Thursday could be a joyful soccer Christmas for American fans, or it could be a day filled with bitter disappointment. Also kinda like Christmas.
FIFA will vote on and announce host countries for the 2018 and 2022 Cups, and the U.S. has been been busting its ass to get the 2022 tournament. They're even sending Attorney General Eric Holder to Zurich for the bid presentation, because nothing says "An American World Cup would be dope," like a bureaucrat with a stern mustache.
If the U.S. is successful in securing the Cup, it would (cross your fingers) probably mean nations will be duke it out at Arrowhead in 12 years.
But first, we have to sit through voting process to see if America can knock off Australia, Japan, Qatar and South Korea for the right to host the tourney.
The U.S. bid includes 18 potential cities for hosting games, which
will be cut to around 12 if the World Cup comes to America for the first
time since 1994. Given that Sporting Kansas City will have a nice
soccer-focused stadium available for practicing, and Arrowhead's history
of hosting big soccer games, it's a safe bet KC will make the cut.
It's
worth taking a look at the official bid book summary attached at the
end of this post. It's so ambitious and makes such great predictions for what America will look like in more than a decade that it sounds like we're all going to
be taking our hover cars or teleporting to the stadium. Among the lofty
(and utterly unreachable) goals organizers are aiming for are: all
organic, locally sourced food, zero fossil fuels used in FIFA-provided
transportation and less than 20 percent of fans arriving by combustion
engine cars. Yeah, maybe if it were in 2122! Zing!
If
you're a soccer fan of the opinion that 8:30 a.m. is the perfect time
for beer and burgers, (or if you just like to watch European guys making
proclamations on 500 different screens) Sporting Kansas City is hosting a
watch party at the 810 Zone on the Plaza. Doors open at 8:15, and
the announcement is expected to come between 9 and 9:30 a.m. Is there a
drinking game in this?
