United States-led 2026 World Cup bid in jeopardy to Morocco's

limerickcitykid said:
Yes, name the players. How many times do I have to ask?

Donovan played for Leverkusen, Bayern, and Everton. Many Americans would say Dempsey was better too. Played for Spurs and twice player of the year for a top half PL side. Decent clubs at the top level.

I don't care about Czech or Turkey's strong sides in the past. I'm asking about Morocco.

It's not personal, I'm neither American or Moroccan. I'm questioning the notion Morocco has a rich football history which the US pales in comparison to. Which a few people have claimed but none actually backed up. Isn't this what a forum is for?
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Any country (including countries like China or India) deserve to organize one day a world cup.

I don't know the US but I think 60-80% of Moroccan men love football. In France, I would say 30-50% despite a very rich football history.

Given the high unemployment rate and the youth of this country, football can be viewed as an escape from the real world and very numerous coffee shops broadcast local and European football.
 
Ecstatic said:
Any country (including countries like China or India) deserve to organize one day a world cup.

I don't know the US but I think 60-80% of Moroccan men love football. In France, I would say 30-50% despite a very rich football history.

Given the high unemployment rate and the youth of this country, football can be viewed as an escape from the real world and very numerous coffee shops broadcast local and European football.
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I've not stated anywhere that Morocco or anyone else don't deserve to host a world cup.

The percentages mean nothing. The US is massive place with a huge population who enjoy a variety or sport. There are still millions and millions of people who love football there.

Very numerous coffee shops and bars show local and European football in the US too. In Canada my local bakery always has Serie A on and the local bar always has the Premier League on. Its the same in the US.
 
André Dominguez said:
Since you named two players I will also name two :P

Naybet was for several seasons one of the best center backs in Europe and La Liga and part of the best Deportivo historical phase ever. Bare in mind that Deportivo was one of the most solid clubs at La Liga and Europe at those times.

Mustapha Hadji: he was a fantastic dribler and creative player. Was a bit inconsistent, but whenever the ball was on his feet, you could feel anything could happen. He even has a signature move: no look backheel pass.
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So some decent pretty good players. Similar to the US.
 
limerickcitykid said:
So some decent pretty good players. Similar to the US.
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As I said, is a matter of opinion. We both agree to disagree. Debating about this kind of subjects you'll always walk through gray area.

You would prefer a Donovan on your team, I would prefer Hadji.

And Naybet was reallly a fantastic defender with good ball playing skills, mate. You have to remember that Deportivo had enough financial capacity to pay high wages and keep their star players, until spanish tax authrorities became more agressive on football clubs (except if your club is Real Madrid or Barcelona, but that's another topic) and La Liga suddenly became a two horse race, in opposition of having 4/5 clubs with enough quality to win the title.

I was not even googling pre-bosman era players, but you can pretty much see them through this topic.

In the end of the day, the important thinkg is that football wins.
 
Rafateria said:
You missed the point of the post but to take you up on yours, where exactly do you think the matches will be played ? Indiana wheat fields or the Carolinas' golf courses ? Major cities. And you don't think that nefarious types will look to take advantage of that ?
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Yes the venues will be held in major cities but they are not in the problematic areas for the most part.

United and other top European clubs come here for friendlies every summer and fill the stadiums in those major cities. We had the Soldier Field here in Chicago packed for our friendly against PSG few years back. Ann Arbor was packed with 100,000 fans for the game vs Real a year prior to that. Didn't hear any human trafficking / murders in these games.

The ability to host a World Cup is a no-brainer when it comes to US vs Morocco. And no, I don't buy into that "rich history" crap, it is Morocco ffs not Brazil we're talking about.
 
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André Dominguez said:
As I said, is a matter of opinion. We both agree to disagree. Debating about this kind of subjects you'll always walk through gray area.

You would prefer a Donovan on your team, I would prefer Hadji.

And Naybet was reallly a fantastic defender with good ball playing skills, mate. You have to remember that Deportivo had enough financial capacity to pay high wages and keep their star players, until spanish tax authrorities became more agressive on football clubs (except if your club is Real Madrid or Barcelona, but that's another topic) and La Liga suddenly became a two horse race, in opposition of having 4/5 clubs with enough quality to win the title.

