Obama Wants the World Cup in the USA

Is U.S. President Barack Obama trying to get the World Cup to America?

According to the New York Times, he just might be.

Not the 2010 World Cup, of course. But how about the 2018 or 2022 Cup?

In a letter hand-delivered to FIFA President Sepp Blatter, (Blatter's so important that Obama has to have his letter hand-delivered) the US President said, “As a child, I played soccer on a dirt road in Jakarta (his youth in Indonesia), and the game brought the children of my neighborhood together. As a father, I saw that same spirit of unity alive on the fields and sidelines of my own daughters’ soccer games in Chicago,” the president added.

“Soccer is truly the world’s sport, and the World Cup promotes camaraderie and friendly competition across the globe,” Obama added in the letter, a part of which was released to The New York Times by the United States Soccer Federation with permission from the White House.

“That is why this bid is about much more than a game,” he added. “It is about the United States of America inviting the world to gather all across our great country in celebration of our common hopes and dreams.”

Obama is hoping to influence FIFA when the decision for 2018 and 2022 is made in December 2010, five months after the next World Cup in South Africa.

Does the President have any experience with football?

Sure does!

According to the article:

He has attended games involving his 10-year-old, Malia, in Chicago and in 2003 visited his half sister Auma in London and went to a match at West Ham, in the Premier League. After he was elected president in early November, West Ham invited him to return to Upton Park, but his publicists denied the basic tabloid speculation that he roots for the Hammers, or anybody.

A man that politically astute should know that the claret-and-blue Hammers are an ideal team for a community organizer. Long identified with shipbuilders and dockworkers, West Ham has seen many of its ticket holders move out of the area while local periwinkle shops gave way to halal butcher shops. The club has run clinics to draw neighborhood children from South Asia into their fan base.

So what do you think? I know I'd love to see the World Cup here in the States.

US Soccer is trying to use the popularity of the new President to sway FIFA's vote. With the vast infrastructure already in place and the generally positive reviews the 1994 US World Cup received from FIFA executives, why not?

The infrastructure isn't there in South Africa. But FIFA awarded Africa their first World Cup for a variety of reasons.

Brazil will host the 2014 Cup. They have a plethora of infrastructure issues.

Maybe FIFA will decide to go with the nation most ready for the World Cup?

England? The USA? What do you think?

2018 World Cup in USA Thanks to Obama?

Looks like Barack Obama's election to the United States Presidency will do wonders for US soccer as well.

According to an article in the Guardian Unlimited, Obama's election could derail England's bid to host the 2018 World Cup, according to a "high-placed" FIFA official. The unnamed source told Yahoo Sports that Obama's popularity will be "a huge factor" in deciding whether the USA is selected to host either the 2018 or 2022 tournaments.

"How can it not make a difference," said the source. "Now when you think of America, you don't think George W Bush or war, you think of this man, Obama, who has made history and given hope to millions. The men who vote on World Cup hosts are not immune to those same feelings. If the US bid stacks up in terms of infrastructure and organization, then Obama could be a huge factor."

US Soccer President Sunil Gulati has said that the organization intends to bid "in an aggressive fashion" as soon as FIFA clarify whether nations will be forced to choose which World Cup to bid for or if they will be allowed to bid for both 2018 and 2022.

"We know we would stage a terrific World Cup and having people view us as a nation in a better way is a positive," Gulati commented. "Anything that enhances the perceived views of the United States can only be a positive for us. It was very clear from the reaction around the world just how popular this result has been. This election has given a lot of people a reason to cheer."

Even if he wins a second term, Obama will no longer be in office by 2018. The winning bid will be determined, however, by a vote in 2011 - before the end of Obama's first term.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter is expected to visit Obama at the White House next year. Earlier this year Obama revealed that he had been a West Ham fan since he visited England in 2003. He can often be seen pitch-side at his daughter's soccer games in Chicago.

His election is also believed to be likely to have a galvanizing effect on Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Olympics, meaning that, as in the 1990s, the USA could host the two biggest sports tournaments on the planet in the space of two years.

MY POV: THANK YOU OBAMA!!! I knew electing this guy was the right way to go!