QATAR 2022: THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL WORLD CUP TO BE

Hi, I am Matthew and I own this blog.This blog was created using the Google blogger app.

So, today we are looking at what would be the most controversial world cup ever, "QATAR 2022".

 

The 2022 world cup is going to be held for the first time in the Middle East. Way back in 2010 with arguably the most corrupt FIFA president in charge, Sepp Blatter, Qatar won the rights to host the 2022  world cup. This for sure sparked tonnes of controversies and ultimately led to the resignation of Blatter in 2015 after being charged with "corruption". Even, several members of FIFA have come out to say the decision to award the rights to Qatar was a mistake.

Let's go through these controversies.

• HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES

     The final of the World cup would be held in the Khalifa Stadium, Qatar. This is supposed to be a joyous occasion but would definitely be marred by the knowledge that the supporters are standing in a stadium built by the "systematic abuse of migrant workers" and in most cases, forced labour. Reports have it that about 1200 migrant workers might have died since 2010 in Qatar and that about 180 Nepalese workers have died in 2018 building the infrastructures to be used to hold the world's biggest stage. Some have estimated that about 4000 migrant workers would have died by 2022.

These workers are forced to live in unfavorable conditions, unpaid for months and some have had their passports confiscated. In defence, FIFA said" it wasn't their job to be involved in the internal and political affairs of host countries" which is true to an extent. The long list of human rights violations continues in Qatar.

•LGBT FANS

       LGBT is an acronym for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender.

In Qatar, homosexuality is a crime, domestic violence is not a crime and freedom of speech is questionable. This definitely exposes the high level of hypocrisy of the Qatari Government.

Since homosexuality is a crime in Qatar and football is open to all( including the LGBT fans) this definitely means LGBT fans would boycott the World cup, thus denting the image of FIFA.

   In defence, Blatter said" I would just advise them to restrain from sexual activities".

•WINTER WORLD CUP

      Due to the hostile summer climate in Qatar, the world cup had to move to November/December period where the climate would be cooler. This is yet the biggest controversy. Imagine the world cup interfering with almost all local football leagues of the world. Imagine having a winter world cup,so degrading. Former Chief Executive of the English Premier League promised to sue FIFA if the world cup interferes with the League's popular Christmas and New year fixtures. In defence, Former UEFA president promised to re-arrange all European fixtures to facilitate the world cup.

•COST

      By some estimates, the event would cost Qatar approx. $220 BILLION which is about 60 times the $3.5 BILLION South Africa used in staging theirs in 2010

    Lastly, as Alcohol is banned in stadia,( Part of football rules) Hassan Abdullah Al Thawadi, Chief Executive of the 2022 world cup bid said that the competition would allow Alchol consumption as it is a Muslim State.

      FIFA compromised just too many things as the event faces threats of boycott. Sepp Blatter after years of resigning said the event could be changed and could still take place in USA.

   What could have caused a sudden change from Blatter?

     Visit sm10s.blogspot.com for more of "insidefootball'sdeepest.

BREXIT AND ENGLISH FOOTBALL

Hi, I am Matthew and I own this blog. This blog was created using the Google blogger app. 

             You are about to read on Brexit and the effects of Brexit on the English Premier League.

        • WHAT IS BREXIT?

"Brexit" is the combination of the words "British" and "exit". To make it simple, Brexit is the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union. It means any political ties between the UK and other European countries would be cut off. 

      • MORE ON BREXIT

The withdrawal is a process and has entered into a transition period that started on the 1st of February, 2020 and will end on the 31st of December, 2020. Negotiations are still ongoing to determine if it's going to be a HARD Brexit or a SOFT one. The HARD Brexit makes connection between the UK and EU stricter while SOFT Brexit makes the connection less strict.

        •HOW WILL BREXIT           AFFECT THE ENGLISH PREMIER   LEAGUE

     No one really knows how this Brexit would affect the EPL but there are foreseeable consequences of this deal.

