Disappointment palpable for losing bidders

The United States have expressed their extreme disappointment at missing out on the hosting rights for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Middle East nation Qatar usurped the American, Australian, Japanese and South Korean bids for the honour of hosting the most-watched television event in the world.

US Soccer President Sunil Gulati said the effort of collating a strong bid had all come to nothing.

“There’s no way around it, I am disappointed. Millions of US soccer fans worked hard to bring the World Cup to our country (and) to come up short is very difficult to take,” Gulati told gousabid.com.

Gulati did take some consolation in the attention brought to the sport in North America, which has to compete with American Football, Major League Baseball, NBA and Ice Hockey.

“In the face of this disappointment, we shouldn’t lose track of all that we achieved,” he said.

“During the past two years, the outpouring of support for soccer in the United States has been inspiring and historic.”

“More than one million people signed on to our bid, and more than 100 million (in the US) watched last summer’s World Cup.”

“Thanks to your efforts, the game is stronger than ever in our country, and it will continue to grow stronger. There’s no question that you’ve helped make a lasting impact on soccer in the United States. The entire country – and the entire world – took notice.”

Japan Football Association vice-chairman Kuniya Daini said his country did everything right to secure the prestigious event.

“We don’t believe that there was anything wrong with Japan’s bid. I feel that Qatar won based on other aspects,” Daini said.

Football Federation Australia chief executive Ben Buckley was stunned that his country’s bid only picked up one vote, despite prior guarantees of more support from FIFA delegates.

“We thought we had a solid base of support, and were of the understanding that we would get significantly more votes. All our discussions had led us to believe we had more support,” Buckley said.