stryker

Your source includes a link to a tabloid journal in The Sun. This is not a reputable source. If this was under consideration, it would be in the Saudi press. It's not. The Kingdom is dry and it will stay dry as far as booze goes. You might want to look up how Saudi society is structured. The clerics hold sway.

No chance. The ultra conservative clerics will not allow it. That ranks right up rhere with the idea that stadiums in Mecca and Medina could be used given both cities are closed to non-Muslims. This will be a dry WC, a gender segregated WC, and likely one where female spectators must dress conservatively if not be required to wear the abaya I do wonder if the events in Israel might be causing FIFA to think "ok how much do we need to pay off the refs in the Israeli qualifiers to make sure they don't qualify." China is still the wild card here. If they decide to bid they'd be the prohibitive favorite. If they decide to do so I think they will wait until the end of the Asian Games and Xi, one who likes the spotlight,will make the announcement.

At the end of the day, Spain and Portugal don't even need Morocco to host this thing. The Iberian peninsula is capable of hosting o their own, but by including Morocco, FIFA can check off a few boxes (Muslim, Africa, country with recent WC success, and finally awarding a repetitive bidder). Tangier, Marrakech, and Rabat (maybe Fes if Casablanca can't get its stadium situation fixed) are the only sure cities with the required stadiums for a WC and none of them meet the capacity for a semifinal let alone final. Casablanca actually now lacks a suitable WC stadium right now. They either have to finally build GSDC or extensively renovate Stade Mohammed V. It's quite possible neither of those happen so anything beyond a QF match is a pipe dream

I don't think you will see Japan host an Olympics again until the 2040s at the earliest. The scandal plus the bit budget blowout of Tokyo (who knows if the real costs will ever be made public) will sour the public mood for a while. Sapporo also had a very poor PR pitch which essentially was "this isn't the Tokyo covid Olympics, we promise to do this right."

Morocco has been trying to get Grand Stade de Casablanca built for more nearly 20 years now. I'm not even sure by being part of a joint hosting of the WC that it will get built. It wouldn't surprise me if Morocco decides on an expansive renovation of Stade Mohammed V instead. Madrid for the final. Barcelona and Seville for the semis. Lisbon for third place. I expect Morocco to get two of the quarterfinals - Casablanca and Marrakech.

Not only that, women would have to dress significantly more conservatively than even in Qatar. Abayas are no longer required by law but many establishments, including hotels in Riyadh, will not admit women without them. I've already mentioned the gender segregation issue. I had a conversation with a colleague not terribly long ago about a possible Saudi WC and he said well surely FIFA could compel the Saudis to relax their laws temporarily. The answer on that is a hard no. For as liberal as some make MBS out to be, he still has to be careful not to anger the ultra-conservative Islamic clerics. That means unmarried men and women mixing at a sporting event, in a fan zone, or even in a hotel or restaurant is a no go. I'd also suspect that very few women outside of Saudi women would actually attend the WC. For the Saudi Grand Prix over 70 percent of the audience in the stands were men. I'd expect that pattern to hold for a WC. If China throws their hat in the Saudis are done, and I could see President Xi making the announcement about a Chinese bid personally and right before the deadline.

I touched on this in another thread, but I think the dire economic state of Argentina (broke with a worthless currency and about to elect the Argentine Donald Trump who wields chainsaws at rallies), Paraguay and Uruguay simply wasn't feasible financially or logistically. FIFA does not want to award their prized tournament to a collection of third world countries who cannot afford it. Portugal, Spain, and Morocco are a safe bet and FIFA acted on it.

Just curious what you mean about pool placements? I assume that means trying to make it as difficult as possible for Israel to qualify in the first place. FIFA only awarded the U17 WC when it was clear Israel didn't qualify. FIFA doesn't want to deal eith the prospect of Israel qualifying for the big one and the Indonesia does a U turn and says they aren't welcome. FIFA would be powerless at that point. Yup and China can go all out without the cultural issues ( gender segregation and alcohol) that FIFA would have to agree to with a Saudi WC in the first place. China can also promise a safe WC without the risk of the Houthis landing a missile in a stadium during a match.

I would agree but with the IOC involved I could see the No Olympics surfacing with knives out especially in Switzerland.

https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1141408/fifa-world-cup-2030 Now that 2030 is awarded, FIFA has said 2034 will go to either Asia, Oceania, or both. I'd say the early favorite is China (including Hong Kong) with a joint Australia/New Zealand bid a close second. Indonesia's stance on Israel makes them a non-starter. I'm sure the Saudis will throw their financial weight around, but Xi and the CCP have more than enough cash and clout to derail another Mideast bid.

I also suspect that it is possible there could be local referendums on hosting the sliding events and the IOC knows with China that's not a possibility. I'm surprised the track in France wasn't mentioned as an option. Seems like it would be a nice test run for the French 2030 bid.

