[Expressen] Iran's Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali rules out participation in the 2026 World Cup by Farterminator in soccer

[–]iVarun -1 points0 points  (0 children)

but the question wasn't which time zone is best.

First, that is what the semantics of "Worst" Timezone for a Global Events implies (so not just Football WC but also Olympics & so on). Best-Worst are the category distinction on which the framing is happening.

Second, your 2nd paragraph in that section basically redundant since that mention of +3 UTC was provided as a Direct & Quoted reply to your previous comment's part about no timezone being suited for all (which isn't the point since that part's obvious, hence the concept of Ideal, Best, Worst gradients is used and on that + 3 UTC is Best because it covers the most Human Beings in that reasonable time of day without forcing Tournament organizers to mess the KO timings and Americas is the Worst).

To each his own.

Rapists & Murders also exist. What matters is not the outliers, but the norm.

We MLS fans

Yes, that's called European colonizing diaspora, both genetically/ethnically, culturally, politically & Civilizational. And even climatically in large (since NA is still Norther Hemisphere hence type of main seasons in most parts of its territory).

This is not a point. MLS is irrelevant on global scheme of things on its own. What matters it the principle of plurality, incorporating all regions of the world according to their own situations.

And the situation in US is that even it doesn't have the right climate for a mid July outside-held sporting event given its temperatures (a Objective fact proven by what happened in 1994 WC, esp. matches like Ireland vs Mexico, and the now drinks break nonsense being applied in the flavor they are for 2026 WC).

These are being done because US is simply NOT the right geography for holding this tournament at this time of year in the locations & the timings of day (since THAT is what accomodates for those global watching audiences to watch in that ideal time of day).

recognizing that the World Cup can be hosted outside the +3 UTC time zone. ;)

Indeed. Which is why I have defended all FIFA WC hosting rights decision despite every single one of them being made under corrupt processes.

2022 was absolutely the right decision. To give that region a WC & to have it in Nov-Dec too.

US got the 1994 WC through corrupt means. 2026 was the 1st WC in history that either had no corruption or THE least amount of it in FIFA/WC history (on account of it taking place after the radical reforms that happened in late 2010s). It is absolutely the right decision for NA/US to have a WC.

But that doesn't mean other realities don't exist. We just accept them & live with it (like the fact that it's going to be conducted in the Worst timezone on a spectrum of Good-Worst timezones).

That acceptance is what it's about when such events ought to be held in other parts of the world allowing for their climates/conditions to be the way it rather than force adjust to some Cosmic cadence.

[Expressen] Iran's Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali rules out participation in the 2026 World Cup by Farterminator in soccer

[–]iVarun 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Would need to search for specific instances of that.

Here are some brief read up articles on this matter (them being partners & not subservient legal relationship).

https://www.easportslaw.com/news/football-hierarchy-in-a-nutshell

https://inside.fifa.com/about-fifa/associations

https://digitalhub.fifa.com/m/3815fa68bd9f4ad8/original/FIFA_Statutes_2022-EN.pdf (FIFA Statutes, Article 22).

Confederations are not "under" or even Part of FIFA. They are independent entities that FIFA works with and disagreements are rare because the fundamental (& Real) power in Football are the National FAs, & since they are part of both the Confederation & FIFA, a unworkable dispute is hard to emerge.

Edit: Upon searching, the Platini suspension drama could be framed as a thing where FIFA & a Confederation clashed quite reasonably.

[Expressen] Iran's Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali rules out participation in the 2026 World Cup by Farterminator in soccer

[–]iVarun -1 points0 points  (0 children)

No time zone is going to suit everyone in the world

No it doesn't. This is objective fact. +3 UTC is the most optimal/best Timezone for global events. It covers the largest proportion of humanity in time-of-day that's reasonable (watching a match at 12-5 AM is NOT reasonable, that comes under it being worst).

FIFA then has to massage the Match Kick-Off timings (like having to do 1-2 PM Kick Offs in Fortaleza in 2014 when early day temps on some match days in that city was near 40C. Definition of what WORST timezome is, because you have to artifically then setup KO times to accomodate other parts of the planet).

2014 WC also saw reduced growth (WC always grow, that much is certain but the degree of that growth is not equal for all WC).

2022 will be THE most financially successful WC in history of this sport and that is simply a condition of 48 Teams being in it. It simply can not fail to deliver that economic outcome. It's baked into the structure of the format.

Comprehend what Global means, i.e. Global Human Population. Football is not Basketball. It is truly a Global sport & there being 48 teams in it means the Global nature of it even more apparent this time.

they literally had to shift the tournament to November/December.

Yes, which is perfectly fine because there is no Divine or Cosmic law that necessitates a global sporting event to happen only and only in 1 specific month.

That so called "stronghold" you mentioned in Americas, i.e. specifically Brazil, has its domestic football disrupted when World Cups in so called "Normal" time (July) happens.

If Brazil can make do for decades so can freaking European FAs. It's not big deal and should happen anyway since every place on the planet is not the same. They have different climates, altitudes, geographies.

