World Cup Bids

[alexrugby]

I know Russia got right for hosting World Cup 2018 right?

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

Yes, and according to Bullitt, the Germans won't make it to the final since it's in Moscow

Bullitt, that was the best joke of the year

 

[alexrugby]

Germany and Russia do not stand apart from each other

and did not even stood

but joke is worth of admitting ))

 

[Seaton]

Countries on my list to host it after Japan:

2023: Argentina (Maybe a co-host partnership with Uruguay)
2027: Italy or Ireland
2031: South Africa
2035: Romania and Georgia together (this will be nice as a boost to rugby in Eastern Europe)
2039: Pacific Islands (Tonga, Samoa, Fiji)

I might go on too much but would this be a really weird way it could turn out? Compare that to FIFA... Man o man. FIFA has lost it

2023: I think this will depend on the revenues garnered from the 2015 WC, as the WC in Japan will make a dent in IRB coffers (kind of like NZ now), an SA WC would allow for near maximum revenues, being in the same about time zone as the UK/France market. Those few hours make a huge difference in viewing figures
2027: I think this will be the prime time for Argentina, they could get told nice and early and build a strong squad to be a contender
2031: Depends on the growth of the game, but a USA WC would allow for good revenue and expansion of the game, considering the Olympic 7's and all
2035: Agree EE would be a good region, but one of the countries would need not only a significant rugby improvement, but economic as well.
2039: The Islands would need a pretty (incredibly) generous billionare to get a WC there, there best bet would be to host their home teams matches in an Aussie WC

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

Well, there is no use in hosting a World Cup and playing your own matches in Australia. The whole mythical vibe from the Pacific Islands would be amazing to see in a World Cup. How big are the stadiums overthere?

 

[Seaton]

Well, if by stadiums you mean fully functional grounds with seats, well...

Shorten stadiums to stadium and you might get an accurate answer

I don't know if you know this, but Fiji, Samoa and Tonga are small islands

Fiji has a population of a little under 1 million I think, of which a large chunk are Indian descendants
Samoa has a population of 200 000 or so, and Tonga is about half that

There economies are extremely weak, whilst Fiji had a military coup in 2005 or so

The only feasible way for them to host a WC, is for there populations to more than treble, there combined economies to grow by at least 25% per a year for the next 20 years
Oh, and they would need a set of rather large volcanoes to at least quadruple the landmass

Its a fairly tall order I think


(Sorry if I sound arrogant, but there really is no way that the Islands can host a WC this century

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

I know it might never happen but it would be awesome! The Pacific Islands are a real asset to international rugby and them hosting a tournament would really be something to look forward to. I was sincerely asking because I don't know what stadiums Fiji, Samoa and Tonga have. It would be a massive boost for tourism too

 

[Seaton]

Okay, after a little research, the three combined Islands do only have one stadium that meets IRB requirements, which is in Fiji (30 000 seater, with a portion of that for standing)
All the rest include 'capacities' that count for standing terracing, which the IRB doesn't want.

So, if a country needs a minimum of 8-10 stadiums, and we just say they build stadiums of 20 000 capacity (which already exceeds the entire Tonga/Samoa populations)
A semi-decent stadium of that size would cost 20 million or so pounds in the UK, and that all construction materials would need to be imported (never mind technicians/engineers etc..), the cost of building a single stadium would rise to 30 million or so pounds. Now times that by 10, and you already have a figure bigger than that of the combined Tongan/Somoan economies, and equal to about half of the Fijian economy.
Considering it is costing the NZRU 40 million pounds or something to host the RWC, and the money that would be needed to build roads/transport systems/ airports on 7/8 different islands, and already the cost exceeds 1 billion pounds (Fiji+Samoa+Tonga=800 million or so pounds)

And considering the Aberdeen city council has a GDP larger than that of the islands, and won't even help Aberdeen FC to pay for a new 30 000 stadium, well you can just imagine the re-action(s) of Fijian/Samoan/Tongan finance minister(s) when asked for 1 billion pounds

If they would want to host a RWC, Sevens would be the way to go, as they can all (bar tonga) win it, and they would only have to expand Fiji's stadium for the venue

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

Well, I knew it was a long shot haha

 

[Faatau82]

The RWC 2011 is the nearest that the islands will have to hosting a RWC. There's probably more samoans in auckland than there is samoans in samoa.

Let's say Apia Park is 20,000 maximum capacity. Considering that the population is about 200,000.. that means 10% of the population are at that game! lol

The best bet for the islands hosting anything, is the Sevens World Cup. They could do that.

 

[lucky number 7]

Why not Ireland...Use all the Gaa stadiums Most counties have at least a 20,000 person stadium.