World Cup Round up – R.I.P Rotation, Palestine no-shows, France might switch to Nike

They gathered together in the palace in Geneva, closed the doors and with a simple vote changed the way that future World Cup locales will be awarded. Today, FIFA’s fat cats made it official. The regional rotation system that has helped to bring the World Cup to continents not named Europe is dead. What this means, of course, is that the 2018 World Cup will now be open to bids from Europe, Asia, and North America. What it also means is that countries will be under more pressure to lavish the FIFA officials who make the decisions with gifts, junkets and other enticements. I fully expect the bidding for 2018 to lead to a scandal or three. I also expect that the tournament will be held on European soil.

Now on to the games that are being played ahead of the 2010 World Cup. Or in one case, the game that wasn’t played. Singapore was supposed to host Palestine in the second leg of their World Cup qualifier this weekend, but when they showed up to play the game Palestine was not there. The referee had Singapore line up on the field and kick off before blowing the game dead. The Palestinians blame the no-show on Israeli travel restrictions. No word yet whether the game will be rescheduled. It is the second time Palestine has failed to show up for a match with Singapore. Maybe they just don’t like going to a country where gum chewing is illegal?

China is on to the third round of World Cup qualifying after defeating Mynamar 4-0 on Sunday. They advance 11-0 on aggregate, but that gaudy number isn’t enough to impress their manager Ratomir Dujkovic. “I don’t understand this match,” he said. “Some players did really badly. They may even lose their places in the national team.”

Three cheers for Iraq who have advanced to the second round following a 7-0 aggregate win against Pakistan. With none of the players living in their homeland and with the difficulty they face in everyday life, it is easy to root for Iraq to do well. Here’s hoping they make it to the third round and end up playing the big boys in Asia.

Uzbekistan, Yemen, United Arab Emirates, and Oman are also all through to the next round of Asian World Cup qualifying.
Will we see France wearing the Nike Swoosh in 2010? Industry sources say it is a possibility. First Nike went after Germany. Now France. It is clear that they are serious about being a player at the next World Cup.

Speaking of the next World Cup, the word from South Africa is that it is going to be very green. Good stuff, that.

One guy who might experience the greenness of South Africa is Martin Jol. The rumors have it that the man who was sacked by Tottenham last week is going to be the next boss of Holland. The pressures on Marco Van Basten are clearly growing. Too bad. I like MVB as a manager.

One guy who neither Jol nor Van Basten will have at their beck and call following Euro 2008 is keeper Edwin Van der Sar. The Manchester United keeper will put an end to his international career next year. At 37 years of age this is probably a wise move. He has played 121 time for Holland. Hard to think of anyone else being in goal for the Orange.

And finally, women are changing the balance of power in football.