Former host Russia frozen out as World Cup begins in Qatar
Host Russia refused to host the World Cup event because it didn’t want to take on the financial burden, but that’s the excuse being used by U.S. Soccer on the event that was to be held in Russia, and it’s false.
In reality, Russia was denied the World Cup because of its refusal to accept U.S. demands that it give up control over the national team and instead be forced to have the U.S. team compete in a ‘neutral’ environment.
US Soccer’s solution was to move the competition to the United States.
Even if Russia had accepted U.S. demands, the U.S. team was still in a neutral tournament being held as part of the World Cup 2014 event, and the rest of the world was left to fend for itself.
Russian Federation’s refusal to host the World Cup means that FIFA’s presidential election will be held without Russia, and Russia’s influence in the game is very limited.
The U.S., meanwhile, was very much invited to host the FIFA tournament. It has already played in a number of the tournaments that take place throughout the year, from the Women’s World Cup to the men’s World Cup.
The U.S. team even played against Argentina in the Copa America Centenario qualifying tournament earlier this year.
FIFA recently announced that the U.S. will host the 2018 World Cup, with the U.S. team to be announced this week.
The FIFA World Cup is scheduled to be held in the U.S. starting in 2026.
When asked if Russian President Vladimir Putin would let the U.S. host the World Cup, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak said, “Mr. Putin is not a football fan,”