Ode to the beautiful game... (Soccer)

[Deleted member 40371]

The answer to that I am afraid is nope. But these investors seems to think there is room for a 2nd sport. The problem is some critics believe it is all going to be about the spectacle rather than the sport of football itself and therefore do little to further the game in India. But I am very curious and maybe just maybe it is a step in the right direction.

Cricket is a religion in the sub-continent and hence not let any other team sport survive. The Indian premier league (Cricket) is highly successful and this had made a cricket savvy country even more addicted to the sport. So, only individual sport will survive, sport like Badminton has managed to get some attention, primarily thanks Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu and Jwala Gutta and they managing to world and olympic medals in last two years, and there is a Indian Badminton League, however that did not make even. Though there is still plan for a second season. I think sports like Badminton, Shooting, Archery, Boxing and Wrestling is the best chance for Indian medals in world championships or olympic games...

Interestingly any medal at Olympic games makes you an instant celebrity and of course relatively rich... Sushil Kumar, who won a silver medal at London Olympics got around $ 650,000 + (this is really huge considering teh cost of living in India) with a huge land for the state government. He also won several sponsorship deals thanks to his Medal. Mary Kom's bronze has led her to become even more popular, now a Bollywood Movie is in production. So monetary incentive in wining an individual medal is quite high.

Football is popular, and viewership of English Premier League is quite high. However, a domestic league I don't think is going to change the fortune of Indian football. It needs a miracle, a huge miracle.

P.s. For any curious minds Indian national sport is field hockey and not Cricket.

 

[Buzz]

Sepp Blatter is thinking of staying on as FIFA's president past the end of his 2015 term. He also wants the initial term of FIFA president to be increased to eight years.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24634466

 

[Buzz]

Yaya Toure is claiming that he was subjected to racist chants by CSKA fans during Man City's 2-1 away win in Moscow. CSKA for their part denies the claims.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/racism-football-cska-moscow-deny-2487246
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/oct/23/manchester-city-yaya-toure-racist-chanting

 

[Buzz]

Oyyyyy... Brazil to investigate FIFA agency for "Cartel" type practices.

SAO PAULO - The Brazil government will investigate whether FIFA's official accommodation agency was involved in "cartel" practices that may lead to hotel price hikes during the 2014 World Cup.

 

[Buzz]

Michel Platini wants the number of teams in the World Cup to go up to 40 from 32. The only change I want to see is complete and total transparency by FIFA and UEFA is not just the WC bidding process but in their finances.

 

[Lara]

Paging Neil!!!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sport...f78bf4-40db-11e3-b028-de922d7a3f47_story.html

 

[Buzz]

Paging Neil!!!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sport...f78bf4-40db-11e3-b028-de922d7a3f47_story.html

He must be out there somewhere doing a victory dance of some kind. hehehe

 

[NeilJLeonard]

He must be out there somewhere doing a victory dance of some kind. hehehe

No. No victory dance of any sort. This is a "Miami" thing. My team is in Ft Lauderdale in Div 2 NASL.

We expect Mr Becks and group to start a team in Miami, FIU Stadium to start & in a new stadium as close to downtown Miami as is practicable, in 2016/2017. Ft Lauderdale Striker fans most emphatically do not want MLS in South Florida unless it is the Strikers moving to MLS. That is not going to happen. There is a distinct possibility the MLS team Mr Beckham & group start will kill the Strikers, and that is not something we like. Consequently we honestly wish Mr Beckham would NOT bring his golden ticket here. This "news" that he is coming here is most unwelcome.

NJL (...Mr Beckham has until January, we now hear, to make an official announcement......expect to hear it during the halftime at the MLS Championship game or during the super draft in January.....Orlando should be announced at the same time, or before........)

 

[Buzz]

AC Milan's head coach Massimiliano Allegri insists he is not interested in trading Mario Balotelli.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24745006

 

[Lara]

That's unfortunate Neil. It does seem that if there's a team in the area and capable of moving up to MLS they should go with that. Hope it works out.

The Mtl Impact *just* squeaked into the MLS Playoffs, so not expecting much but fingers crossed for tonight against Houston.

Oh, and Real Madrid seems to have recovered nicely from losing the Clasicó Saturday.

 

[alexikeguchi]

Another topsy turvy weekend in BPL so far, with mediocre ManU and City finally winning again while Chelsea's momentum stalled with a loss to Newcastle. Arsenal continue to cruise though!