I was not even googling pre-bosman era players, but you can pretty much see them through this topic.

In the end of the day, the important thinkg is that football wins.
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I haven't said who I prefer.

Yes I'm sure he was a good player. It doesn't make the US pale in comparison to Morocco though.

Roy Keane is better than them all so both pale in comparison to Ireland's rich football history.
 
limerickcitykid said:
I haven't said who I prefer.

Yes I'm sure he was a good player. It doesn't make the US pale in comparison to Morocco though.

Roy Keane is better than them all so both pale in comparison to Ireland's rich football history.
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No country pales in comparison to other. People differ their opinions all the time.

If you consider the US a country with more history to tell about football and with a better record of creating players with enough quality to play at top divisions, it's fine. I can live with that. Doesn't mean I have to agree, but I'm sure you have your reasons.
 
André Dominguez said:
No country pales in comparison to other. People differ their opinions all the time.

If you consider the US a country with more history to tell about football and with a better record of creating players with enough quality to play at top divisions, it's fine. I can live with that. Doesn't mean I have to agree, but I'm sure you have your reasons.
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What I was arguing against was posters saying the US pale in comparison to Morocco. That is what I have an issue with.

To me they look similar enough, give the edge to either side different categories etc. Maybe Morocco edges it, fair enough. Those saying the US pale in comparison is a ridiculous claim though imo.
 
There is one thing we are all missing that makes this entire thread moot...it is from an ESPN source. Which means it is pretty much worthless. The quality there has gone so far downhill that i would almost bet everything i have on this story being false. I don't know the exact England/european equivalent, but they are pretty much TMZ of sports here in the states now.

And just my two cents on the matter as a whole, I was under the impression that the US led bid would be ideal for the larger field. But the one thing i think we can agree regardless is no matter which bid is "the best", that plays very little part in the bidding process. Russia 18 wasn't the best bid prob, and sure as helllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll Qatar 2022 wasn't. (Personally I would have loved an Australia bid. Everything about opening up new markets in Qatar would have actually made sense in Australia, and dont get me started on the whole air conditioned stadiums/we swear no winter tournament BS promises) Morocco even was prob the better bid when South Africa got it (I believe there was corruption allegations/charges for that bidding process too, but would have to double check that) US fans can prob tell you about how deep down they might wish we miss it, because of the way the Soccer Federation acted in the last election we just had by Gulati and company essentially threatening if they don't get their people elected our bid might be in jeopardy. Might be funny to see them eat crow. Morocco wouldn't be horrible, just people here seemed to be making the case that the US is a hell-hole country where violence spills out across the streets everywhere, football is this unheard of sport that isn't heard of throughout our history, and the logistics would apparently be impossible for our idiot organizers to figure out (even though joint bid was supposed to be a positive due to bigger field.) It's just as stupid as claiming we all will get murdered stepping foot into an african country like Morocco. Neither "pales" to each other. I would say may the best bid win, but as I said that usually doesn't matter
 
FerociousCorgis said:
There is one thing we are all missing that makes this entire thread moot...it is from an ESPN source. Which means it is pretty much worthless. The quality there has gone so far downhill that i would almost bet everything i have on this story being false. I don't know the exact England/european equivalent, but they are pretty much TMZ of sports here in the states now.
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Aye. They completely balled up the "report" on the allegations at MSU following the Nassar conviction.
 
Could be a good time for America/Mexico/Canada to host a world cup. the games profile and climate has changed a lot over in north America. Really good chance of expanding the game over there.

No problem with Morocco holding it, although looking at the stadiums, they are mostly athletic stadiums with huge distances from the pitch to the stands and they lack larger stadiums. Regular fans will be limited.
 
redshaw said:
Could be a good time for America/Mexico/Canada to host a world cup. the games profile and climate has changed a lot over in north America. Really good chance of expanding the game over there.
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I think it would be great for Canada especially with the creation of our own professional league in the next couple of years.
 
limerickcitykid said:
What I was arguing against was posters saying the US pale in comparison to Morocco. That is what I have an issue with.

To me they look similar enough, give the edge to either side different categories etc. Maybe Morocco edges it, fair enough. Those saying the US pale in comparison is a ridiculous claim though imo.
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Morocco may have an edge in regard to football's relative importance in the country, since it is number 1 in Morocco and probably number 5-6 in the US behind the MLB, NFL, NBA and NHL.