• MIGRATION: All countries in the European Union have a deal on migration which allows the free movement of people into any EU country. International movement within the EU doesn't require a special form of VISA as movement is free. But now that the United Kingdom has withdrawn from the EU, restrictions would be surely placed on the migration of people and goods between the UK and other European countries. To make this simple, UK citizens would need the same VISA requirements as African Migrants that want to migrate to any EU country.

       Hence, Matthew( footballer for Tottenham, UK) and Matthew ( footballer for MFM Utd, Nigeria) would need the same VISA to join Fc Barcelona, Spain.

• THE FA THEORY: The Football Association of England ( The FA) have seen this Brexit as a nice idea. Why? In the 1992/93 premier league season, 70% of the players that started for their respective teams were English players (UK citizens). But in the 2018/19, just 33% of the players that started for their respective teams were UK citizens. That's something any National FA wouldn't want to have in their leagues.

         So, the Brexit deal would by far increase the percentage of UK footballers in the EPL.

• POUND DE-VALUATION: The Brexit will also cause a sharp reduction of the value of the pound £ against the Euro € in the foreign exchange. This devalue would inflate the transfer fees an EPL club would pay in getting a player from any other European Football League. This means the EPL would have to pay more than they should while bargaining for players from the EU.

        i.e Matthew (Arsenal FC Director) would pay 70 million pounds for a player in La Liga (Spain) rather than 40 million pounds. NB:This example is nothing but an illustration.

• WORK PERMIT: Football players around the world are not immune to work permits. A Work Permit is an authorisation given by the Government of a country to enable an individual work legally in that country. So if an EPL player wants to join the Bundesliga, he is now subject to tighter regulations surrounding the issuing of the work permit.

          When too much regulations are on the work permit issuing, premier league players would shy off joining other leagues in Europe.

• IMAGE DAMAGE: If the Brexit deal eventually ends up being a HARD BREXIT, the Image of the British Government would be greatly damaged hence passing it on to several sectors of the economy. Forget not that the EPL( sports industry) is part of the British Economy. From ban on free flow of players, to tighter regulations on work permit, to the financial implications, to the discrimination from other European Leagues.

• CONCLUSION: The Brexit deal has happened. All that remains is to know if it's going to be a HARD Brexit or a SOFT Brexit.

   A HARD Brexit will have more implications than the SOFT Brexit, so let's keep our Hope high and believe it's going to be a soft one.

You just read a 700 word article from sm10s.blogspot.com. Hope you liked it and visit the above link regularly to know more about football's deepest. Thanks.

                       ~ Matthew

           

FOOTBALL QUIZ

Hi, I am Matthew and I own this blog. This blog was created using the Google Blogger app.

      From the premier league to the champions league, to the players too, we have series of Questions to ask and the answers would be at the end of the post.

Remember, be sincere while taking the quiz, score yourself and you could tell us in the comment section.

   So, it's quiz time.

         QUESTIONS

1.) What year did the premier league start (since it was rebranded)?

2.) In what year did Abramovich take over Chelsea?

3.) Who was the first sponsor of the Premier league

4.) Which manager was in charge when Manchester City won their first Premier league title?

5.) Who scored the first Premier League goal?

6.) Name the player that scored the Premier League fastest hat trick?

7.) "La Liga" is the name of which country's professional football association?

8.) Who owns the San siro stadium?

9.) Who owns the Signal Iduna Park??

10.) Who owns the Bramall Lane stadium?

11.) Who sponsors Tottenham team shirt?

12.) Who won the Golden Boot at the FIFA 2018 world cup?

13.) Who won the Golden Ball at the FIFA 2014 world cup?

14.) What's the name of the official Balls used at the FIFA 2014 &2018 World Cup?

15.) Who owns the hosting right of 2026 world cup??

16.) Who is a skipper?

17.) What is called a "screamer"?

18.) Who has the majority stake at Arsenal FC?

