[MY VIEW] Fox made a preemptive strike to garner the English-language World Cup rights from FIFA away from ESPN in a deal more than four times greater thanESPN’s current deal with FIFA and more than 10 times the deal SUM, MLS’s marketing arm, struck to ensure that the English-language rights went to ESPN in 2002 […]
world cup 2022
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Fox and Telemundo grab U.S. World Cup TV rights for $1 billion-plus
The days of watching the World Cup on ESPN and Univision will be over after 2014. FIFA’s executive committee has awarded the U.S. television rights for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Fox forEnglish-language rights and Telemundo for Spanish-language rights. ESPN has broadcast every World Cup except Italia ’90 since its launch. Univision has […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Bin Hammam ban puts Qatari rulers in tough spot
Will Qatar’s emir, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, and his ruling family support disgraced Mohamed bin Hammam orwill they cut their ties with the former president of the Asian Football Confederation, convicted of bribery in his bid for the FIFA presidency and banned for life from all soccer activities? As a member of the […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Whistleblower retracts Qatari corruption charges
Phaedra Almajid, the American-based Qatari who made widespread charges of corruption in Qatari’s successful bid to win the right to host 2022 World Cup,retracted her story, saying she had made it all up. Almajid was employed as an international media specialist at Qatar’s 2022 bid committee between May 2009 and March 2010 and alleged,among other […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
The 2022 train may have left the station
[FIFA IN CRISIS] Just what are the chances of a re-vote on the 2022 World Cup? Only two weeks ago, FIFA President SeppBlatter couldn’t rule out Qatar being stripped of its award of the 2022 World Cup. Last week German soccer federation president Theo Zwanziger said anexamination into bribery charges against Qatar must be undertaken. […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Germany federation chief wants Qatar 2022 investigation
German soccer federation president Theo Zwanziger, who will shortly replace Franz Beckenbauer on the FIFA executivecommittee, became the most prominent official yet to call for a re-examination of the award of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar over bribery allegations. “I think there is a significant degreeof suspicion that one cannot just dismiss,” Zwanziger told […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Warner triggers his tsunami
[FIFA IN CRISIS] Jack Warner unleashed his “tsunami” on FIFA following the decision of its ethics committee to suspendformer FIFA presidential candidate Mohamed bin Hammam, two Caribbean Football Union officials and him. Warner claimed FIFA President Sepp Blatter gave Concacaf $1 million to “spend as it deems fit” over the objections of UEFA President Michel […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Bribery scandal benefits Blatter
[MY VIEW] Will the USA get a second bite at the apple? FIFA President Sepp Blatter didn’t rule out the possibility of are-vote in the wake of the continuing investigation into Qatar’s victory in the race to host the 2022 World Cup. Not much about FIFA’s politics is unscripted, so it’s not outside therealm of […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
FIFA wants evidence in latest corruption scandal
FIFA President Sepp Blatter promises to have his organization look into charges that six more executive committee members were involved in bribery during the2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding contests, and he wants it done before June 1 when he faces a re-election challenge from Asian Football Confederation President Mohamedbin Hammam. “We have to do […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Qatari emir asks people to decide World Cup dates
Middle East rulers are fast getting on the democracy bandwagon, lest they face an insurrection. Qatari emir Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani will “ask thepeople” of his country to decide whether to hold the 2022 World Cup in winter to avoid the intense summer heat. FIFA President Sepp Blatter hadsuggested that it was better […]