There have been talks about the 2022 World Cup having been rigged to favor a particular team. But if you call what we saw out in Qatar a rigging, then maybe you don’t remember or just don’t know what happened 20 years ago.
So, in 2002, we were in Asia for the FIFA World Cup for the first time ever. South Korea and Japan had the joint-responsibility of hosting the tournament, and it was history being made for many reasons. First, it was the first time the competition would be held outside America and Europe. And then, it was also the first time that 2 different nations would host a single tournament of the World Cup.
And that in itself was a surprising eventuality as South Korea and Japan had actually put in rival bids for the hosting rights of that tournament. Japan had never qualified for the World Cup before then, but it was they who put in the first bid. Then South Korea only came along with their bid as a response to their political and sporting rival.
Anyway, FIFA decided the best option would be to grant hosting rights to both nations. But that decision didn’t exactly go well with most football fans in America and Europe who accused the football governing body of being corrupt in their host selection process. Does that remind you of another Asian World Cup host?
