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***Official Soccer Discussion Thread*** (5 Viewers)

So the ball is squarely back in UEFA's court in the short term. I think they meet again next week. If UEFA was ever going to blow the current status quo up, now is their time.

 
And why would people decide to switch at this point?
I think the hope was that, if it was close people could flip being relatively certain that Ali would win and they wouldn't have to face the repercussions of Blatter and his corrupt regime. Being this far apart though, people probably see the writing on the wall and won't switch.

 
And why would people decide to switch at this point?
I think the hope was that, if it was close people could flip being relatively certain that Ali would win and they wouldn't have to face the repercussions of Blatter and his corrupt regime. Being this far apart though, people probably see the writing on the wall and won't switch.
They might as well ride it out. Blatter can offer more protection as president than he could from the outside.

Change is only going to happen when either Blatter goes down or UEFA pulls out.

 
So the ball is squarely back in UEFA's court in the short term. I think they meet again next week. If UEFA was ever going to blow the current status quo up, now is their time.
In a complete dream, UEFA secedes from FIFA and the US and Mexico follow.

UEFA uses every influence they have to convince Argentina and Brazil to follow.

The US and Brazil then go hard after Australia, Japan and South Korea to convince them to join.

Once you get this group in place, FIFA is done as the smaller/less powerful countries will have no reason to stay with a dead organization.

Sadly it is as realistic as Blatter losing this election.

 
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It is adorable that Blatter's very first piece of business will be to figure out how to fix the system such that China wins the bid for 2026.

 
Mr. Blatter, 79 years old, has been at the head of FIFA since 1998 and remains hugely popular in most of the body’s 209 member associations. He wasn’t named in either probe.

He opened the congress with a 22-minute speech, comprising his most extensive public comments since the probes were launched Wednesday.

“Outside the stadium, there are no geographical limits, there are no time limits, and there is no referee,” he said. “There are more than a billion of us [touched by soccer]. How can one tribunal handle all of that?”
one dollar at a time, sepp- one dollar at a time.

 
Looks like Orlando City must have made a deal with the state.

Orlando City will make a “major announcement” regarding its soccer-specific stadium today at 2 p.m. at City Hall, sources with knowledge of the announcement told the Orlando Sentinel.

The city and club later announced Orlando City majority owner Flávio Augusto da Silva, Orlando City founder and president Phil Rawlins and Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer will attend the press conference.

The sources declined to provide details about the announcement.

The Orlando Sentinel will be livestreaming the press conference.

Orlando City president Phil Rawlins tweeted that Friday was a “big day,” for the club, while club CEO Alex Leitao also tweeted, “Couldn’t be more excited! Big day for OC, huge impact for the future of the organization!”

Orlando City’s soccer-specific stadium has been held up as it awaits $30 million in state funding currently stuck in the Florida Legislature.

Originally, the franchise had planned an $85 million stadium. However, when the club learned it was the top candidate to receive $30 million in funds from the state, plans moved forward to design at $115 million stadium. With the money now stalled, Orlando City’s construction plans have also been delayed – at least until a special session in June.
 
Oh wow, good for Orlando City.

They announced that they intend to privately finance the stadium.

They also announced that they intend to increase the capacity from the original 19.5k to the range of 25-28k.

Nice to see the state not having to pay for this.

Orlando City will no longer have to wait on state funding to build its soccer-specific stadium.

Team owner Flávio Augusto da Silva announced Friday the franchise will privately finance the construction of its downtown soccer-specific stadium. The stadium, originally envisioned and pitched as a city-owned venue, will now be owned and operated privately by Orlando City.


"We’ve been having problem funding the stadium, but we’ve got a new solution. … We’ll fund this project 100 percent privately," Augusto da Silva said. "This is a big signal how we believe in this city, how we believe in this community, how we believe in these people, this marketplace and these fans."

The team will also expand capacity of the stadium to between 25,000 and 28,000 – a significant increase from the original plans of a 19,500-seat facility – due to the “overwhelming support” for the franchise in its inaugural season.


