Concacaf President Warner wants England to host 2018 World Cup and USA to get 2022

Concacaf President and Fifa Vice-President Jack Warner hopes to convince the USA to abandon their bid for the 2018 finals in order to clear the way for England.

"My message to the USA - and they don't have to listen - is to try to make a deal for 2022 and I'm quite sure that would have universal support."

Although it is painful to say, Warner does make a strong point. The 2018 World Cup is all but assured to be held in Europe and England is by far the front-runner. That said, the US has a major advantage that could trump the somewhat emotional desire to give England only their second final and that is money.

With over 20 stadiums currently able to hold 70,000+ fans and a large diverse population already built in the US, a repeat of the 1994 event (in terms of tickets sold) is very likely. These tickets along with corporate sponsorship deals would likely make FIFA a huge sum of money, even by FIFA standards.

Then again, all that will still be there for 2022.

If there is any message to take from this, it is a warning to the US Soccer Federation that you can bid on 2018, but don't expect your region's president to strong-arm people to vote for you. Warner will stay with the US during the bidding process but he will not do the heavy lifting needed to win the event.

So what should the US do? The 2018 and 2022 cups will be awarded at the same time, so the bidding process is the same time frame. Should they try to reach a deal to obtain England and other European votes or take the risk?

My thought is go for 2022.

On another note of interest, at no point does Warner point to any other CONCACAF countries as possible hosts, which suggests both Mexico and Canada are out in the cold on this one.

Australia hopes 2009 & 2010 Club World Cup will lead to 2018 World Cup

Australia hopes their bid for the 2009 & 2010 Club World Cup will help them land the 2018 World Cup.

Their football association's chief executive Ben Buckley said:

"We want to be a strong and positive contributor to the world of football in as many ways as possible," he added.

"Next week's FIFA Congress is part of that strategy, as is the 2015 Asian Cup, bidding for the 2018 FIFA World Cup and also the 2009 and 2010 Club World Cup."

With FIFA meeting in Sydney next week to make the decision on the Club World Cup, chances are very strong Australia will get the nod, but will this actually give them a strong chance at landing the big prize in 2018?

With Europe all but a lock on 2018, and England the obvious front-runner, hosting a relatively small event such as this probably will not change the balance. However, if they can combine this event with a successful 2015 Asian Cup (which has yet to be awarded) and a solid 2018 bid, they might actually position themselves well for 2022.

World Cup 2018 - Could Australia's bid fail due to rugby?

Although England is the front-runner for 2018 World Cup hosting duties, there are still a number of other countries in the mix. Perhaps the nation with the best outside shot of taking the finals is Australia, but first they will need to convince their rugby leagues to take a five week break.

For those that don't know, rugby is the king of sports in Australia and the owners (or at least main tenants) of just about every large stadium in the country. These are the same stadiums the Australian soccer federation will need to use if they are awarded the cup.

The problem is, the rugby season runs from March to the last weekend in September. Since the World Cup is played mostly in June, there is a conflict. FIFA is very demanding of pitch surfaces for World Cups (in Germany they barely let teams practice on the pitches ahead of the matches), so I really could not see them allowing other games played in the selected stadiums.

That means the ruby league would need to take a five-week break in the middle of their season to accommodate World Cup needs. The have changed their schedule in the past (most recently starting early in 2000 due to the Olympics), but as far as I can tell, they have never suspended their season (I am far from an expert on the AFL so I might be wrong).

The other option would be to shift the rugby games to different stadiums. However this too could be complicated as the ruby teams would surely lose money from playing in smaller stadiums and FIFA might not like the idea of having competition during their premier event.

So in the end, Australia's 2018 bid might come down to their rugby league. Will they be interested in completely changing their structure in order to help a sport that very well could become a challenger to their dominance of the sporting landscape? Or will they do like NFL owners in America and decide that the large amount of money they can get from the stadium more then makes up for the limited spike in soccer interest?

Is England really counting on Concacaf President Jack Warner to deliver the 2018 World Cup?

The English FA is fighting hard to win the 2018 World Cup and they are willing to put their team into the mix to make it happen. Last week news surfaced that they are trying to organize a friendly in Trinidad & Tobago to celebrate the centenary of the local federation.

Why is this of interest? Concacaf President and Fifa Vice-President Jack Warner just happens to be from T&T and is very, very involved with their federation. He also happens to control 3 of the 24 votes on the Fifa executive committee and has a major influence over the three Latin America members, all of whom will be voting on the location of 2018.

The interest level jumps up a few more notches once you look at some of Warner's past statements, specifically this classic, "England - who invented the sport - has never had any impact on world football. England at no time has had the love and support of Europe. For Europe, England is an irritant."