19.) Shangai Shenhua Fc belongs to the Major League Soccer??

20.) The Major League Soccer (MLS) belongs to which country Professional football association?

Thats all. Now, let's find out the answers!

     ANSWERS

1. 1992

2. 2003

3. Carling

4. Roberto Mancini

5. Brian Deane

6. Sadio Mane

7. Spain

8. Inter Milan and AC Milan

9. Borussia Dortmund

10. Sheffield United

11. AIA group limited

12. Harry Kane

13. Lionel Messi

14. Brazuca & adidad Telstar

15. USA, Cananda &Mexico

16. A skipper is the Captain of a            football team

17. A Long range goal

18. Stan Kroenke

19. False/No/ Not even close

20. United States of America

PRONUNCIATION OF FOOTBALLERS' NAMES

Hi, I am Matthew and I own this blog. This blog was created using the Google blogger app.

     So today we are taking a look at some football players and the proper pronunciation of their names. Pronunciation of names differ as footballers are from different countries, hence having different languages.

  • David De Gea

Pronunciation: David Da HIGHER

Country: Spain

De Gea Quintana currently plays for the red side of Manchester and also the Spanish National team as a Goalkeeper.

 • Manuel Neuer

Pronunciation: ManWELL NOHyah

Country: Germany

Considered as one of the best goalies of his generation, Neuer has been exceptional for the German National team and his current club Bayern Munich.

• Erling Haåland

Pronunciation: Erlin HOlland

Country: Norway

A 19 year old sensation, Haåland has been absolutely spot on for former club, Salzburg and current club, B.Dortmund

• Gabriel Jesus

Pronunciation: Gabriel JAYZOOSS

Country: Brazil

The Manchester City forward surely has a controversial name (to some people though), but the correct pronunciation is quite different.

• Georgino Wijnaldum

Pronunciation: WHYnaldum

Country: Netherlands

At some point, I had issues pronouncing this name but thank Goodness it's all over now.

Other names include:

Marco Reus: Marco ROYCE

Lewandoski: LeVandoVski

Clement Lenglet: Clement LONGlay

João Felix: JOOWOW FAYLISH

Lorenzo Insigne: inSEENYAY

Thibaut Courtois: teeBO corTWA

Toby Alderweireld: OLDERVAYRELD

Daniel Parejo: Daniel PARAYHO

Correct Pronunciation of some clubs are:

Ajax: Eye-axe

Atletico: At-lay-tee-co

Club Brugge: Cloob Brooger

RB Leipzig: Lie-pzig

Salzburg: Salts-berg

Valencia: Balen-see-a

That's all on this post, hope you had a good time reading it.

And if you have ever felt awful about pronouncing some of these names wrongly don't feel bad cause even commentators pronounce them wrongly at times.

FOOTBALL PUNS

Today, we are going to play upon words with football terms, that gives us FOOTBALL PUNS.😏

To get the jokes, you have to be familiar with football terms else they wouldn't sound as cool.

Let's get started.

• What tea do footballers like to take?  Penal-tea

• What lights up a football stadium?  A football match😄

• Why do footballers get As in Maths?  Cause they use their heads

• I am heading to the top

• You Petr cech yourself 😂

• What ship has never arrived the ports of Liverpool?? The premiership

Now that's funny 😂

• Why are swimmers good at football? Cause they dive a lot

• What do Chelsea and the Navy have in common? They spent 50 million on a sub

• What do referees send during the holidays?  Yellow cards

• What is the difference between Manchester United and a tea bag?

The tea bag stays in the cup longer.

• The best place to shop for football jerseys is New Jersey (USA)

• Grasshoppers aren't really into football cause they like Cricket 🏏

• What is similarity between Messi and a Magician? They both do hat tricks

•  Fan: When will Man City stop buying refs?

   Analyst: In the next ten years

   Fan: But I would be dead by then

   Fan 2: When will Man Utd stop buying refs ?

