Amid investigations for corruption from the FIFA ethics committee, officials released a statement saying they were going to reduce the number of stadiums built for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar by a third.
No official reason was given for eliminating the four stadiums, but John Sfakianakis, a chief investment strategist in Saudi Arabia said “their decision was motivated by cost-cutting following an assessment of the real needs on the ground.”
Putting on an event for the entire world can be tough.
Especially when stadiums, IT networks, public transportation and airports aren’t finished.
Those are just a couple of things that Brazil and FIFA have on their plate with less than three months until the opening whistle between Brazil and Croatia on June 12th.
FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke is doing the best he can to calm people’s nerves but he knows the challenges ahead. It was him two years ago who said, “Brazil needs a kick up the backside” in regards to the local organizing committee.
With The Americans second season getting rave reviews, who hasn’t been a little nostalgic for some old-fashioned, Cold War-style tension between the U.S. and Russia? And who can really blame a few U.S. politicians for being upset about Russia’s human rights record and its aggression in the Ukraine – and perhaps even a little jealous with Mother Russia for having just hosted the Sochi Olympics, and for having won the rights to host the 2018 World Cup over the U.S.?
If FIFA strips Qatar of its 2022 World Cup hosting rights over corruption allegations, the Japan Football Association says it would be able to step in and put on soccer’s biggest event.
Japan was one of the countries that lost out to Qatar for the rights to host the 2022 World Cup, but they believe they have all the resources needed to host if necessary.