USA 2018? Barry says so

P051609PS-0171
Originally uploaded by The Official White House Photostream

No pictures of Barry kicking a soccer ball around the South Lawn, Drew, but he apparently did kick a ball around the Oval when he met with FIFA president Sepp Blatter the other day:

On Monday, President Obama got the U.S. campaign off to a start that Blatter conceded “merits a compliment” — demonstrating his own appreciation for “the beautiful game” by dribbling a soccer ball that Blatter had presented him in the Oval Office.

Blatter said afterward that Obama, whose basketball prowess is well-known, isn’t ready for a spot on the U.S. national team. But, he joked, Obama probably could have made the second-tier U.S. squad that was trounced by Mexico, 5-0, in the CONCACAF Gold Cup match he attended Sunday in East Rutherford, N.J., as part of his four-day visit to the United States.

The key item on Blatter’s U.S. tour was the meeting with Obama, in which they discussed ways of strengthening soccer in the United States. Blatter called it “a great encounter.”

Maybe Pete Souza will offer us some shots on the official White House Flickr stream.

Blatter also formally invited President Obama to attend the World Cup, and said POTUS has instructed aides to check his schedule.

Mr. President, I hereby volunteer to buy you a Castle Lager if you decide to attend.

Anyway, conditions look right for the United States to host in 2018, at least as far as FIFA’s normal rotation goes. However, Blatter said a lot of the Europeans in FIFA think that the Continent should host every third tournament. Which is dumb. Screw Europe.

And I don’t need to remind Blatter who can put asses in seats:

[Blatter] accentuated the positives when asked if the country’s inability to capitalize on the 1994 World Cup should count against it in the next round of voting.

“Yes, it has not had the impact we expected,” Blatter conceded. “But it was the first World Cup organization, and so far the only one, where all tickets were sold, and all seats were occupied. So this is a good legacy of the organizational skill of the United States.”

Yer darn tootin’.

Any Bets on an Obama Playing Soccer Shot?

Just saw this on Politico.com:

Monday Jul. 27, 2009
2:00 p.m.
Obama meets with FIFA President Joseph Blatter.

Please God, please don't try to play soccer on the White House South Lawn for the WH gaggle.

Worker strike is off, and other news

Here’s an update to a story I posted last week, about the workers who are building the stadiums that will hold the World Cup matches next year. From the BBC:

Workers building stadiums for next year’s World Cup in South Africa are ending a week-long strike, according to negotiators in Johannesburg.

After threatening to wreck next June’s tournament unless they received a pay increase of 13%, a union spokesman said the workers had settled for 12%.

Contractors confirmed a deal had been reached and would be signed shortly, with work to resume on Thursday.

South Africa is building five new stadiums for the World Cup.

The BBC’s Jonah Fisher in Johannesburg says construction companies will be relieved that industrial action which could have lasted months has ended so quickly.

That’s putting it mildly, Jonah.

Other football news:

• Landon Donovan and David Beckham were having a little tiff, but now they love each other and will be back to slapping each other’s asses at Home Depot Center’s locker room after using Herbalife as an aphrodisiac.
• After struggling to tie Haiti in the CONCACAF Gold Cup (and possibly opting not to wear a condom), and thereby win Group B, the United States moves on to play Panama in the quarterfinals, in Philadelphia, this Saturday. I might take the train up to see that match, as long as I don’t have to visit any racist swimming clubs.
• Meanwhile, Mexico pulled their heads out of their asses and won Group C courtesy of a 2-0 victory over make-believe country Guadeloupe, which, as the boys from “South Park” said about Canada, is “not even a real country anyway.”

Finally, am I the only one who gets the shit annoyed out of them by the automatically playing videos on ESPN’s Web site?

Diski Dance, Y'all

Since I'm bored senseless here enduring another dreary Melbourne day, my thoughts turned to South Africa 2010.

And, with Hoover nominating me as the Cruise Director for the trip, I found the following South Africa travel ad for the World Cup online.

Enjoy.

Rudd Tries to Be Relevant Again

More guys in suits trying to play soccer.

As part of Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's neverending attempt to become relevant on the world stage, he stopped in Switzerland following a trip to Berlin before becoming a hanger-on at the G8 Summit in Italy.

