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Yon de Luisa Plazas, a member of both the FIFA Executive Council and the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Football (Concacaf), stressed the importance of each host nation having clear objectives for its participation.
Plazas also touched on the upcoming Olympic Games, stressing the importance of cities meeting the criteria for hosting the event and the need to meet the demands of such a major event. He advocates the possibility of a city hosting the Olympic event multiple times, arguing that there’s always room for improvement for everyone involved.
Plazas outlines what is required to ensure that the host city meets the necessary criteria. “Each of the host cities must have identified what they want the World Cup for,” he told Palco23. “For South Africa 2010, it was about opening up a continent to the world. Thanks to the World Cup, the U-20 World Cup was held in Egypt and Nigeria, and that was added to. This allowed FIFA to bring different teams and fans to Africa. On the other hand, Brazil wanted to show the world the modernity it had already achieved in 2014: first with the World Cup and then with the Olympic Games in Rio.”
The 54-year-old went on to discuss the different aims of the Russia and Qatar World Cups. “Russia was different because it was a first-time invitation and it helped them to have new security systems in their stadiums. In the case of Qatar, they wanted to show the development of the country itself from its borders outwards. Each event is different, although in each case the desired development has been achieved,” he said.
“The big difference is the number of venues. For the Olympics, there is a lot of investment in one city, whereas for the World Cup it is spread across the different venues. In the case of the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, the stadiums have already been built, so FIFA has the certainty that they can operate now. In this case, the focus is more on the fan experience and how to improve it in the existing stadiums.”
He continued, saying, “All cities can improve. Paris is a city in constant evolution, as is Los Angeles. The demands of hosting the Olympic Games help to improve infrastructure and operational capabilities. For example, the mobility required by such an event is a major challenge, and it does not matter if an event of this magnitude has already been organised before. It is important that there is already a strong mobility infrastructure in place, although the Olympic event can help to promote and improve it, leaving a legacy in the city”.
Plazas also revealed that stadium infrastructure is a key aspect that plays a key role in hosting major tournaments. “Smart investments have to be made,” he added. “It cannot be built exclusively for a thirty-day event, but the infrastructure must be used in the following years.
“The experience of other World Cups has taught us that stadiums must serve the development of communities. The requirements will focus on improving the fan experience. The conditions must evolve as the sport does. The 2030 World Cup in Spain, Portugal and Morocco will be very technological and focused on fan connectivity, which will be very different from what we saw at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
“In the future, the requirements for a stadium to host group stage matches will be different from those for the tournament final. What a stadium like the Civitas Metropolitano or the Santiago Bernabeu can offer is different from what stadiums in other regions can offer.”
Para Panam Games Santiago 2023 Photos
When British skaters Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean won the Olympic gold medal in ice dance at Sarajevo 1984 with 12 perfect 6.0s from every judge, for their interpretation of Maurice Ravel’s Boléro, an important member of their team was singer-actor Michael Crawford. Crawford, who had played Frank Spencer in British sitcom Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em and the title role in the musical The Phantom of the Opera, had become a mentor to the pair in 1981 and went on to help them create their Olympic routine. Crawford said he “taught them how to act”. He was present with their trainer Betty Callaway at the ringside at Sarajevo as they created one of the most iconic moments in Olympic history.
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