"These fans, the city embraced our team," Augusto da Silva said. "We are very excited about that. . . . One thing that we have been focused on is learning about this marketplace, how big we are, how big is our marketplace [is] in Orlando. Our plans in the stadium were between a 19 and 20,000-seat stadium. It’s obvious that we’ve overcome thse numbers. Suddenly, we’ve got a problem, a good problem to solve -- 19,000 it seems is not enough. We are much bigger than that, Orlando is much bigger than that.

". . . We started hearing from our fans and our supporters and we got the message. We need a bigger stadium. We are very focused on building a new stadium between 25,000 and 28,000 seats.”

The arrangement will save the City of Orlando more than $15 million it had pledged for the project, in land and construction funding — and will bring in additional tax revenue for the city, because the privately-owned stadium will generate property taxes.

Orange County will not have to pay $20 million it had committed to the project.

In addition to privately financing the stadium, which officials said is expected to cost more than the originally-projected $115 million, Orlando City will buy back the stadium land from the city.


A city official said the land is expected to be sold to the team for “fair market value,” though the exact figure was not available Friday. The team is also expected to cover the cost of storm water retention work for the site, which the official estimated at about $3.1 million.

Orlando City will take some time to update construction plans on the stadium and will explore other upgrades in amenities for fans, including in-stadium technology, before moving forward with construction.

The stadium is expected to be completed by the summer of 2016, meaning Orlando City will open next season at the Citrus Bowl.

“The goal is to be among the top stadiums in MLS,” a club official said. “We didn’t come here to be average.”

The announcement comes after stadium construction was delayed awaiting $30 million in state funding stuck in the Florida Legislature. The franchise originally planned an $85 million stadium.

However, when the club learned it was the top candidate to receive $30 million in funds from the state, plans moved forward to design a $115 million stadium.

Now, the team will be able to proceed with plans for a bigger stadium – an expansion that would have needed more funding and thus likely faced more delays.

A 28,000-seat stadium would give Orlando City the second-largest soccer-specific stadium in MLS. The L.A. Galaxy’s StubHub Center has a capacity of 27,000, while Toronto’s BMO Field has a capacity of approximately 30,000.

Orlando City has averaged 37,420 fans during its first six home games, including 62,358 in the inaugural game on March 8. The lowest attendance of the season was 27,243 on May 8.

Los Angeles F.C., an expansion team set to join MLS in 2018, recently announced plans to build a $250 million, privately-financed, 22,000-seat stadium.

The Lions host the Columbus Crew at the Citrus Bowl Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
 
Would be nice if something actually came of this but it sounds like rhetoric to me

=========================

England's Football Association chairman Greg Dyke says he would be "very surprised" if Sepp Blatter was still FIFA president in two years.

"To quote the Attorney General this is the beginning of the process, not the end. The idea Blatter could reform FIFA is suspect. I'd be very surprised if he was still in this job in two years time."

The chief executive of the Football Association of Ireland also believes the latest FIFA crisis will mean Blatter will not see out his four-year term.

"I still think this is the beginning of the end of Sepp Blatter," John Delaney told Press Association "I don't see him seeing his four years out -- the momentum is too great. We have to see how best we can use the European muscle. We also need to go on a charm offensive with Africa and Asia."

Several South American nations joined European countries and the U.S. in voting for Prince Ali.

Rodolfo D'Onofrio, vice president of the Argentine Football Association, told Argentine media that CONMEBOL members met Friday morning and decided to vote for Prince Ali. He said he doesn't know if all members went through with it, but that Argentina voted for the challenger.

"In Argentina we clearly thought that we needed a change and we voted for a change," D'Onofrio said. "I think CONMEBOL too, that was the previous agreements. I don't know what happened in the booth."

 
"Good said:
Well it's too bad that Blatter's going to be around for at least a little longer, but at least the actual on-field sport is still more or less pure and untarnished by the corruption that decides where its played (and shown by whom).

Oh sorry, what's that? http://www.football-espana.net/50687/spain-korea-2002-under-scrutiny
That World Cup was a travesty. South Korea was basically gifted wins vs Italy & Spain to ensure their advancement as one of the host nations...the refereeing was atrocious; it had to be seen to be believed.

 

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