This time, it was to meet with FIFA President Sepp Blatter to lobby for Australia's 2018/2022 World Cup bid. I totally support the Aussie bid for 2022, but he looks just ridiculous kissing ass like this on the world stage.

And, this kind of crap will continue until FIFA chooses the 2018/2022 host nations in December 2010. Ugh.

Can we please just agree on one thing? Please, please no more dorks in suits trying to play soccer for yet another photo-op.

SA stadium builders need a pay rise

Work has halted on South Africa’s World Cup venues as 70,000 labourers have launched what they call the “mother of all strikes,” according to the Daily Mail.


EPA/Jon Hrusa

Work on stadiums for next year’s World Cup was halted today when 70,000 South African builders launched an indefinite strike.

Union chiefs confirmed construction on several unfinished stadiums was stopped at midday as builders downed tools following a dispute over pay.

In Johannesburg 3,000 workers at South Africa’s showpiece Soccer City stadium were this afternoon marching in protest to the headquarters of the 2010 Fifa World Cup to demand better wages.

Ever since FIFA announced South Africa as the venue for the 2010 World Cup there has been chatter about whether the country could get its act together in time, or whether they could even mount such an event. Strikes like this one will only heighten those concerns. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Labour issues abound everywhere, and this action doesn’t mean the country isn’t ready for the World Cup — not by a long shot. It recalls the drama around Athens’ hosting of the Olympics a few years ago.

According to the story, builders working on the stadiums earn an average of £185 (US$296) per month, “often for a seven day working week.” They’re asking for a 13 percent rise (to £215, or US$345) but management has countered with only 10 percent.

I, for one, support these workers.

Not to put a downer on the FGOC World Cup tour, but it’s a bit sobering when you think that the four of us are spending all this money and trekking all that way to get pissed and yell during a game in a stadium built by thousands of people making next to nothing in wages.

Gold Cup, Spice Boyz and Andres Escobar

Well, the U.S. team got off to a roaring start in the CONCACAF Gold Cup over the weekend, beating Grenada 4-0. Freddy Adu (6’), Stuart Holden (30’), Robbie Rogers (59’) and Charlie Davies (67’) scored the goals during the match in Seattle.

The match also featured U.S. goalie Troy Perkins, who used to play for United here in D.C. Most of the regular players had returned to their MLS team or had taken time off before the start of the European season, so the backbenchers got to get some quality P.T.

One other tidbit of note: Grenada’s team nickname is the Spice Boyz. I am not making this up. Maybe this means one of them will marry Mia Hamm.


So which one of them is Sporty Spice?

In other football news, would the Colombians please stop shooting each other over soccer?

A Colombian soccer player shot and killed a fan for calling him “lousy” on Sunday, days after the player’s team lost a local championship, police said.

Javier Florez, a midfielder for the Atletico Junior team of the Caribbean city if Barranquilla, ran from the scene of the shooting but soon turned himself in to authorities.

Witnesses told police Florez shot Israel Castillo with a handgun after the 27-year-old electrician called him a “maleta” — which in Colombian parlance describes a “lousy” player.

Andres Escobar, anyone?

Blatter Blabs About South Africa

I wanted to share this little interview with the readers of FGOC. Sepp Blatter, the Swiss president of FIFA, decided to bless us with the following assessment of South Africa's preparation for hosting the 2010 World Cup.

Now, I first heard it as an audio clip so it might not translate well in the printed word - but this school analogy makes absolutely no sense to me.

Enjoy.

If you get a five mark you have to repeat class, a six and you go to middle school,' Blatter told a post-Confederations Cup press conference.

'South Africa are definitely in college and on their way to university. They're just missing half a point which they may pick up by the time of the World Cup draw in December.

'I want to give you a ten by the World Cup and then you are in masters.'

What the F does that mean? And somehow, the final grade is a 7.5.

But, there's more...

'So I am satisfied with the way the competition went but there are still challenges which will have to be dealt with in terms of transport and accommodation.

'Next year there will be 450,000 fans for the World Cup and they need to get to and from matches and back to where they are staying. Camps are not really an option as it will be winter here.'

Camps? CAMPS? What on God's green Earth is he talking about?