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Gulati: Obama Boosts USA's Hosting Chances
US Soccer president Sunil Gulati thinks the positive effects of Barack Obama's election can help the USA land their bid to host a future World Cup.
Feb 3, 2009 1:55:17 AM
Sunil Gulati announced the USA's intentions to bid to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cup today. In the conference call that followed, he talked about how the election of President Barack Obama would impact the bid and its likeliness to succeed. He suggested that the difference on how America is perceived internationally is palpable.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt for any of us that what happened over the last several months and what happened two weeks ago in Washington, D.C., has dramatically changed the view of the United States and its leadership around the world,” said the U.S. Soccer President. “For those of us who travel the world quite a bit, that is noticeable, that is audible and it’s visible.”
According to him, the positive energy from Obama can only improve the chances of America landing sporting events.
“That clearly is a positive, frankly, for Chicago bidding for the Olympics and for any effort to bring the World Cup back here,” he said. In reply to a question asking if he had been in touch with the new administration yet, Gulati said, jokingly, “We thought, given the other issues that the President has on his plate right now and being in office for a couple of weeks, that we’d give him another few days to get the economy and a few security interests around the world taken care of first. But I am quite sure that given everything that President Obama has said, everything he stands for, everything he’s talked about in terms of reaching out to the world, that trying to bring the global game to the United States and opening our borders up for a festival of 32 countries and hundreds of thousands of people from all corners of the world would be viewed in a very positive way.”
Gulati sees Obama as the sort of national personality that can single-handedly make a difference in the outcome of the USA's bid.
“The most important part of the bid is that it’s successful, and I think that over the next several months you’ll see some prominent American individuals that have a love for the game be a part of our effort,” he explained. “We don’t have any Americans who have won the World Cup as a player and a coach like Franz Beckenbauer. We don’t have someone who has quite the same story as Nelson Mandela. We have a President who is known throughout the world right now as a leading light for change, and we think he can be an inspirational figure, not just for a bid frankly because obviously he has other more important things to work on.”
Obama's children are said to play soccer and be fans of the sport.
Zac Lee Rigg, Goal.com
“I don’t think there’s any doubt for any of us that what happened over the last several months and what happened two weeks ago in Washington, D.C., has dramatically changed the view of the United States and its leadership around the world,” said the U.S. Soccer President. “For those of us who travel the world quite a bit, that is noticeable, that is audible and it’s visible.”
According to him, the positive energy from Obama can only improve the chances of America landing sporting events.
“That clearly is a positive, frankly, for Chicago bidding for the Olympics and for any effort to bring the World Cup back here,” he said. In reply to a question asking if he had been in touch with the new administration yet, Gulati said, jokingly, “We thought, given the other issues that the President has on his plate right now and being in office for a couple of weeks, that we’d give him another few days to get the economy and a few security interests around the world taken care of first. But I am quite sure that given everything that President Obama has said, everything he stands for, everything he’s talked about in terms of reaching out to the world, that trying to bring the global game to the United States and opening our borders up for a festival of 32 countries and hundreds of thousands of people from all corners of the world would be viewed in a very positive way.”
Gulati sees Obama as the sort of national personality that can single-handedly make a difference in the outcome of the USA's bid.
“The most important part of the bid is that it’s successful, and I think that over the next several months you’ll see some prominent American individuals that have a love for the game be a part of our effort,” he explained. “We don’t have any Americans who have won the World Cup as a player and a coach like Franz Beckenbauer. We don’t have someone who has quite the same story as Nelson Mandela. We have a President who is known throughout the world right now as a leading light for change, and we think he can be an inspirational figure, not just for a bid frankly because obviously he has other more important things to work on.”
Obama's children are said to play soccer and be fans of the sport.
Zac Lee Rigg, Goal.com
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