Sounds improbable, but Prince Faisal of Jordan thinks it could happen one day.
Jordan and Iraq are mulling a possible joint bid to stage soccer’s biggest showcase after 2014, the prince said Wednesday in The Times and Guardian newspapers.
"The situation at the moment would make any bid ludicrous," Prince Faisal was quoted as saying. "What will things be like in five years time? It could be a very prosperous nation. If the conditions are right, people will take it seriously."’
Soccer is hugely popular in Iraq, and the national soccer team reached the semifinals at the Olympic tournament in Athens. Because FIFA is rotating the World Cup around the world, the next opportunity for the Middle East, which comes under the Asian confederation, would be 2018.
Source: [TSN] Via: [And Far Away]
Could it happen? Maybe. Certainly if it did, it will make me a happy camper. Nothing breaks stereotypes like a good match of football!
Man, don’t get me started on the airport. The first thing they should do is to clean up the bathrooms!!!
Well said. Nothing really brings people from all nations together quite like sports and friendly competition do.
This would be a great thing for Jordan as a country as a whole and for the national team specifically. As an added bonus, I believe the host country gets an automatic bid to play in the WC. Although I certainly hope Jordan makes before 2018. (BTW, best of luck to team Jordan on Oct. 13….PLEASE don’t let me down this time. I had to get up extra early to watch that heartbreaking defeat against Japan.)
Jordan has a long way to go to be able to host such a wonderfule event, but I am sure it will be prepared to show that wonderful and famous hospitality when the time arrives… maybe we could start by enforcing a queue system at QAIA to enter the check-in counters area. 🙂 A topic I would be curious to hear about from other travelers.