But that's where this so called edge ends. Even being the fifth sport in popularity we fill huge stadiums here every summer for friendlies.

Rich football history? About the same considering both countries achievements.

Players? Also I would say the same where you have a handful of memorable players that played in European leagues. I'll give the edge to the US with players like Donovan, Howard, Friedel and Dempsey. Let's not forget the US have been largely introduced to soccer lass than 30 years ago so all in all not a bad progress.

The MLS vs the Moroccan league? Let's see, MLS - Beckham, Kaka, Gerrard, Lampard, Villa, Zlatan (soon). Beckham is opening his soccer franchise in Miami so a lot more to follow. Moroccan league - ?
 
redshaw said:
Could be a good time for America/Mexico/Canada to host a world cup. the games profile and climate has changed a lot over in north America. Really good chance of expanding the game over there.

No problem with Morocco holding it, although looking at the stadiums, they are mostly athletic stadiums with huge distances from the pitch to the stands and they lack larger stadiums. Regular fans will be limited.
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Canada/US/Mexico would be too much traveling distance imo.

Canada/US WC would be great though. Culturally similar countries, easy travel between both, a lot of great cities on both sides.
 
limerickcitykid said:
I haven't said who I prefer.

Yes I'm sure he was a good player. It doesn't make the US pale in comparison to Morocco though.

Roy Keane is better than them all so both pale in comparison to Ireland's rich football history.
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Exactly. If we're going by players then surely Ghana and Ivory Coast deserve it more than Morocco if it would be going to Africa?
 
Giggs86 said:
The MLS vs the Moroccan league? Let's see, MLS - Beckham, Kaka, Gerrard, Lampard, Villa, Zlatan (soon). Beckham is opening his soccer franchise in Miami so a lot more to follow. Moroccan league - ?
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Hard for me to praise a league that is actively looking to uproot a club from it's organic home and fan-base.
 
Giggs86 said:
Canada/US/Mexico would be too much traveling distance imo.

Canada/US WC would be great though. Culturally similar countries, easy travel between both, a lot of great cities on both sides.
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except that isnt how it will work. The proposed schedule is mainly US centered with the others there to accent. Mexico had 3 host cities, canada had 4. I would guess the game schedules would group canada in the region that plays in canada, and similar to mexico. Then I would assume they would group the rest of the teams via region type play. Plenty of base camps national teams could use throughout the states to also mitigate travel. Pretty sure athletes can handle a 3-4 hour plane ride on jets that are prob nicer than most of our houses haha.
 
adexkola said:
Hard for me to praise a league that is actively looking to uproot a club from it's organic home and fan-base.
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That I agree with. Don't like the idea of franchises instead of clubs. But that's going on with every major sport here, doesn't affect the WC bid.
 
Giggs86 said:
That I agree with. Don't like the idea of franchises instead of clubs. But that's going on with every major sport here, doesn't affect the WC bid.
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I'm speaking as a salty Columbus Crew fan :)

I'd love the WC in the US. I'd work remotely the entire tournament, and drive from city to city, getting shitfaced outside each stadium.
 
shamans said:
Americans don't care about soccer that much. Even though it's picking on it will never be as close to the passion for soccer in North Africa -- not by 2026 anyway.
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except the 94 cup broke the previous attendance record and soccer has definitely grown in the country since then. And pretty sure the stadiums will be filled with fans of those other teams so makes no sense to say it will be bland. Not like USA has a high immigrant population to draw from plus plenty of ways to travel into country and stay at......
 
shamans said:
Americans don't care about soccer that much. Even though it's picking on it will never be as close to the passion for soccer in North Africa -- not by 2026 anyway.
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Nope, sorry you couldn't be more wrong regarding American fans of soccer. (Plus Canadian and Mexican fans too.) There are millions of very passionate fans. Just look at some clubs like Portland Timbers or Seattle or Toronto. Americans pack 100k stadiums to watch pre-season friendlies. As above, the 94 WC has record attendance despite having less games. The large Italian community in Toronto go crazy during WC/Euros. Bland fans? No, not at all.
 
