held in a country whose team has never qualified for the event, and whose largest defeat came to pitiful Kuwait by a whopping score of 9-0. While Qatar is one of the leading economic countries in the Middle East, there is no substantial reason to think that Qatar will have a positive effect on the most important sporting event in the world.

Another issue is that Qatar’s largest stadium holds a meager 50,000 people, which is 35,000 less than that of South Africa’s.  This may be good for FIFA because ticket prices will rise, but the lack of space makes it hard to grasp that it is a good thing for soccer in general. While I understand  FIFA’s reasoning for causing millions of people to pay thousands of dollars to melt in the desert sun, I condemn their final choice when they could have gone to Korea or Japan, both of whom posted bids, which provide a more tourist-friendly environment as well as soccer teams with experience in the event.

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