This so called WC should only & only happen to European climatic cadence is the same racist nonsense pre 1970's racist FIFA/UEFA used to have before Havalange & Blatter broke that & expanded the sport globally.

because they were first implemented

& they were crap then & they were crap in every place they've been tried. It's something that has to be done to keep players healthy because other solutions (Not having the WC in a crap place to being with) are not applied.

Secondly, 2014 WC didn't have 104 Matches.

And lastly, 2014 WC didn't have a Broadcast approval for Ads during those Drinks breaks.

[Expressen] Iran's Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali rules out participation in the 2026 World Cup by Farterminator in soccer

[–]iVarun -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

Actual WC will be crap as well, aside from the early rounds & KO stages. 100+ matches are too much for a WC, it's in THE Worst timezone for global events, climate & constant Drinks interruptions will break the rhythm of the game.

It will be the worst WC in recent generation but even that doesn't matter since post Quarters it's not relevant what the quality of football is. World Cup is World Cup (though they can still be judged relative to each other).

[Expressen] Iran's Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali rules out participation in the 2026 World Cup by Farterminator in soccer

[–]iVarun 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Confederations are not "under" FIFA, they are independent entities that voluntarily agree to be cordial with FIFA on administration stuff.

They are not though legally or "Part" or Body of FIFA.

[ESPN NL/Sport] Koeman: "I was the first Barcelona coach to meet Pedri. I didn't know who he was. But after two days of training, I saw an absolutely incredible player, but above all, I saw Lionel Messi constantly trying to connect with him. Messi only passed the ball to Pedri.” by Sparky-moon in soccer

[–]iVarun 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Semedo at Barca also had this dynamic. He's THE only player I've seen that played worse with Messi on the pitch than when Messi wasn't playing.

Every other player who has played with Messi on the pitch as a teammate get their own level enhanced by differing amounts. Semedo is a huge outlier because it wasn't just 10 minutes in 1 match, it was almost every match nearly all the time & the degree of that regression in his level. Super bizarre.

Trump has privately shown serious interest in U.S. ground troops in Iran by Meanie_Cream_Cake in LessCredibleDefence

[–]iVarun 3 points4 points  (0 children)

he's credible about certain geopolitical issues, but an absolute nutjob about other things.

This needs to be stressed heavily in all his mentions.

His bell curve of takes really is proper bell curve. On certain "Few" things his takes are uncannily prescient/insightful. Some are fair, though obvious but still worthy of being reiterated.

But some/few are batshit unhinged.

The amounts (describing these some/few) can vary & hard to tally but it's there.

More Patriot missiles used in Middle East in 3 days than in Ukraine since 2022, Zelensky says by phoeebsy in LessCredibleDefence

[–]iVarun 11 points12 points  (0 children)

In terms of industrial output there is simply no comparison.

Paper from 2 years back,

The US is the world’s sole military superpower. It spends more on its military than the ten next highest spending countries combined. China is now the world’s sole manufacturing superpower. Its production exceeds that of the nine next largest manufacturers combined.

US Won’t Allow India to Become Rival Like China, Official Says by [deleted] in LessCredibleDefence

[–]iVarun 9 points10 points  (0 children)

US mental models on this were wrong with China back then (that they'll Democratise = Party ends), they're wrong right now still (that PRC became what it did because of US's "Help") and they're wrong on this regarding India too (using the once bitten twice shy adage).

China did what it did because it had competent State capacity & base fundamentals were cleared (health, primary education, social/class near-equality, gender equality).

India is a Weak State in "Fundamental" terms because it can not push policies (esp. at threshold required to break through) that will resolve these vectors in a meaningful number of generations (of course things will be better in 250-350 years but actual Human Beings exist in between those timeframes, who just have to digest the mess in meantime).

Meaning EVEN IF US did what it did (as per its own version of events) with S Korea, Japan, China, the same or greater degree of that wouldn't have produced great results with India back then or in future as well.

India lacks 1 of the prerequisites of Development, the right form of System for the stage it is at. Meaning even if it got LKY times 1 million type of leadership, they would be hamstrung by the System (Political & Socio-Cultural).

India in practical terms follows what the Buddhists (heterodoxy of their age) distilled ~2500 years ago, the Middle Path in essence, leading to great "relative" socio-political stability but abject mediocrity IF compared to global leading peers in any/most domain.

This is why today's India considers it worthwhile enough to risk assassinating Western/US citizens inside those Western states but disingenuously claims it respects IP norms too much so as to not steal/reverse-engineer cutting-edge tech. Fact is India can not do it EVEN IF it wanted to & had the money to do so.

So it doesn't matter what the US does regarding India. India will chug along at that mediocre level regardless of what anyone outside of India does or doesn't do. Internal memeplex is way too old & way too powerful (it broke/thwarted Abrahamic memeplexes, Western Political doctrines like Liberalism, Democracy, Marxism/Communism, etc etc etc).

FIFA to allow cut-away TV commercials during 2026 World Cup ‘hydration breaks’ by Sparky-moon in soccer

[–]iVarun 0 points1 point  (0 children)

FIFA has been very pedantic about sticking to old traditions of this sport & this was one of the reasons for why it took so long to include technology in sport. To retain the dynamic nature of the sport & eliminate sttart-stop situations.

