FIFA World Cup: Power Ranking the Bids for 2022

The host for the 2022 FIFA World Cup will be announced on December 2.

The bidding process for this World Cup, along with the 2018 World Cup, has been one of the most hectic, if not the most, of all the World Cups so far. There has been plenty of competition among different countries around the world.

Some countries have withdrawn bids, while others have stayed the whole way. 

This bid has also created its fair share of controversy, with numerous reports of bribing scandals and the like. This includes a recent note passed from Spain's representative to a representative from Qatar, which read, "Congratulations. We are going to win."

However, despite all the controversy surrounding these bids, FIFA has decided to go along with the planned schedule, which means, in only 19 days, the winners will be announced. 

Now that the voting processes are nearing, let's take a look at how the bids for the 2022 World Cup stack up against each other. 

1. Qatar

Despite reports of a note circulating between representatives of the Qatari bid and the Spanish bid, Qatar seems poised to become the smallest nation ever to host the World Cup.

Qatar's main backers are from South America and Asia. If awarded the chance to host the world's largest single-sport event, Qatar has promised stadiums with air conditioning to combat temperatures that can soar above 100 degrees Fahrenheit during the summer. Not only that, but part of the planned stadiums can be disassembled to be shipped to less-developed countries.

However, many do oppose the bid due to the soaring temperatures of the country. Not only that, but the country is very small. This would mean that many fans could be packed into very dense areas, which would be far from the ideal situation.

Nevertheless, The Qatari bid seems to be the strongest leading into the voting process for the 2022 World Cup. 

2. United States

For a long time now, this World Cup has been the United States' to lose. However, growing support for the Qatari bid has seen the U.S.' bid drop to second. The bid that the U.S. have presented seems much more logical than the bid of Qatar and the other bidding countries. Due to its large size, fans won't be required to pack into tiny dense areas of the country. Also, thanks to the NFL, large stadiums that can accommodate massive numbers of fans are already in place.

While Qatar's bid does promise new innovative stadiums, they may be rushed to finish building the stadiums in time for the World Cup. Not only that, but the summer heat in the U.S., while it may be a bit high, does not soar nearly as high as the summer heat in Qatar.

Another factor working for the U.S. is fan viewer-ship. Not only would plenty of people be able to watch the matches on television, but there would probably be no problem in getting tickets sold. Because of the large capacity of the stadiums, more people would be able to fit in the stadiums.

In the 1994 World Cup hosted by the Americans, the total attendance reached (3.6 million) was (and still is) the highest of any World Cup finals tournament. Average attendance at that World Cup was 68,991 per match.

However, despite the credentials of the U.S., it continues to sit in second place in the face of growing support for the Middle Eastern bid and also miniature anti-American sentiments.

3. Australia

Before Qatar leapfrogged both this country and the U.S. into first place, Australia was thought of as the most likely nation to compete with the U.S. for the chance to host one of the world's biggest sporting events. 

Australia has hosted plenty of worldwide sporting events in the past, including Rugby World Cups, the Olympics and the 2006 Commonwealth Games. However, because it has never hosted a World Cup before, it may be favored in hopes of bringing the sport to a new front.

Australia is still seen as a strong contender for the World Cup, but it must still make a very strong push to succeed.

4. Japan

Japan is seen as an outside contender for hosting the World Cup, not only due to its small size but also because it co-hosted the World Cup in the 2002 with South Korea. This is the main factor that may push Japan completely out of contention.

If Japan does win, it plans to build a stadium that could accommodate 100,000. Tokyo has already failed in its bid to host the 2016 Olympics. If Japan wins, it would become the first Asian nation to host the World Cup twice.

5. South Korea

Korea, like Japan, is also seen as an outside chance for hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup. As mentioned before, it co-hosted the tournament in 2002 with Japan, and this is the biggest factor that may work against the Koreans.

Korea does have enough venues to host the World Cup; also, three of its stadiums can be upgraded to seat 80,000 people. Korea is scheduled to host the 2014 Asian Games. South Korea is also bidding to become the first Asian country to host the World Cup twice.

In my opinion, the United States should host the World Cup. Not only does the U.S. have plenty of stadiums with plenty of seats in a very large country, but the United States has also shown its ability to draw huge crowds to worldwide sporting events, something that the USA has over Australia.

Against Qatar, the United States could argue that temperatures don't soar over 100 degrees in the summer, and also, the United States is not as small as Qatar, and therefore can hold a large number of people comfortably.

Overall, this World Cup bid is shaping up to not only be one of the most controversial, but also one of the most exciting bids in recent years.