UEFA and its national associations will not participate in FIFA competitions • Hacker News Board

Re: UEFA and its national associations will not participate in FIFA competitions

#501

Post by triceratops » Fri, Jul 31, 2026, 4:40 AM UTC

albedoa wrote: post #481

triceratops wrote: post #469

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes it's bad. Unfortunately a lot of countries are like this. Until we stop buying oil there's no way to make them change.

> Why? >> Slavery > Yes it's bad. Are you just learning about the slavery or did you know about it when you asked why.

I knew about it. I also knew Qatar isn't the only one. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kafala_system. So I wondered if it was something else on top of that.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have similar records on human rights and treatment of foreign workers.

Further afield there's Mauritania: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauritania#Modern_slavery

Re: UEFA and its national associations will not participate in FIFA competitions

#502

Post by croes » Fri, Jul 31, 2026, 4:48 AM UTC

bluedevil2k wrote: post #484

croes wrote: post #428

Earlier quoted context omitted.

More teams means only big nations can be the host venue.

Hosting is a financial disaster for smaller countries (economically, like Brazil), it’s a good thing if they can’t host them.

It’s only a financial disaster he you don’t have the power to force FIFA for a fair share.

And that would become worse with investors.

Not only for host nations but for the players and fans too

Re: UEFA and its national associations will not participate in FIFA competitions

#503

Post by ctxc » Fri, Jul 31, 2026, 4:57 AM UTC

fuddle wrote: post #479

Kuyawa wrote: post #341

First off, fire Infantino on the spot, just the same way they fired Blatter for corruption. This last world cup was the worse I've ever seen since 1978, almost 50 years, and I've seen the good, the bad and the ugly. We all know billions are moved under the table, but money can never break rules and traditions, specially if they don't benefit fans and players above all Did anybody ask the players about the hydration b…

Unfortunately they are needed now. "The 2026 FIFA World Cup was the hottest World Cup since the competition began in 1930. A Guardian analysis found that close to 20 percent of matches were played under heat and humidity conditions that FIFPRO, the players' union, has flagged as dangerous enough to warrant delaying or postponing play. Some 20 games were played at wet bulb globe temperatures that hit or exceeded 28 de…

20 games, of 104? Not to mention games were played in indoor air conditioned stadiums.

MLS already has a system where a game has a break only when it reaches 28deg C for a period of x minutes

Re: UEFA and its national associations will not participate in FIFA competitions

#504

Post by kaladin-jasnah » Fri, Jul 31, 2026, 4:58 AM UTC

rimeice wrote: post #346

decimalenough wrote: post #318

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Blame the US for that one, not FIFA.

Blame FIFA for giving the contest to the US to host

Did this not happen before the current administration?

Re: UEFA and its national associations will not participate in FIFA competitions

#505

Post by scott_w » Fri, Jul 31, 2026, 5:03 AM UTC

nephihaha wrote: post #403

CodingJeebus wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

"Football is historically a working class sport" Not as much as the popular culture makes out. Association football (as opposed to folk football) was codified in English private schools such as Uppingham, and at Cambridge University. Working class people played very different forms of football at the time, including carrying the ball etc. Association football was the more genteel form of the game. It used to be the m…

While true, it’s not a refutation at all. Look at the attendance makeup of every English club in the last 100 years, listen to the stories of the people who grew up supporting their local team, the young boys that grew up playing and became local or national heroes. That tells you where the soul of football lives.

Re: UEFA and its national associations will not participate in FIFA competitions

#506

Post by djtango » Fri, Jul 31, 2026, 5:13 AM UTC

It's ok - who cares about Europe anyway, they will be irrelevant imminently.

How about they create a new national league in the US, say called the National Football League and sell that to commercial interests then whoever wins that they can declare the best team in the world and therefore it is the world cup.

Re: UEFA and its national associations will not participate in FIFA competitions

#507

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Jul 31, 2026, 5:34 AM UTC

[deleted]

Re: UEFA and its national associations will not participate in FIFA competitions

#508

Post by eigart » Fri, Jul 31, 2026, 5:40 AM UTC

dmarcos wrote: post #77

nkg wrote: post #51

I'm so happy to see they care enough to take a stand. The last World Cup was a sh-t show. I expect the LA olympics to be no better.

How was it a shit show? I’m genuinely curious. I attended 5 games (Atlanta, LA and Dallas) and was a fantastic experience minus the process to get tickets.

The racism participants were subjected to was the worst part for me (though I understand teams were treated very well by the local population). Hydration breaks. Incessant celebrity spotting. So many small details reminding you that US capitalism might already have succeeded in ruining the game you love. Or that they see the success of the tournament as a signal to ramp up the attacks on European club football (pushing for a franchise model).

I feel like how I imagine golfers felt once LIV golf was announced.

Re: UEFA and its national associations will not participate in FIFA competitions

#509

Post by ornornor » Fri, Jul 31, 2026, 5:46 AM UTC

vagrantJin wrote: post #411

madradavid wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

CONCACAF join UEFA and reject FIFA's World Cup sell-off plan. https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/49488584/uefa-boycott... . By the end of this Gianni Infantino will only be left with the Africans .I am African and these Federations will do anything to keep him around because of the unprecedented amounts of corruption...

My own frustration isn't corruption per se, a state cannot exist without it - at least not for long, but how cheap African corruption is in general. Others may require considerable resources and billions perhaps. Not here. Just a few Land Rover discoverys for key officials and a scholarship for their kids in Europe is all that is required to sell a whole state. To say nothing of a sporting organization.

That’s not Africa only. When a corruption scandal comes up (bribing, lobbying), I’m often surprised at how cheap it was to buy the official. It’s often in the 10–50k eur region.

Re: UEFA and its national associations will not participate in FIFA competitions

#510

Post by ahartmetz » Fri, Jul 31, 2026, 5:56 AM UTC

haunter wrote: post #36

glitchc wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FIFA made $~15 billion USD this World Cup, roughly double what they made in Qatar in 2022. There are many low-hanging fruit that can be optimized to increase that revenue by 10x.

The difference that FIFA ran the whole tournament now. There was no Local Organizing Committee (LOC) like with every single previous event.

I have never before seen "FIFA World Cup" used so much and I guess that's why. Do you enjoy watching FIA F1 or IOC Olympics? It's pushy and inconsiderate self-promotion that nobody wants to hear.