What is he saying now? "[The] fact is that what I did say was nothing but the reproduction of opinions and background whispers offered by false friends in Europe.

"Numerous European football grandees have often made depreciative remarks about England in the past. What I did was merely to state them and share them with the public at large."

See, no change of opinion, he was just passing along information that other bad people had told him.

So everything is happy for jolly old England right? Well maybe not so much as Jack Warner has this habit of getting himself in situations that don't look to be just right, which brings us to Dominica.

"Last month Warner presented himself at the Dominica Football Association, demanding the resignation of the chief executive, Dexter Francis, and the dissolution of the DFA's executive board. Dominica, which has only 500 registered players, complained to Fifa about what it called his 'illegal' actions."

As the Dominican FA put it, "He tried to bully us in our little country."

Fifa looked over the events and ruled that Warner went well beyond his authority and that "the Dominica FA and the Dominican football community [that] the associations committee fully recognizes the democratically and rightfully elected president, Dexter Francis, and his board as being in charge of the football association and the organisation of football in Dominica."

Could this finally be the issue, unlike so many before, that brings Warner down? One reason it might is Warner counts on the small countries like Dominica to stay on as Concacaf president. If these small countries start to see him as a bully, they could bail on him and open up the confederation to new leadership that might not be so willing to except a friendly in return for World Cup votes.

US to decide on World Cup 2018 bid

The US Soccer Federation will decide by June 1 if they are going to make a bid on the 2018 World Cup. The Federation is currently exploring the requirements of such a bid.

If the US went forward with this bid, their biggest rival would obviously be England who has a number of major names backing them (Beckham, Blatter, Pele, Beckenbauer). It will be very difficult for anyone to overtake England, but if the US can push the profitability of the 1994 cup as well as point to the growth of the sport within the country, they might be able to pull off an upset.

However, even if this does not happen, a class losing bid for 2018 might set them up as the front runner for 2022. Then again, with China, Russia, Mexico, Canada and Australia all making noise about putting in for 2018 as well, who knows how this will all flush out.

In the end, I doubt the US will get 2018, but I do hope they attempt to claim the prize.

Donovan interested in move to Australia

Landon Donovan has suggested he might end his playing days in Australia's A-League.

"My wife and I have talked about that (coming to play in Australia). Not now but maybe one day. I have got a couple more years at the Galaxy … it might be a while (but) I love it here," he said.

He called the 80,000 strong crowd that watch the Galaxy take on Sydney FC 'awesome' and though they played a great game.

It is interesting that Donovan, who claimed that being near his home as his main reason for moving back from Europe a few years ago, would now be willing to go even further away to finish up his playing days. Then again, maybe he's thinking Australia might get the 2018 World Cup and he, at the age of 36, could get some local love as he takes the field one last time for the USA. Or maybe he thinks that 80,000 will show up to watch him play.

Pele - Beckham in US handled 'very, very bad', likes England for World Cup 2018

Pele believes that the way David Beckham was introduced to the US audience was 'very, very bad' because he was introduced as 'a scorer of goals.'

But Beckham is not the only problem he sees for MLS as he also believes that the current salary cap is hurting the game.

Pele believes MLS players' salaries need to be raised to the level of American football or baseball players. He also wants the lifting of restrictions on player movements, which are designed to stop wealthy teams from amassing the best players.

"This was one of the mistakes. They have to give freedom to the owners of the teams to buy the players and (chose) which players they want to put (out)," Pele said. "The big mistake in the league now is to control the level of the teams. If they opened this up, it would be much better.

The biggest problem with this move, of coarse, is that it is basically what NASL did back in the 70's, and that didn't end up so well.

Still, he is correct that if the league ever wants to see the attendance numbers of the Cosmos (50-60,000 per match), they will need to have more money to spend to attract top talent. However, at this point the league is not looking for such numbers, instead, they want to build a strong foundation for later improvements. Yet it is hard to argue that raising the salary cap a few million dollars per team is a bad idea.

In other Pele news, he thinks England is well suited to hold the 2018 finals. He sited stadiums as the main reason the country should get the Cup. He then went on to talk about his own country hosting the 2014 World Cup.

'It is fantastic. The Brazilians love football, they live football.
'When Brazil was nominated to get the World Cup it was fantastic.
'Of course there is a lot of controversy about the situation and people ask if Brazil is ready to host the World Cup.
'If you look now, no-one is able to play in the World Cup. If FIFA was there now they would say no, but seven years from now Brazil will be in shape to host the World Cup.'

World Cup rotation dead - Fifa spits on Concacaf - Why is Jack Warner still in charge?

Fifa made it official today, the rotational system will die after the 2014 Brazil finals, meaning everyone except for little Oceania and Concacaf got a piece of the World Cup pie.