   Analyst: I would be dead by then.

   

Hope you had a good time reading these puns😅😅😅

That's all for now on footionary

BALLON D'OR (FEMALE EDITION)

The BALLON D'OR is an award that every football player cherish. It symbolises the Best Player to play the beautiful game for that particular year it is given.

The Female Ballon d'or came into existence in 2016 to recognize the absolute spot on performance of female players. Let's take a look at winners.

2016

WINNER: Carli Lloyd 

TEAM: Houston Dash

VOTES(%): 20.68

2017

WINNER: Lieke Martens

TEAM: Fc Barcelona

VOTES: 21.72%

2018

WINNER: Marta

TEAM: Orlando Pride

VOTES: 14.73%

2019 

WINNER: Megan Rapinoe

TEAM: Reign Fc

VOTES: 46%

To have earned this prize, they must have really played their skins out.

The 2019/20 BALLON D'OR goes to ????

THE TOP GOAL SCORERS OF THE ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

This post is about the top goal scorers of the English League since it was rebranded to the ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE in 1992.

They must have been really good players, huh!!

1. Alan Shearer- 260 Goals

Clubs: Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United

Status: Retired

Appearances: 441

2. Wayne Rooney- 208 Goals

Clubs: Everton and Man UTD

Status: Active 

Appearances: 491

3. Andrew Cole- 187 Goals

Clubs: Newcastle United, Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Fulham, Manchester City, Portsmouth and Sunderland.

Status: Retired

Appearances: 414

4. Sergio Kün Aguero- 180 Goals

Clubs: Manchester City

Status: Active

Appearances: 261

5. Frank Lampard- 177 Goals

Clubs: West Ham, Chelsea and Manchester City

Status: Retired

Appearances: 609

6. Thierry Henry- 175 Goals

Clubs: Arsenal

Status: Retired

Appearances: 258

These are the top highest netters of the English Premier League 👏👏👏🙇🙇

NB: Players with the 'active' status have the tendency to score more goals.

FOOTBALL'S MOST VALUABLE PLAYERS

As the Coronavirus has really hit football hard, there has been a 20% drop in most players' value.

European Football has lost a whooping 9 Billion Pounds due to this drop.

So, we take a look at the most valuable players and their monetary value.

1. Kylian Mbappe-€180 million

Mbappe (21 years) plays for the French National team and Paris Saint German as a remarkable Forward.

2. Raheem Sterling-€128 million

The highly rated Winger plays for the English National team and the blue side of Manchester.

3. Neymar-€128 million

Neymar Da Silva Jr. is number three on the list having the same value as Sterling. The Brazil Forward is worth the cash.

4. Sadio Mane-€120 million

Sadio Mane hails from Senegal. He appears to be most valued African player. Sadio is a player you would love to watch as he has been spot on for Meyerside Red (Liverpool).

5. Mohammed Salah-€120 million

Alongside his team mate Mane, Salah is worth a staggering €120 million. Hard work surely pays off.

6. Harry Kane-€120 million

The English Centre Forward who plays for Tottenham Hotspur has been a really prolific player. His goals earned him the golden boot at the Russia 2018 world cup.

7. Kevin De Bruyne-€120 million

KVB as he is fondly called, is a complete package player. The Belgian currently plays for Manchester City as an attacking Midfielder.

8. Jadon Sancho-€117 million

The youngest player to appear on the list (20 years). He currently plays for Borussia Dortmund and has been heavily linked to a move at Old Trafford.

9. Lionel Messi- €112 million

Arguably the best player to have graced the beautiful game, Messi has been exceptional for about more than a decade now. No wonder he is on the list, despite being 32 years old.

10. Trent Alexander-Arnold- €99 million

Trent has been a revelation for Liverpool. The 21 year old is a great deal of a player even at right back position.

So, these are the most valuable players in the world of football right now. Some great players didn't make the cut but that doesn't make them less good anyway.