FerociousCorgis said:
except the 94 cup broke the previous attendance record and soccer has definitely grown in the country since then. And pretty sure the stadiums will be filled with fans of those other teams so makes no sense to say it will be bland. Not like USA has a high immigrant population to draw from plus plenty of ways to travel into country and stay at......
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It will definitely be bland for my liking. It simple wont compare to North Africa or Europe
 
limerickcitykid said:
Nope, sorry you couldn't be more wrong regarding American fans of soccer. (Plus Canadian and Mexican fans too.) There are millions of very passionate fans. Just look at some clubs like Portland Timbers or Seattle or Toronto. Americans pack 100k stadiums to watch pre-season friendlies. As above, the 94 WC has record attendance despite having less games. The large Italian community in Toronto go crazy during WC/Euros. Bland fans? No, not at all.
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Okay living in U.S my whole life I must have missed these fans then. No one gives a damn about soccer at work and majority of people are "I watch the world cup sometimes"
 
adexkola said:
I'm speaking as a salty Columbus Crew fan :)

I'd love the WC in the US. I'd work remotely the entire tournament, and drive from city to city, getting shitfaced outside each stadium.
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Yep :D

Doesn't get any better than a WC themed road trip.
 
shamans said:
Okay living in U.S my whole life I must have missed these fans then. No one gives a damn about soccer at work and majority of people are "I watch the world cup sometimes"
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Its definitely much lower on the pecking order, although Americans seem to magically get interested in it if there's a WC going on.
 
The problems I have with the US World Cup is the distance between games and the fact they've hosted it recently. This would be a third WC in Mexico too. It's also not a particularly interesting place compared to places like Morocco, given the US culture is pretty much known to everyone. That and the fact most of the country doesn't care about the sport makes it lose some of its magic.

I'm sure it would still be a great WC though and definitely better than the Qatar one, I just think Morocco would be really special.
 
shamans said:
Okay living in U.S my whole life I must have missed these fans then. No one gives a damn about soccer at work and majority of people are "I watch the world cup sometimes"
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I'd say that mostly true from my experience too, living in the suburbs. In the city though it's different, in areas where you have large Italian or South American populations you see football clubs flags and car stickers everywhere, there's also a lot more buzz during a WC.

It's funny though that you don't really see anything football related day to day until you go to a United friendly and suddenly feel like in Europe among thousands of fans.

I'm sure that's how it will also be if we host a WC here.
 
shamans said:
Okay living in U.S my whole life I must have missed these fans then. No one gives a damn about soccer at work and majority of people are "I watch the world cup sometimes"
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I could be totally wrong, as I haven't lived much in US, but I think it has to do with Americans loving a good show. If some top stuff (best players of any sport, best teams, big event, lot of money on marketing etc.,) is in town, they want to definitely be there. There seems to be lot of love for some happening thing. But after that thing, the interest is quite lukewarm.
 
Peyroteo said:
The problems I have with the US World Cup is the distance between games and the fact they've hosted it recently. This would be a third WC in Mexico too. It's also not a particularly interesting place compared to places like Morocco, given the US culture is pretty much known to everyone. That and the fact most of the country doesn't care about the sport makes it lose some of its magic.

I'm sure it would still be a great WC though and definitely better than the Qatar one, I just think Morocco would be really special.
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US is different in that we have so many major pro sports here that it just won't have that huge percent share that other countries can get. We have the top baseball league, top hockey league, and top basketball league that attracts talent from around the world. We have American football, which admittedly not many countries are too interested in. Plus sports like golf, boxing/mma, and college sports which are quite huge here. Pretty disingenuous to expect soccer to somehow have the same percentage share as it does in smaller countries where there is pretty much soccer and maybe cricket/rugby. Just different situation, doesn't mean we dont have a huge soccer population here. Considering our pop size and immigration size I would wager numberwise we have at least a top 10 soccer following if you count based on individuals and not percentage.

And what do you mean not as interesting a place as morocco? Culturally we are easily one of the most diverse places in the world. If you want to travel the country and see different environments we have pretty much every ecosystem imaginable. Want to see huge bustling cities, have that. Prefer nature and wildlife have that. I understand the idea of Morocco being unknown to some people, but then just take a vacation to it if you want to visit. You can't sit there and say USA is not an interesting place.