This comes as no surprise as Fifa boss Sepp Blatter has been hinting at this for some time now but still, one has to wonder why Concacaf President and Blatter's BFF Jack Warner was not able to bring his confederation the finals as he promised. Since it was Concacaf's to lose and Warner lost it, hopefully all the FAs will realize that Warner is not the great strength he portrays himself to be.

So 2018 now becomes an open bidding tournament much like, as Blatter points out, the Olympics. I guess that means 2018 process will be a lot like those for the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Blatter listed China, Australia, Mexico, the United States, England and one combined offer from the Netherlands and Belgium as countries already showing interest in the finals. However, seeing that those in Europe pushed this moved, it is pretty safe to say that most of them are already unofficially out. I'm sure Fifa will keep as many countries 'in the game' as they can so as to milk as much out of it as possible, but in the end, 2018 is now England's World Cup to lose.

2018 World Cup getting closer to England

Fifa boss Sepp Blatter as personally assured Prime Minister Gordon Brown that rules will be changed to do away with the rotational hosting idea, thus allowing England and just about anyone else the chance to bid on the 2018 World Cup finals.

In addition, it now appears that the new rule will say that only the most recent confederation to host the finals will be barred from bidding. In the past, Blatter had suggested that the last two host confederations would be barred. This means that a return to the one in Europe, one somewhere else, one in Europe rotation is very likely.

One interesting part of the article says that England will 'face competition from Russia, the Benelux nations, Italy, Australia, China, Mexico and possibly the United States.' I don't really understand the 'possibility' in front of the US as they have openly said that they will bid (especially since the 2018 rotation would have gone to Concacaf if FIFA actually played by their own rules).

So there you have it, all signs point to England in 2018, although wouldn't it be funny if Russia snuck in and won it at the end?

Uruguay and Argentina want to host the World Cup

Back in 1930, Uruguay hosted the first ever World Cup and they want to do it again 100 years later. However, they realize that the current version of the finals is a bit too big for them to do it alone, so they have joined with neighbors Argentina for the right to host the 2030 World Cup.

AFA president Julio Grondona expressed his desire to help Uruguay host the event through a formally written letter that was sent to the AUF headquarters in Montevideo earlier on in the week.

“Working for this goal together will bring the relationship between both nations closer than ever. The sporting authorities, and both governments, must work together so that we can reach our objective by 2030,” he stated.

Grondona (76) feels that both nations have a lot of work to do, and they will only send in their proposal once they have a detailed outline of the whole project.

So these two have joined together to host an event that is still 23 years away.

But there might be a problem with this desire. FIFA is expected to soon pass a rule that will end the World Cup rotation after 2014 and that will open up future finals to all continents except for the last two that have hosted World Cups. Because of these changes (and other things coming out of FIFA), it is very much speculated that Europe will again play host in 2018. So here is the way future cups look:
2010 - South Africa
2014 - Brazil
2018 - Europe (most likely England)
2022 - Asia or North America
2026 - Asia or North America
2030 - ?

Knowing that Europe doesn't like going more then two finals without playing host, it would be hard to imagine them not pressing for the 2030 cup.

This is still along way from anything happening and who knows what shape the world will be in 20-years from now (or what rules FIFA will have changed), but the way things are looking from here, it might be a choice between celebrating the history of the game or letting Europe have another one.

Blatter clearing the 2018 field for England?

Everyone's favorite Sepp is making news again as the FIFA president has told advisors that he wants to do away with the World Cup rotational system. Now all the boss needs in order to make this thought into a fact is the approval of the executive committee, which is all but certain.

The new rule will allow any continent to bid on the finals except for the hosts of the most recent two finals.

Had the rotational system stayed in place, Concacaf would get the 2018 finals, which would mean either the US, Mexico or Canada would play host. However, it now looks like the plan to rotate through all the confederations will stop a bit short.

But what makes England so interesting to Blatter? Could it have something to do with their World Cup ambassador?

An English bid, which has the support of prime minister Gordon Brown, will face competition from China, Australia, Russia and possibly Italy. Brown's World Cup ambassador, Richard Caborn, is currently considering offers of support from consultancy firms, including one with exceptionally close ties to Blatter.

But the fun doesn't stop there:

The bid could also be boosted by the announcement that Lord Coe, chairman of Fifa's ethics commission, will act as the watchdog for the bidding process. Coe's role with Fifa has attracted criticism, largely because in the year since its foundation his commission has met only once and, because it cannot act retrospectively, has not tackled any of the serious allegations levelled against Fifa, including those made against the vice-president Jack Warner.

So let's see, England might hire a consulting firm with close ties to Blatter while the enter bidding process is being watched over by a former English athlete who is in charge of a 'major' committee on ethics that has only met once. Yeah, nothing to see here.

