Women sue FIFA

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Men who play soccer are actually women. It is a girls game.

Women who play are usually men

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The idiots are out tonight on TS.

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They could simply install natural turf over the artificial and then remove it. It is a double standard.

they commonly do this at Gillette, don't they , for "American" "foot"ball. (I don't really know because no one in my family or friends has any idea what that is. Just heard the nonsense about the sissy "foot" ball players requiring grass (not to just smoke it)

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coverage of the issue in the NYTimes today

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/13/sp...tml?ref=sports

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Stop playing the gender card!!!!

It is a personal pet peeve of mine when people play the gender card or race card, when it doesn't apply. This is about logistics and economics. There 'logistically' probably aren't a lot of large grass stadiums in Canada, so 'economically' it probably isn't feasible to alter existing large stadiums to add natural grass. If the men's World Cup happened to have been held in Canada, the games would have been on turf fields. If you want to complain, you should start with why Canada was chosen as a venue in the first place.

Making this about gender undermines all the past historical strides women have rightfully fought for and won. Women like Susan B. Anthony and movements like title IX.

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It is a personal pet peeve of mine when people play the gender card or race card, when it doesn't apply. This is about logistics and economics. There 'logistically' probably aren't a lot of large grass stadiums in Canada, so 'economically' it probably isn't feasible to alter existing large stadiums to add natural grass. If the men's World Cup happened to have been held in Canada, the games would have been on turf fields. If you want to complain, you should start with why Canada was chosen as a venue in the first place.

Making this about gender undermines all the past historical strides women have rightfully fought for and won. Women like Susan B. Anthony and movements like title IX.

There is no way that the Men's Tournament would be played on artificial turf in any country for any reason. Single game here and there in qualifying in Russia has happened, only because of weather. But never for a tournament that generates the finances like a World Cup Finals.

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It is a personal pet peeve of mine when people play the gender card or race card, when it doesn't apply. This is about logistics and economics. There 'logistically' probably aren't a lot of large grass stadiums in Canada, so 'economically' it probably isn't feasible to alter existing large stadiums to add natural grass. If the men's World Cup happened to have been held in Canada, the games would have been on turf fields. If you want to complain, you should start with why Canada was chosen as a venue in the first place.

I initially reacted that way as well, but on reflection changed my mind. Why should the women be treated any differently than the men? Money pure and simple. Women's games won't generate a fraction of what the men's do, so they will always get the short end of the stick - the same reason Title IX exists. If turf isn't for men's games it shouldn't be for women's as well.

While we're at it can we complain about Russia and Qatar? Also both terrible choices. FIFA is showing its true colors - the mult-shades of international currency, primarily dollars and Euros

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I initially reacted that way as well, but on reflection changed my mind. Why should the women be treated any differently than the men? Money pure and simple. Women's games won't generate a fraction of what the men's do, so they will always get the short end of the stick - the same reason Title IX exists. If turf isn't for men's games it shouldn't be for women's as well.

While we're at it can we complain about Russia and Qatar? Also both terrible choices. FIFA is showing its true colors - the mult-shades of international currency, primarily dollars and Euros

FIFA is one of the most corrupt sporting organizations of all time. Right up there with the IOC and the Boxing alphabet soup. What if the top soccer playing countries came up with a new sanctioning vehicle? Come up with an alternative World Cup. It may take a cycle or two, but FIFA would cease to exist. Cleaning house will do no good. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. Corruption is in FIFA's DNA.

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From today's New York Times:

Rogers said FIFA spent about $2 million on the Silverdome project in 1994 and didn’t blink an eye. These days, according to several turf grass experts, converting each artificial turf field to grass for next year’s Women’s World Cup would cost anywhere from $150,000 to $400,000 per field, depending on where the sod is harvested.

In fact, it’s really not that big a job anymore. Steve Bush’s company, Bush Turf, needed less than 72 hours this month to lay grass over the artificial turf at Michigan Stadium for a friendly between Manchester United and Real Madrid.

The sod arrived in Michigan in a refrigerated truck from a farm in New Jersey, and Bush covered the artificial turf with a landscape fabric before bringing in thickly cut sod and installing it.

“You just unroll it onto the field,” he said.

The promoter of the game footed the bill. But why pay anywhere from $150,000 to $250,000 to install grass for just one game — again, a preseason friendly — that will be over in 90 minutes? Because the men coming to play on it demanded it.

“Anytime premier teams play in the United States, they won’t play on artificial turf,” Bush said. “They’re very picky, so this type of thing, going from turf to grass in a short period of time, happens all the time, all over the country.”

(One other example, of many: a company also laid grass at Edward Jones Field in St. Louis in May for a pre-World Cup friendly between Ivory Coast and Bosnia and Herzegovina.)

So the men are picky, but the women should just take what they are given, and like it? FIFA should know better.

Here’s how it could fix its growing public-relations disaster: It could dig into its deep pockets, which are lined with $2 billion in profits from this year’s World Cup in Brazil, and find the million or two it would cost to install grass fields for next summer. That would amount to shaking a few nickels and dimes loose in order to stage a proper championship for the women.

It would also spare FIFA and Women’s World Cup officials the public embarrassment of being ordered to do so by a Canadian court, which the players’ lawyers say is likely. And there is still plenty of time.

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From today's New York Times:

It pretty much screams "we don't give a cr*p about women's soccer." I'm sure they find Title IX an abomination as well

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From today's New York Times:

When women's soccer can fill a 109,000 person stadium they can get grass to play

It's really about the $s and ROI. Will they even be able to fill CFL stadiums?

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When women's soccer can fill a 109,000 person stadium they can get grass to play

It's really about the $s and ROI. Will they even be able to fill CFL stadiums?

Please. The cost to roll out the grass field is cheap. FIFA has the money and it will avoid an embarrassing lawsuit.

Didn't they fill the Rose Bowl 15 years ago for the WC final?

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Please. The cost to roll out the grass field is cheap. FIFA has the money and it will avoid an embarrassing lawsuit.

Didn't they fill the Rose Bowl 15 years ago for the WC final?

Please they are not selling out an stadiums in Canada. Attendance at women's WC is terrible. The Canadian Women's Cup will not make a profit

Rose Bowl was already grass. The average attendance for the 1999 Women's world cup in the US was 37,000 and total attendance was only 1.1 million

Four years later US hosted again due to SARS in China. Total Attendance was 656,000 and average was 20,000

Last Women's Wc in Germany attendance was 845,751 (26,430 per match)

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When women's soccer can fill a 109,000 person stadium they can get grass to play

It's really about the $s and ROI. Will they even be able to fill CFL stadiums?

FIFA doesn't care about ROI because they have very limited investment opportunities. Do they do youth championships to maximize ROI? They do care about $$$, but the Women's World Cup (and youth championships) is a mere rounding error to them either way. No big deal. They made 2B off of the men's World Cup. An additional 2MM in cost for sodding the stadiums would be cheap from a PR standpoint.

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FIFA doesn't care about ROI because they have very limited investment opportunities. Do they do youth championships to maximize ROI? They do care about $$$, but the Women's World Cup (and youth championships) is a mere rounding error to them either way. No big deal. They made 2B off of the men's World Cup. An additional 2MM in cost for sodding the stadiums would be cheap from a PR standpoint.

Trying to go cheap for the women's events could turn into a PR mess. Canada might not fill the stands but there are millions of soccer-playing girls who want to watch these games. Better to just shut up, write it off as any everyday expense and move on. If they're smart that's what they'll do. Big IF I know...