There wasn’t exactly a lot of media availability during the FIFA World Cup inspection team’s recent whirlwind 24 hours in Washington, but I decided to stake out their quick stop by FedEx Field on Wednesday morning, just in case.
The stadium visit – in Maryland – came after a ride up to the top of the Washington Monument – in the District – and trip the day before out to George Mason University – in Virginia. (Hmm, see a pattern? There was also breakfast at the White House – a nice federal touch.)
When the delegation arrived at the stadium, it was actually D.C. United president Kevin Payne who was first off the bus. The group also included, among others, Juergen Mueller, head of FIFA event management; Harold Mayne-Nicholls, head of the inspection delegation, Dr. Danny Jordaan, CEO of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and of course, Sunil Gulati, the president of U.S. Soccer chairman of the USA Bid Committee and U.S. head coach Bob Bradley.
With a half-dozen Redskins cheerleaders and a red carpet waiting for them at the entrance to the stadium, the group headed inside and got a tour of the facilities. That tour included a visit to the Redskins locker room, where personalized D.C. United jerseys awaited each member of the FIFA group. Apparently, Payne was in good spirits and told the group that with the way United had been playing this season, the FIFA guys might be called upon to suit up and head to Toronto this weekend.
Afterwards, David Downs, the executive director of the USA Bid Committee, spoke briefly about the D.C. visit.
“This has been a terrific visit to D.C.,” said Downs. “[The delegation has] had a chance to see one hand, a magnificent training facility out at George Mason University, their Division I soccer complex. They’ve had a chance to overlook the National Mall, which is potentially one of the greatest sites in America for a fan fest to be held. And now they’ve come here to FedEx Field, which is one of the biggest and most opulent stadiums, and ideal site for either an opening match or a semifinal or a final match.”
This led me to a question about FedEx Field, to which Downs answered: “There would be some subtle changes in order to transform it into a World Cup venue, including maybe some modifications at field level, tucking in some seats that would give it the proper width, but in a building like this, that’s very easy to do.”
As logical as it seems, it’s still strange that sorta-soccer-friendly FedEx Field and Payne – who is determined to at least give Baltimore a chance to lure his team out of Washington – were both such integral parts of the D.C. tour. The FedEx Field part inspired this short piece in today’s print edition. I’m still in the wait-and-see mode with D.C. United. Hopefully there’ll be some news in that area soon. Hopefullly.
In the end, Downs still made a clear case – without directly referencing the almighty dollar – when he got a question about the overall sales pitch to FIFA for bring the World Cup to this country in what is essentially understood to be 2022, since 2018 is all but assured of heading to Europe.
“I think the biggest selling point is the ability to grow the sport here, to change the economy of the sport here,” said Downs. “A country that’s so large with so many passionate sports fans. If we could get even more than the hundred million or so who follow the sport currently to be behind the sport, it would actually impact the sport globally. Typically when FIFA chooses a site to host the World Cup, they balance the growth and the legacy of the sport against the efficiency of hosting. In the United States you have both opportunities at once – utterly fantastic facilities with an opportunity to further the sport globally.”