So will Concacaf ever get another World Cup?

England has never had any impact on world football - FIFA VP goes after 2018 England World Cup big

The decision on the location for the 2018 World Cup is still 5-years away but that hasn't stopped FIFA VP and Concacaf President Jack Warner from attacking England's plans as if it was the final month of a tight political campaign.

Warner, who is very good at using the sport of soccer to enhance his own financial situation, lead heavy into England's hopes in an interview with BBC World Service to air on Saturday. Warner thinks that even if the 2018 finals were held in Europe, England would not get them because "nobody in Europe likes England."

He went on to say: "England - who invented the sport - has never had any impact on world football. England at no time has had the love and support of Europe. For Europe, England is an irritant." Those are some heavy words.

At the center of all this is the fact that Concacaf would be denied a chance to host the finals if the rotational system is scrapped.

There are moves to give it to England. I must fight that.

I really don't believe that we should just lay down and play dead to anyone who wants to take the World Cup from CONCACAF.

I know in FIFA there are those persons who believe the rules should be changed to satisfy Europe but I tell you this today we shall fight it to the very end.

I'm sure Warner's motives for bringing the games to the region in 2018 have at least as much to do with personal desire as they do confederation pride, but this is an interesting theme he is playing. If he can try to play the rest of the world vs. Europe, he might be able to force FIFA's hand.

I'm no fan of Warner, but I do like that he is standing up for Concacaf. Now how much of what he says is just blowing hot wind to try and land some other benefit and how much of it is sincere, we'll find out over the next few years. But for now, don't expect to see Warner having high tea with Steve McClaren at Wembley anytime soon.

2010 World Cup News

It might seem like it is a long way away but there is still a great deal happening in preparation for 2010. Here is just some of the news about the biggest single sport event in the world.

The big news is that optimism in South Africa is growing that they will be ready to host the finals, with 70% now believing it will happen. However, only 52% think the country will be able to meet the electrical needs of the tournament.

The good vibrations are inspiring those in the marketing community to come up with a way to 'brand' Africa before the Cup, much the way Germany did with great success.

However, it looks like the environment will not be as big a part of the South African brand as it was for Germany as the new Green Point Stadium in Cape Town will not be very green after deciding not to implement any of the recommended environmentally friendly building techniques.

Also in environmental news, a court has delayed a case brought by the Cape Town Environmental Protection Association looking to move the above mentioned Green Point Stadium. They say a decision will be reached by August 13.

But the environment might not be the only thing harmed in 2010 as FIFA is looking to trademark a number of phrases related to the World Cup that some feel would interfere with constitutional freedom of the media. Some of the phrases are: 2010, twenty ten, drawings of the Fifa World Cup, Football World Cup, Soccer World Cup, Win in Africa, Football for a Better World and all names of the venue cities with the figure 2010.

If you will be in Johannesburg 2010™, expect a great airport experience followed by big traffic jams since the main highway in town is so busy that "..traffic moves so slowly that most employers do not mind if an employee arrives an hour late."

Maybe while you are in those jams you can enjoy one of South Africa’s many fine wines. In fact, if you learn enough about them, maybe you could become a sommelier as they are in short supply for the finals.

Tanzania might not be one of South Africa’s direct neighbors but they are hoping to gain from 2010™ as well as they will provide incentives to teams to train in country before heading down south.

Who knows, maybe one of those teams will be Iraq as the new Asian Cup winners are looking at 2010™ qualification as their next goal.

One of the teams Iraq might have to face is China who could hire their Olympic coach Ratomir Dujkovic to take over the senior squad after next year's Beijing Games. Dujkovic led Ghana in 2006.

But the team from Asia that looks to have the easiest path to South Africa™ is Australia as they have been seeded number 1 for qualifying meaning the Socceroos will get a bye to Round 3. With 4.5 spots available, they have to like their chances better then the old .5 spot allocated to former federation Oceania.

Australia is also looking for more soccer glory as they plan on bidding for both the 2015 Asian Cup and the 2018 World Cup.

Talking about 2018, a new FIFA rule might just help England land the tournament. FIFA™ looks likely to approve a rule that would require the World Cup be played in Europe once every 12 years. With 2010 in South Africa and 2014 in Brazil, well what do you know, FIFA would be 'forced' to land the finals in Europe.

Also working out for England is Franz Beckenbauer who said of 2018, "It has to come back to Europe and then England, of course, is the first choice to host the World Cup in 2018."

If this rule does pass (and I think it will), 2022 becomes the big battleground as everyone not in Europe could throw down a bid.

So there you have the World Cup news and remember just 1043 days till first kick 2010™...