121–130 of 702 posts
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Why would anyone be in favour of more ad breaks?
I'm not arguing for ad breaks, I'm saying non-fans would not even be aware this is something new. This is the thing that is too much? I just don't get it. The entire thing is a spectacle to sell ads.
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> non-fans would not have any idea that you were going for 2 halves to 4 "quarters" … By non-fans do you mean people who have literally never heard of football, or something? I’m very far from a fan, no interest at all. But, I mean, I know there are two halves. Everybody knows that.
There still are 2 halves. Framing it as quarters is the entire thing. There are numerous things throughout a game which will cause the game to be paused just as long, which is why there is stoppage time.
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I don’t know whos on Infantinos side on this
There are 200+ participating countries. Many of those are on his side, because they’re tiny and easy to bribe: a few million is significant for them and often that money can be siphoned into corrupt pockets. That said, a World Cup without any of the 55 UEFA countries wouldn’t make sense commercially.
Depending on whether the South American teams show up…
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> Sepp Blatter weighed in, writing on X: "The close relationship between the Fifa president and the US President [Donald Trump] has reached a financial dimension that is deeply damaging football. No-one has the right to sell our game." Sepp Blatter for crying out loud.
Who better to recognize corruption?
It's crazy that as despicable an organization as UEFA is, they're still far better than FIFA. Infantino has been a disgrace, I hope they manage to get rid of him, but I have very little hope.
I don't follow any sport, but I actually don't understand why UEFA and FIFA are non-profits when all the American leagues (MLB, NBA, NFL) are for-profit corporations. It seems to work well in America.
Lastly, football is a grassroots participation sport that is seen by its fans as more of a religion than a conventional act of entertainment. Of course, religion in the US is also often for-profit, but hopefully you get the point.
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The experience interacting with FIFA is so terrible already. I can only imagine how much worse it would be if it turned into a profit machine.
Agreed, the tickets to the tournament this year were just outrageously priced. Football is historically a working class sport, but $1,000 to watch a team like DR Congo in the group stage is next level criminality. And it's only going to get worse from here.
So this will now be the new norm. Host countries will be ones where laws don’t prohibit gouging fans. They’ll come up with creative solutions to meet the rotation requirement like the upcoming host a couple games in South America farce that’s allowing them to go to Saudi Arabia after that. They’ll continue to push the boundaries of decency until they get sufficient pushback.
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I don’t know whos on Infantinos side on this
> Sepp Blatter weighed in, writing on X: "The close relationship between the Fifa president and the US President [Donald Trump] has reached a financial dimension that is deeply damaging football. No-one has the right to sell our game." Sepp Blatter for crying out loud.
About time Hard to think of a modern institution as corrupt as fifa. That may not bother too many people because it’s not their government, but I just think it stinks
FIFA has been monstrously corrupt since at least as far back as the 1970s (Havelange). I backslid this year, but did completely boycott watching in 2018 and 2022. Russia is a pariah state and should never have been allowed to host, and Qatar was manifestly unsuitable. The only difference this year is that the bribery and political favors were out in the open.
FIFA is a repulsive pit of corruption but UEFA isn't much better.
Remember Blatter and Platini?