And as for distance they would just simply put teams in regions. Canada has 4 host cities and mexico has 3. Not like a team will be scheduled to play northeast canada one day, then two days later be in southwest mexico, then 3 days later northeast US. Teams will simply pick a good base camp that is near their three games and take a private jet that makes our houses look like hovels.

RedDevil@84 said:
I could be totally wrong, as I haven't lived much in US, but I think it has to do with Americans loving a good show. If some top stuff (best players of any sport, best teams, big event, lot of money on marketing etc.,) is in town, they want to definitely be there. There seems to be lot of love for some happening thing. But after that thing, the interest is quite lukewarm.
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Or people just are hanging out with those in soccer communities? I live in a place that has a huge soccer community, despite not having an MLS team. We have people playing soccer every night in leagues that span the whole valley. I know of countless bars/pubs that open for people to come see games at 4/5 am when the EPL is on. I know of many manchester united bars, and could easily direct visitors to bars for pretty much every other epl team. Yeah it obviously isn't as big in the country as other sports, but if people make even the slightest effort they can find the community and see that it is actually pretty large.
 
shamans said:
Okay living in U.S my whole life I must have missed these fans then. No one gives a damn about soccer at work and majority of people are "I watch the world cup sometimes"
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Didn't realize the whole of America works with you. No one at my workplace cares about football. Suppose no one must like football in England.
 
Raoul said:
Its definitely much lower on the pecking order, although Americans seem to magically get interested in it if there's a WC going on.
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That's what kind of bothers me the most. We treat everything like a big event here. It will be another #worldcup, generate some buzz, rich folks who never cared about soccer will go see the big games and then move on to the next event.

You just cannot match the passion of a country in Europe or Africa where kids have been dreaming of the day they get to see one of these almost godlike figures they are crazy about in real life.
 
shamans said:
That's what kind of bothers me the most. We treat everything like a big event here. It will be another #worldcup, generate some buzz, rich folks who never cared about soccer will go see the big games and then move on to the next event.

You just cannot match the passion of a country in Europe or Africa where kids have been dreaming of the day they get to see one of these almost godlike figures they are crazy about in real life.
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You definitely can't because its the only major sport in most other places. Although, I have noticed a gradual uptick in random people who I wouldn't have thought would be into footy, getting interested in the Premier League. That, moreso than the MLS, would make a USA Word Cup a massive spectacle if it happens.
 
Raoul said:
You definitely can't because its the only major sport in most other places. Although, I have noticed a gradual uptick in random people who I wouldn't have thought would be into footy, getting interested in the Premier League. That, moreso than the MLS, would make a USA Word Cup a massive spectacle if it happens.
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Financially, it would be a success. As mentioned initially purely as a viewer watching from my TV I would like to see the world cup hosted in someplace more passionate.
 
shamans said:
Financially, it would be a success. As mentioned initially purely as a viewer watching from my TV I would like to see the world cup hosted in someplace more passionate.
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The passion would still be there by way of all the fans visiting from various places. It was definitely there when I went to matches in 94 and it would be exponentially more intense than a quarter century ago.
 
Marocco would be a great location for European fans to get to. Time zone is perfect, plenty of hotels with it being a tourist destination and they are building a high speed rail line to get people around. The problem is heat. I'd stick a giant tarp over the stadiums

Having said that this is probably just a way to scare the North Americans into handing over some more bribe money
 
FerociousCorgis said:
Or people just are hanging out with those in soccer communities? I live in a place that has a huge soccer community, despite not having an MLS team. We have people playing soccer every night in leagues that span the whole valley. I know of countless bars/pubs that open for people to come see games at 4/5 am when the EPL is on. I know of many manchester united bars, and could easily direct visitors to bars for pretty much every other epl team. Yeah it obviously isn't as big in the country as other sports, but if people make even the slightest effort they can find the community and see that it is actually pretty large.
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Where are you located?
 
2ndTouch said:
I was under the impression of Mexico belonging to Central America, my bad.
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Culturally, they probably do. Geographically, it's arguable. But economically, they're definitely in North America (NAFTA, etc.). And besides, we'd feel lonely belonging to a club that only had us and the Yanks. We need some backup for when the latter lose their minds (as in lately). ;)
 
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