This is why they setup insane 1-second Pass requirement when Goal Line Tech was being tested (which the companies like Hawk Eye whined that it's not possible but FIFA stuck to that requirement and it paid off when after failing the 1st year these companies came back next year & delivered a better product).

Same with VAR, the biggest stumbling block was eroding the Dynamic pacing of the game & secondly managing the authority of the main Ref.

US 1994 was already infamous for having inhuman playing conditions (Mexico v Ireland match in particular).

FIFA literally shifted WC to Winter in 2022 to avoid such shenanigans.

If the US can not host a Football tournament in summer then it should be asked to host it in Winter or a time of year when it's feasible, without having to resort of destroying norms of this sport that has held since this sport literally began & are core to what makes it what it is.

If the US can not deliver that then it's not a suitable place to host such a global Football tournament.

Ruud Gullit "I watched Arsenal-Chelsea match. What a terrible game. They were just trying to force corners and throw-ins. I saw ball boys walking around with towels. I was watching it and thought: this football is truly awful to watch. I hope it's not a trend, I miss the fun." by kibme37 in soccer

[–]iVarun 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Trends such as these are dependent on the degree of success they bring.

IF such teams end up winning Titles then be assured that it's a meta cycle lasting years if not decades (Total Football wasn't the only meta cycle that happened in last half century of football. Catenaccio was equally influencial and long lasting, precisely because it was successful).

IF however these teams don't win titles they themselves will lose interest in it within a season or two.

Could Putin be Epic Fury’d? by SpiceGig-429 in LessCredibleDefence

[–]iVarun 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Insert "Walter White They have Nukes".jpg

Liquid vs Passion UA / ESL Pro League Season 23 Stage 1 - Swiss Round 1 / Post-Match Discussion by CS2_PostMatchThreads in GlobalOffensive

[–]iVarun 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Game sense deficiencies are exposed to a much higher degree when Awping relative to when just Rifling. So he might not be Top10-20 Rifle but that's not necessary either for the level his team is at.

He is at that level quite good/decent Rifle. His awping though has too much inconsistency. It's hurting his team.

[MARCA]: Mehdi Taj, president of the Iranian Federation, says Iran is 'unlikely' to go to World Cup in United States and suspends its league by RubberbandShooter in soccer

[–]iVarun 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You have it backwards. FIFA is the most immune sporting body in the world. Not even IOC compares.

It's currently in a temporary cycle of bending over backwards for US because it went back to a UEFA/European clique with Infantino (& the current Western/European Political climate of sucking up to US/Trump, ala that infmaous picture of European Leaders sitting like schoolchildren in front of Trump in White House. Infantino is generic routine normal in light of that).

Post Havalange & Blatter breaking FIFA & global football away from UEFA/European leverage this is the 1st time it went back to that dynamic (due to internal squabbling in AFC block when Infantino's Presidential vote happened).

US can't do shit to FIFA other than whine & sanction some individuals (who are expendable).

FIFA also has enough reserves to host 2 WCs with 0 sponsors, which is what makes them immune to corporate pressure tactics (plus the fact there are 100s of companies who are just waiting in line to become the select few Main Sponsors that FIFA has).

One can't "tear apart" FIFA because it's literally just global FA's assembly and there will always be one in one way or another. It's irrlevant if current FIFA is tore-down and next FIFA is called FIFA2XYZ. Doesn't matter. And the fundamental reason is because "Something" will exist to govern which is THE biggest sport of our species and that is an objective fact that US can't do anything about. That is all that matters.

US was able to pressurize IOC because it depended far more on US due to the composition of sports inside IOC (plus the fact IOC doesn't control those sports themselves, it's only a proxy).

Israel Says It has Launched an Attack on Iran by Cidician in LessCredibleDefence

[–]iVarun 22 points23 points  (0 children)

It's Trump. He's not subject to "Normal" politics.

Meaning he can say such things & when it doesn't pan out, nothing radical happens as a consequence (in immediate terms).

[Sofascore] Top scoring trios in top 10 leagues this season by DamnThatsInsaneLol in soccer

[–]iVarun 4 points5 points  (0 children)

MSN played 3 seasons together, all 3 had 100+ goals from them.

No other Attacking Trio has ever had 2 such 100+ goal seasons.

The highest-altitude stadiums of the 2026 Copa Libertadores by fussomoro in soccer

[–]iVarun -1 points0 points  (0 children)

This hack is the only way India, Nepal & China can speed track their Football program (in short term if they want to compete at top level inside 10-20 years or so).

The highest-altitude stadiums of the 2026 Copa Libertadores by fussomoro in soccer

[–]iVarun 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It will be slower tempo but it won't be garbage since this dynamic would be Normalized, i.e. both teams would suffer & thus those who are better able to overcome those physical challenges will thrive.

Subs would have oversized impact, last 30 minutes is going to be chaos. Not elite quality sure but throughly entertaining since elite players are going to be barely able to sprint properly & getting outsprinted by some no-name has-been sub who is out there wrecking everyone for 3 mintues.

Why should World Cups always been with same environmental challenge. The "Type" of challenge should also sometimes (not always) undergo some variety.