Well this was a shocker, but in reality, FIFA really had no other choice. This joint bid is the safest in terms of infrastructure though Morocco will need some investments in transportation (maybe they will also finally get the Grand Stade de Casablanca built). Financially and logistically, the South American bid, while nostalgic and sentimental, is just too risky when you consider the massive financial resources that would be needed to get most if not all the required stadiums ready plus other infrastructure requirements. Then there's the economic side that I am sure weighed on the FIFA brain trust. Argentina is flat broke, it's currency is practically worthless, and they are on the verge of electing their own version of Donald Trump as president (look this guy up he brings chainsaws to political rallies). Paraguay and Uruguay are in recession with white hot inflation. It's a lose lose scenario. It will be interesting to see how the travel situation is worked out for the special matches in South America. My guess is they'd have to feature at least one South American country a piece while maybe qualifiers from either Europe or Africa with extra time alotted for travel and jet lag adjustment. I cannot see any Asian or Oceania team being a part of these matches.

https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1141305/italy-explore-alternatives-bobsleigh Innsbruck I get but Yanqing?! Are the IOC and the Milan Cortina organizers that desperate? Only thing I can figure is China would offer a backup plan in case local opposition to holding the sliding events materializes in Innsbruck.

I don't remember this being announced but I see on the Milan Cortina website that the secondary ice hockey arena has been changed to Fiera Milano. I guess it is large enough for speed skating, ice hockey, and the IBC and MPC. The original secondary ice hockey arena renovation must have been deemed too pricey

You can't throw money when you are broke which Italy is. They still aren't progressing on the main ice hockey arena either. Wouldn't surprise me to see one of the ice hockey venues moved to Torino. While it won't happen, breaking contract with the IOC wouldn't be that much of an issue. The IOC is a nonprofit (supposedly) organization and they don't have authority over national governments. The bigger problem would be contracts signed with sponsors and vendors. As for the IOC if they did try to go to court, it would be a PR nightmare for them just like the CWF declined to press for a court case against Victoria. It would be long and drawn out and neither the IOC or the CWF would have the finances for that. That said, the IOC really needs Milan-Cortina to work financially because if the budget is blown wide open that might be the death knell for the WOGs in Western Europe. I also suspect this might be why the IOC might be quick to lock in France for 2030 sooner rather than later.

So what's Warsaw's solution for an athletics stadium? They face the same issue the likes of Madrid and a Rhine-Rhur bid face in that area. Also does anyone find it more than a coincidence their president announces this right after the whole spat with Ukraine?

Seoul in a landslide. They are a safe bet. X

Warsaw will need a ton of investment in both sports and transportation infrastructure. Costs could get out of hand very quickly. I mentioned before that Warsaw has no need for an Olympic sized athletics stadium so the only option is building one that likely becomes a white elephant using the Slaski Stadium in Chorzow which hosted athletics for the European Games. Outside of the national stadium which has a retractable roof, Warsaw lacks even one 10,000 seat arena. It's public transportation would need millions in upgrades to handle the influx of visitors not to mention more hotels. Sports facility wise, Krakow is more ready than Wsrsaw. The only way it might work is if it's a joint bid with Krakow to minimize costs.

Durban couldn't afford the CWGs. They wouldn't be able to host an Olympics

It will never get built. Egypt is practically broke and the Egyptian pound is almost worthless. Even if they did, the IOC is not going to a country where ISIS has a base of operations (the Sinai). As for the "it's time for Africa" the IOC has already done that with the YOGs in Dakar and that is the best any African nation can hope for. There's not a single country in Africa capable of hosting the Olympics both logistically and financially.

Not only that the public in Innsbruck is more likely to support the idea than the Swiss in St. Moritz.

Sure the IOC can do what it wants, but they also aren't complete stupid either. Corrupt yes, stupid no. Forgetting the fact India's only successful recent hosting of a big time sporting event was the ICC Cricket WC (they are hosting it solo this year) and they don't have much to fall back on experience wise. Their most recent Asian Games hosting was 1982 and the OCA has passed them over since then. If that's not enough the experience of the last new frontier in Rio de Janeiro is enough to kill any Indian bid. Last, the IOC is a PR mess right now. They recognize they need safe hosta. That means as long as the likes of London, Korea, China, Germany (all Western Europe), the U.S. Canada, Japan, or Australia it's a no go for the SOGs.

Have you been to Delhi? It's pollution issues are worse than Beijing. Infrastructure wise much of what remained fro 2010 will need significant upgrades (the Indira Gandhi Arena) will be 54 years old by that point. It's suburban infrastructure is still light years behind where it needs to be to meet the demands of an ever growing metropolis and it won't be fixed by 2036. Organizational issues and city issues go hand in hand and that's why Delhi's CWGs were such a failure. Not only that, India was passed over for the Asian Games in both 2014 and 2018. If you cannot handle the CWGs or convince the OCA to give you the Asian Games, you aren't capable of handling the Olympics. Bach can talk about India all he wants. It's nothing more than attention grabbing headlines. There's no way India can beat a "safe bid" from the likes of London, Germany, Seoul, or China.

And if the Qataris are successful in buying Stade de France then I'd predict they take out the athletics track.

I remember the Havana comment. 2012 race right? The timeframe alone kills this bid as does India's botched 2010 CWGs.