Qatar will make history by hosting the first World Cup in the Middle East. Australia, South Korea and Japan were also bidding for the 2022 tournament.
FIFA also awarded Russia its first World Cup in a vote for the 2018 tournament host. Twenty-two FIFA executive committee members cast their votes by secret ballot in Zurich. The other contenders for 2018 were England, Spain-Portugal and Belgium-Netherlands.
FIFA approved an ambitious bid by Qatar that includes a plan to spend $4 billion on air-conditioned stadiums in a country where summer temperatures typically exceed 118 degrees.
Qatar bid leaders said the heat would not be an issue in Wednesday's final pitch to FIFA voters.
"In Mexico in '86 there was a great deal of heat and altitude. Despite this it was a wonderful World Cup," said Bora Milutinovic, Mexico's coach in 1986 who was brought in by Qatar's bid leaders. "The heat will not be a problem in Qatar. They have air-conditioned stadia."
By choosing Qatar, FIFA rejected a bid by the United States to host the tournament nearly three decades after a highly successful World Cup. The 1994 World Cup set an attendance record of 3.5 million that still stands. The U.S. bid for 2022 projected 5 million tickets will be sold, generating $1 billion in ticket revenue.
Former president Bill Clinton, actor Morgan Freeman and U.S. national team player Landon Donovan were part of the USA's final pitch to voters Wednesday. Clinton, the honorary bid chairman, spoke of the country's strong infrastructure and the growing popularity of the game among Americans.
"You won't have to worry about construction deadlines or ticket sales," Clinton said during the U.S. bid presentation Wednesday. "Even in 2010 in South Africa the United States citizens accounted for the second largest block of purchased tickets after South Africans. You will be free to elevate this game as never before and show how it can make the world a better place." -- Roxanna Scott
Be the first to rate this [?] |
Reid Cherner and Tom Weir have been with USA TODAY since 1982 and they have written Game On! since March 2008.
Reid has covered everything from high schools to horse racing to the college and the pros. The only thing he likes more than his own voice is the sound of readers telling him when he's right and wrong.
Tom has covered every Summer and Winter Olympics since 1984, and has made numerous trips to the Super Bowl, World Series, Final Four and NBA Finals. In 2009, he put more miles on his bicycle than on his car.
Michael McCarthy and Michael Hiestand have more in common than their first names.
Both have covered sports media and marketing for USA TODAY. Both have tackled the sports biz ranging from what's behind mega-events such as the Olympics and Super Bowl to the sometimes-hidden numbers behind the sports world's bottom line.
But they usually come at things from different directions, and it's no wonder. Hiestand is an Oregon native who went to Stanford while McCarthy is a native New Yorker who went to St. John's.
Share
Digg
Newsvine
Reddit
)