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World Cup 2010 Update

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World Cup chief organizer Danny Jordaan met with media in New York City on Thursday afternoon to discuss the progress of the 2010 World Cup. I was at the event (which explains the lack of posts this afternoon) and have these nuggets to pass along.

  • The 2010 World Cup will be in South Africa and any suggestions or notions that it will be moved at this point are way off.
  • US Soccer president Sunil Gulati stated today that U.S. soccer is in the process of preparing to bid on A World Cup. He stated it could be 2018 or 2022, depending on how FIFA is ultimately going to handle the rotation and bidding process.
  • Jordaan revealed that the South African government has begun preliminary work with the American government on a project to try and bring 10,000 U.S. soccer fans to the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. It’s an ambitious project aimed at trying to expose American fans to South Africa ahead of the 2010 World Cup. I will try to flush out more details on what exactly this project would entail.
  • Participating World Cup nations will now receive 12 percent of ticket allocations for matches it participates in. That is a significant increase from the eight percent allocated to participating teams in the 2006 World Cup. In short. U.S. Soccer will have control of more match tickets the U.S. national team plays in (yes, assuming the United States qualifies).

These are just some of the tidbits that stood out from today’s meeting. Some of this info has probably already been out there, but I wanted to pass it along for those of you who may not have been aware.

What do you think of these developments? Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. what the hell that would be awesome going to the confederations cup!Im guessing they would have some sort of discount?But anyway,Ive been saving my money for the world cup

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  2. to the people going….

    SING THE NATIONAL ANTHEM OUT LOUD !!! and get every other US fan to do it to. its just an un-written rule to sing it loud and proud, and the echoes + the effects and chills that roll down your spine when attending the match, or watching on TV…

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  3. I have been to two world cups now so Maybe the confederations cup would be a good thing to see if it is less expensive than the world cup will be in South Africa.

    Does anyone know who the best airlines to use going to South Africa is?

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  4. YES WE CAN!!! Another thing that hasn’t “changed”. Americans have always been able to do whatever they put their minds too. Hence the election of OUR first black president(notice that I say our). He is as much my president as he is everyone elses. I simply am saying that the notion that everything is going to be different and that everyone is going to treat us different is a fairy tale. I have been watching the coverage also, but also know that given time that Obama will just be another president. Hope to be wrong, but this is just how things happen. He doesn’t turn the economy around, a terrorist attck on US soil, or some other event and the masses turn against him. We are by nature sort of shallow fair weathered creatures. I am sorry Ives if that came off to harsh, but I just don’t like everyone running around acting like everything is going to change because its is not going to happen(that is your pre-concieved notion) and people will be disappointed. Again sorry if I came off too harsh.

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  5. Kevin,

    I’m glad your an army brat (not important but tell every one how cool that was), but you also seem to be a little harsh on ole ives… it is not simple minded to think that Africans would support an america led by an African. C

    ome on just say yes we can, just a once… you can do it!

    YES WE CAN!!! YES WE CAN!!

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  6. Kevin, how about you let me worry about what I’m going to “stick to”, okay?

    Last time I checked, nobody said anything about “everything” changing, but there has been a shift in international opinion and perception about the United States since the election. If you haven’t heard that then I suggest you turn on a television or open a newspaper. Does it mean that the American anthem won’t be booed? No, but perception is changing about this country and you might want to accept the new reality rather than sticking to your own pre-conceived notions.

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  7. Metro tard

    In response to:

    “Fly 10,000 miles to hear your national anthem booed. Sign me up.”

    Fly 10,000 miles to hear 40k plus chant OBAMA over your national anthem… beat that?

    Side note.

    I betcha Obama goes to the world cup if the US qualifies!

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  8. Ives,

    Please stick to soccer. To assume that everything is going to change overnight becasue of Obama being elected is simple minded. Besides having our national anthem booed all over the world is not a new thing, even for a Bush administration. I lived all over the world as an army brat and having our national anthem booed isn’t breaking news.