And even bigger , payment for all the World Cup tickets I requested has posted to my CC, so I expect official confirmation of a successful application shortly. Hello Brazil!

 

[KHenry14]

The Mtl Impact *just* squeaked into the MLS Playoffs, so not expecting much but fingers crossed for tonight against Houston.

And they proceeded to embarrass themselves, not just by losing badly but behaving poorly at the end of the game. Romero and Di Vaio both getting red cards for childish unsportsmanlike play. And today they just fired their coach!

 

[4rkidz]

So Hamilton Ontario in Canada is hosting the PanAm soccer games in 2015 - in the new Pan Am Soccer stadium which meets all the FIFA regulations - they are hoping to attract a professional team as well for the city.. Don't suppose Beckham fancies this instead of Miami

 

[KHenry14]

So Hamilton Ontario in Canada is hosting the PanAm soccer games in 2015 - in the new Pan Am Soccer stadium which meets all the FIFA regulations - they are hoping to attract a professional team as well for the city.. Don't suppose Beckham fancies this instead of Miami

Is this stadium part of the 2015 Women's World Cup??

 

[Buzz]

What a painfully time to be a footie fan. Both Man U & Toronto FC are not doing so hot.

 

[Lara]

And they proceeded to embarrass themselves, not just by losing badly but behaving poorly at the end of the game. Romero and Di Vaio both getting red cards for childish unsportsmanlike play. And today they just fired their coach!

I knew they'd lost but glad I didn't see the match. Arsenal vs Liverpool yesterday = much better lol. Seriously though very disappointing when they'd had a good start to the season, looks like attitude adjustments needed.

 

[Buzz]

My poor boys are really having a hard time this season. But hopefully it is only because of their adjusting to a new coach and will settle down just fine come next season.

 

[Buzz]

FIFA now says the 2022 WC will be held on November and December of the same year and Qatar could co-host the tournament with the UAE and Iran etc.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...-host-World-Cup-2022.html?ico=sport^headlines

 

[Buzz]

WHOO-HOOO We beat Arsenal and Man City lost! A very good day in all! YAY

 

[alexikeguchi]

WHOO-HOOO We beat Arsenal and Man City lost! A very good day in all! YAY

There you go, Buzz! Too early to despair. Maybe this win will help ManU find its way this season, though I personally hope Arsenal can finish on top for once instead of fading away after New Year's Day.

 

[Buzz]

Uruguay, Mexico, Ghana, Portugal, New Zealand, Romania are just some of the countries that are in the playoffs, which starts today, for the last 11 WC spots. Should be really good!
http://www.torontosun.com/2013/11/11/we-look-at-whos-battling-for-the-last-11-world-cup-spots

 

[alexikeguchi]

Epic wins for Uruguay and Mexico in the first leg, can't imagine they won't qualify at this point. Honestly, there are so few surprises in the intercontinental playoffs, it seems they should just allot the spots directly or at least attempt to match up comparable federations. NZ vs Jordan and Uruguay vs Mexico would likely have been much more competitive.

 

[Buzz]

Poor NZ

 

[oleada]

Wheeeeeeee, Colombia beat Belgium 2-0 in Brussels!!

 

[Buzz]

Nigeria and Ivory Coast have qualified for the World Cup. Congrats to both.
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/nigeria-ivory-coast-qualify-for-2014-fifa-world-cup-1.2429273

 

[Buzz]

Cameroon has also qualified for the WC, and tomorrow several countries hopes to join them including Iceland.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/soccer-insider/wp/2013/11/18/2014-world-cup-qualifying-update-2/

 

[NeilJLeonard]

Please expect to hear a formal announcement sometime today that Orlando City SC will be joining MLS as their 21st franchise probably in 2015.

NJL

 

[Buzz]

Greece, France, Portugal, and Croatia have all booked their place in Brazil 2014. And still no formal announcement about Orlando City SC.

 

[NeilJLeonard]

Greece, France, Portugal, and Croatia have all booked their place in Brazil 2014. And still no formal announcement about Orlando City SC.

Announcement to be made in Orlando around 7Pm to 730PM EST.

NJL

 

[Buzz]

Ghana also advanced to the WC despite losing 1-2 to Egypt. The Pharaohs were sunk by their previous 6-1 loss to the Black Stars. Too bad for B. Bradley and his team but they had an excellent run. It was just bad luck for them and New Zealand both that they got such tough opponents.