The United States lost its bid to host the 2022 World Cup today to Qatar in a stunning rebuke to the country that many had considered the front-runner to host the world’s grandest sporting event.

Qatar, which has never qualified for the competition, becomes the first Middle Eastern Arab nation to host the World Cup, and signals FIFA’s desire to engage the Muslim world. Qatar, with just 1.7m inhabitants, will also become the smallest nation ever to host a World Cup.

The choice also puts an emphatic capstone on the legacy of FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who has taken the Cup around the planet in an effort to broaden the game’s social and political legacy.

In addition, Russia was chosen today to host the 2018 World Cup, giving a huge boost to the post-Soviet state as it looks to cement its place in modern Europe. Russia were the favorites to win the Cup after England’s bid was derailed by a series of missteps, including the removal of bid leader Lord Triesman earlier this year after he made unfounded allegations about two other bidding nations.

The World Cup award process was not a smooth one: The run up to the vote was marred by a series of high-profile corruption scandals, one of which saw two voting members suspended by FIFA last month, and repeated accusations of collusion among bidding nations. Today’s vote may be seen by many cynics as a confirmation of those allegations: Qatar and Russia had both been repeatedly accused of improper actions.

American bid leaders had been circumspect about their chances in recent days, perhaps sensing that FIFA’s voters were not lining up behind their bid. The decision may reflect the United States’ diminished standing in the world, for an internal study conducted by FIFA showed that the USA would produce the wealthiest and most successful tournament of all the campaigners.

It was the second high-profile sporting defeat in a fourteen month span for the USA: Another supposed front-runner, Chicago, was eliminated in the first round of voting for the 2016 Olympic Games last October. That event went to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Qatar’s bid was one of the most audacious proposals submitted, and steadily moved from being a dark horse to pre-vote favorites despite being classified as “high risk” by FIFA’s own inspectors. The country has proposed air conditioning every stadium, building a massive amount of World Cup-specific infrastructure, then donating everything to poorer countries after the Cup concludes. While there were serious hesitations about the country’s weather, where temperatures exceed 110ºF in the summer, FIFA’s voters were clearly willing to look past that, seeing instead the potential social impact of the Cup.

Qatar, which despite its enormous wealth, is still a largely closed society, and its rulers are gambling that the Cup can do for it what 2002 did for South Korea. At that event, the Korean public were forced to interact with a world they had deep misgivings about, and the result was a rousing success.

FIFA also sees the tremendous growth potential of the Muslim world, and properly recognized that soccer must engage it. The sport is by far and away the most popular in the Arab world, but the grassroots development of the sport has lagged far behind. Today’s announcement is sure to change that.

For the USA, failure to win should mean some serious soul-searching. U.S. Soccer had spent a great deal of political capital on the bid, and its leadership must now confront the reality that while American money is increasingly flowing into the world game, the organization’s clout in FIFA halls has not kept pace.

Furthermore, today's vote signals a long, long wait for an American World Cup. China is already tabbed as the front-runner to host in 2026 and the tournament would be expected back in Europe for 2030. There is no timeline for those decisions.

For Blatter, however, Thursday may have completed what has proved to a remarkable career. Despite the very real troubles in his organization, the former general secretary-turned-FIFA President has also championed the women's game, delivered an African World Cup and now leaves with two more grand ventures that would have been inconceivable even ten years ago.

Jamie Trecker is a senior writer for FoxSoccer.com covering international football.

Albatross wrote:Don't feel bad, we lost to a totally inferior bid, too. Russia? What a joke.

FIFA seems to have this thing about awarding the competition to gak-hole countries, which is a shame because an England World Cup would have been probably the best one yet. A USA one would have been great too (though you folks last had it in '94, which isn't exactly a million years ago!) - I mean, Qatar?

QATAR?!!?!

What the feth were they thinking?

WarOne wrote:Same as America- we have a crappy professional scene for soccer. Growth in the pre-major leagues is great; alot of kids play the sport.

But America is facing a greater challenge. It is as if all major international sports are ignoring America. At least, that is what FOXNews seems to be insinuating.

sebster wrote:

WarOne wrote:Same as America- we have a crappy professional scene for soccer. Growth in the pre-major leagues is great; alot of kids play the sport.

But America is facing a greater challenge. It is as if all major international sports are ignoring America. At least, that is what FOXNews seems to be insinuating.

Because you lost your Olympic bid, and now this? That seems a bit dramatic.

It has been a bittersweet few years for international sport in the United States. For all the success of a Michael Phelps and an Apollo Ohno, there is the sting of baseball getting booted out of the summer Olympic Games or the disappointment in the rejection of Chicago 2016 or the lack of a host city for any Olympiad for the foreseeable future.

Success is always there for America, but it has not been the overwhelming and glowing success across the board of past years. However later this week many of those feelings can be exorcised when FIFA awards the 2022 World Cup to a host nation, of which the United States has been deemed the favorite.

So for the challenged times we are in, with all the distractions that people have in their everyday lives, why is this important and why is it any better now than when the U.S. last hosted the World in 1994?

