Amid all the kerfuffle about Qatar winning the right to host the 2022 World Cup and Australia only getting one vote for its bid, one thing that was overlooked was the fact that the US has missed out for the second successive time of getting the rights to a major international sporting event.
Not only that, even the head of the US Soccer Federation actually voted against the US bid, which was eventually awarded to Qatar.
Last year, the International Olympic Committee awarded the 2016 Olympic Games to Rio de Janiero. Chicago, the US nominee (and President Obama’s hometown) was eliminated in the first round.
While the shock was of Rio winning the bid, even more surprising was the poor performance of Chicago, which was expected to poll well in the bidding for the 2016 Olympics.
It’s not only major sports events like the Olympics or the World Cup that the signs are there that the US may not be as all powerful as they once were.
Take tennis, for example.
30 years ago, the likes of Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe were among the top 10 players in the world. Now only US player is in the top 10 rankings, and that’s Andy Roddick.
In fact, no US player in the men’s draw of the big four tournament – Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open – made it into the final.
Which raises the question: Is the US starting to lose its influence (or its presence) as one of the big powers of world sports?
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