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  9. Well I for one hope that South Africa pulls off a great World Cup. Cause if it did fail, one way or another, FIFA would never take another “chance” like this again. If South Africa is a good host, that will embolden FIFA to give other developing countries a shot at hosting this event.

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  10. I’m sure one way they are thinking of attracting Americans is by creating special package deals. Come to SA during xxx dates and we’ll put together a nice air/hotel package deal and we’ll throw in a free ticket to the Confederations Cup to boot. It’s good word of mouth advertising and tests the stadium / transportation infrastructure prior to the WC.

    BTW, if you haven’t been to South Africa, it’s worth the airfare cost and long trip. Fantastic country and wonderful warm people.

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  11. Ives – I am studying abroad in Cape Town and am extending my stay until the end of the Confed Cup, can you give me any more information on what exactly the American federation has planned?

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  12. Part of the reason they want people to go is so that when they get back they will tell their friends how much South Africa rocked.

    That’s 10,000 neighbor to neighbor advertisments.

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  13. Kevin-

    Plenty. Non-Oceanic countries who failed to make the WC the year after a Confederations Cup are:

    Greece (2005)

    Canada (2001)

    Czech Rep (1997)

    Uruguay (1997)

    UAE (1997)

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  14. They want people for a couple reasons, I think.

    #1: Income to help repay all the investment.

    #2: Test logistics. As far as fans go, we’re pretty tame compared to the European types that are going to be all over. It’s sort of a dry run.

    The problem is, I don’t think there’s much interest in America for people to head there. I mean, even if the fans get help, going to SA isn’t going to be cheap, and for an event other than the WC? I dunno.

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  15. Hey MetroTard, considering what just took place in our presidential election perhaps you shouldn’t assume the American national anthem will be booed in South Africa.

    And Ryan, I’m not sure what the governments have in mind but it wouldn’t surprise me if they will be offering discounts and such. That would make sense if they’re serious about trying to get a nice-sized group of Americans to go to the tournament.

    Also, and I should have mentioned it in the post, according to Jordan the second-most tourists that come to South Africa come from the United States so maybe they’re trying to coordinate it somehow and get those Americans who go to South Africa as tourists anyway might go for Confederation’s Cup. The 10K number is probably more symbolic than an actual target. I also don’t get how it’s “short-sighted” for the South African government to try and attract a large group of Americans to the Confederation’s Cup.

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  16. Metrotard- People like us now. At least that’s the word on the street, that most of the world was happy that Obama won.

    That said, if the travel isn’t expensive, why not see the confederation’s cup? Hook a reader up, Ives.

    Also, was there any juicy bits from RB practice today?

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  17. “the South African government has begun preliminary work with the American government”

    That doesn’t sound like merely advertising or whatever, but actual financial help to attend the Confederations Cup. I’ve been wanting to go to South Africa for a while (planned it this past December, but damn, flights are expensive). If the government(s) will sponsor Americans to go there, I’m in. So in.

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  18. I think it is something to look into, for those people (including myself) that it would break the bank to go to SA for the WC. I’m sure the the trip would be much more reasonable cost wise. I’m hoping that i get to see atleast 1 WC game in person in my life, but i think it will have to be a little closer to home.

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  19. This made me wonder if any country (outside of Oceania, of course) has failed to make the World Cup after participating in the Confederation Cup.

    Does anyone know?

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  20. I don’t care how many people think Gulati is bad.

    I’ve seen the US MNT get the best coach we could have gotten in Bradley (while Klinsmann struggles), the latino participation at all team levels improve, the Academy system improving, a push for more search and discovery of talent, and making people around the world take our bid very seriously.

    I’m not saying I’m a fan, just that I’ve got nothing to complain about thus far.

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  21. I don’t see their motive for having 10,000 US fans at the confederations cup when the WC is the next summer… Seems to me the WC would be a more appealing tournament, and it’s not like Americans are just busting with cash that they can take trips to Africa back to back summers. Of course if this 10,000 fan thing is free… then by all means sign me up!

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