First and foremost is the growth of Major League Soccer, not just as a professional sport but as a viable business entity since the last World Cup. While many professional sports dealt with contraction, collusion and shrinking profits, MLS in recent years held firm and in many ways grew as a viable international sports property. There was cost control, salary control, the deep pockets of a handful of visionary owners and an across the board desire to grow and mature slow and steady, thus avoiding the mercurial rises and falls of other sports properties looking to emerge in challenging times. The successful launch of growing brands, not just teams, in cities like Toronto, Philadelphia and Seattle set the bar high for any franchise launch in any sport in North America, with expansion cities in Montreal, Vancouver and Portland waiting in the wings to replicate those models. MLS has been a great litmus test for brand activation, seamlessly incorporating jersey sponsors into the sales process while finding ways for nontraditional brands to activate with a young and vibrant audience.

While many sports still look for ways to consistently engage a growing Hispanic audience, MLS made it a priority, always finding ways to speak directly to North America's fastest-growing demographic, a demo which already has a base understanding of the game from wherever they hail. While some other sports struggle to understand the proper way to use social media, MLS has found proper cost efficient ways to engage with their fans online, promoting a growing and engaging product to a growing audience that makes sense. They also took a big step into the world of fantasy sports, creating the first year-round game for that growing audience with industry leader Big Lead Sports.

The league has even found ways to address and find solutions for employment issues in various cities, founding the MLS National Sales Center, an academy to train and recruit front-office staffers at all levels. Students devise and expand ticket sales strategies, and work on sales campaigns on behalf of MLS, its clubs and its properties. It is a very unique in-house program that can probably be expanded away from sales and into other areas of sports business, creating a home grown, league certified and consistent talent pool for everything from groundskeepers to accountants if need be.

Then there is the biggest difference from the last time World Cup came a-knockin': The grassroots. Few sports have taken the painstaking road to cultivate young people and have them slowly and steadily become the passionate consumer that MLS has in the past decade plus. Young people who played the game now aspire to be its stars on its home turf, and have spent time studying and understanding its nuances, an element which did not exist at this mature level in 1994. Factor in the extensive brand building campaigns teams have done, the mix of the new immigrant who craves the game, and a good smattering of buzz from imported stars like David Beckham and Thierry Henry, and the casual and passionate fan base is stronger than ever. Also now in play more than ever is player development, and the ability for fans of the game to know and appreciate a higher level of professional play from Americans than existed a little over a decade ago. While the recently completed MLS Cup in Toronto lacked the star power to pull in good TV ratings, it did showcase some solid young American talent that down the line will also fortify the case for soccer on the professional level continuing to grow.

Will Thursday's announcement, if it is a positive one for the USA, change everything overnight? No.

There are still wide gaps in talent and salary levels between MLS and the rest of the world, and the top Americans showcased during the most recent World Cup returned to their clubs across Europe this summer and fall, slowing the exposure level (but not the enthusiasm) for the best American talent in the States. The long hinted move of the schedule from late summer, through winter and into early spring, like exists in other parts of the world at the top level, will also be a challenge but could also be a blessing for higher level talent development and affinity to MLS play by global fans of the sport. Sponsors who have engaged at the grassroots and on site have to continue to embrace the television product as well, not something that is easy to do for a game that still has its issues in the tube for the American casual fan.

There is also the issue that 2022 is not tomorrow. Its light years away for a public that needs and wants everything today. However it is a measuring stick to point to and a brand development number to take aim at, and it will be a cause for celebration.

The bottom line is that America loves the big stage, and there is no bigger stage than the World cup, no matter when it is. Who knows, if Thursday becomes a landmark day, maybe that re-opens the door for other world class events to return to the States, and helps boost an economy and a pride level that had been waning, but now thankfully may again be on the uptake.

A big event is always good for what ails you, so why not now and why not the World Cup? The stage is certainly set, let's see where the votes fall.

Chibi Bodge-Battle wrote:I look at the bribes that FIFA are keeping
Still my Qatar gently weeps

sebster wrote:Thing is, (and sing along if you know the words) you can't always get what you want.

You had it in '94, and you've had the Olympics more than anyone, by a long way. You should try being the rest of us, sometime.

WarOne wrote:I don't know if America can handle being like the rest of the world, American exceptionalism and all.

reds8n wrote: Qatar 2022 will be interesting if Israel qualify.

Albatross wrote:Don't feel bad, we lost to a totally inferior bid, too. Russia? What a joke.

FIFA seems to have this thing about awarding the competition to gak-hole countries, which is a shame because an England World Cup would have been probably the best one yet. A USA one would have been great too (though you folks last had it in '94, which isn't exactly a million years ago!) - I mean, Qatar?

QATAR?!!?!

What the feth were they thinking?

Melissia wrote:I will lol if/when Qatar is unable to follow up on their promises.


Also, I imagine Qatar will raise hell over any homosexual competitors given its Islam-based laws.

reds8n wrote:
If only we'd known they were looking for an arctic wasteland with a useless transport system and institutional racism for the World Cup.