Sports have a knack for drawing things out so it takes forever. Baseball games, despite MLB’s attempts to speed things up, last over three hours. The final couple minutes of a basketball game can feel like an eternity if the score is remotely close. FIFA, however, takes the cake with their elaborate World Cup tournament draw.
For a procedure that consists of drawing balls out of a bowl, FIFA took nearly an hour and a half to draw the 32 spots. That was because people first had to sit through a weird children’s cartoon with a talking mascot, musical performances, speeches from the FIFA president and the emir of Qatar, interviews with every guest who came up on stage or participated in the actual draw, and a further explanation of the World Cup draw with the teams involved. It’s like being a kid on Christmas and being told you couldn’t open the presents yet.
All in all, it took about 45 minutes until we actually saw some balls on TV. Even Idris Elba’s hosting couldn’t save the show as his Wire castmate Isiah Whitlock Jr. dusted off a classic phrase when talking about how long the draw was taking.
I'm 40 minutes late for the #WorldCupDraw and it hasn't even happened yet?
Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-it!
— Isiah Whitlock Jr. (@IsiahWhitlockJr) April 1, 2022
And if you thought this was taking too long for the fans, even those in the soccer media were getting impatient.
Trying to be witty and sarcastic while tweeting about the #WorldCupDraw is not easy because you are walking a fine line between trying to be funny and not starting an international incident #Qatar
— Michael Lewis (@Soccerwriter) April 1, 2022
This could have been an email.#WorldCupDraw
— Sam Borden (@SamBorden) April 1, 2022
This #WorldCupDraw presentation is…something. pic.twitter.com/j7D8vAyYpi
— Jeff Carlisle (@JeffreyCarlisle) April 1, 2022
"And now, a look at every single nation that will NOT be participating in the 2022 FIFA World Cup here in Qatar." #WorldCupDraw pic.twitter.com/jF1ypDN0ib
— Roger Gonzalez (@RGonzalezCBS) April 1, 2022
This feels like the longest World Cup draw since England v Algeria in 2010. #WorldCupDraw
— Henry Winter (@henrywinter) April 1, 2022
Imagine a World Cup draw with 48 teams. Will have to be a two-day event.
— Ives Galarcep (@SoccerByIves) April 1, 2022
If there is a silver lining, it’s that the broadcast wasn’t bloated with commercials. The entire draw was commercial free, which probably didn’t make broadcasters too happy.
It’s a good thing this only happens every four years. Though with a 48-team draw coming in 2026, you might want to take a nap sometime during the show.
[Photo: Fox Soccer]
