( Original article by Matt Scott for The Guardian regarding Qatar's World Cup and FIFA's possible adoption of a "three-halves" [ho ho] game format, instead of the traditional two-halves here: http://bit.ly/o0Kz7H )
Ugh. Come on, this is pure churnalism. According to the original Reuters article:
Michael Beavon, a director of Arup Associates who helped to develop the zero-carbon solar technology that will cool the 12 stadiums, told delegates at the Qatar Infrastructure Conference in London that theair-cooling would maintain a comfortable temperature of around24 degrees Celsius in the stadiums."There is a moderate risk of heat injury to the players between 24C-29C but if you go above that you have high and extreme risk of injury."The one thing FIFA do say, although it is for guidance, is if it's 32C they will stop a match and play three 30-minute thirds rather than two 45-minute halves.
So. Michael BeavON (not Beaven, unless Reuters - from whom this whole thing stemmed - have got it wrong) is working to ensure the air-cooling system is kept at 24C.
If the temperature is at 32C (8 degrees higher is a hell of a lot), FIFA's guidance is to introduce a break after 30 and 60 minutes. So either Beavon is preparing the world for the possibility that his air cooling system is in fact rubbish, or else he's explaining the discussions that took place with FIFA, in which FIFA covered their own arses against liability in case of tragedy.
Also, regarding this:
Back in 1994 the world-record transfer fee was about £10m, today it is £80m, and fees in excess of £20m are routinely paid for proven international players. Fifa's liability if negligence led to tragedy would be dangerously high.
FIFA are horrible, corrupt, penny-pinching bastards, but are we really working on the assumption that the entire governing body for a worldwide sport are that concerned with the possibility of having to pay out a trifling few tens of millions, should someone pop their clogs in the heat? Come on, if we're being cynical, surely the damage to the games reputation caused by beaming a young man's death live into the homes of hundreds of millions of people would be more of a pressing concern. Oh, and the whole death thing too. Which would be rubbish.
I'm not saying three thirds wouldn't be lucrative, and I'm not saying that I'd be at all surprised if FIFA edge toward introducing it over the next eleven years, but I am saying that turning one man speaking out of turn in a press release into a spin piece about how FIFA are now simultaneous trying to rake in more cash and cover their arses against possible deaths from heat-exhaustion is churnalism at its worst. Sorry, Matt Scott, but I expect this over on the Daily Mail; regurgitating the same hysteria with an added air of morbid cynicism for the Guardian is a bit disappointing.
Matt Scott graciously responded thus:
Bishely, you make valid comments. One thing though:http://www.arup.com/About_us/A_people_business/People/Global_Building_Modelling.aspx
Stupid Reuters.
These comments by me followed:
Mr Scott, I stand corrected. As mentioned, I blame Reuters!
Oooh, just spotted your post about the official update... I have to wonder about this bit:
All 64 games in 2022 will be played in carbon neutral cooled stadiums
Carbon neutral? Are they planning on planting a few hundred trees per minute? Average summer temperature is around the 35C mark, isn't it? They're planning to air condition an entire football stadium to drop 11 degrees (plus the natural heat from all those excitable football fans), and do so without a carbon footprint?
I look forward to the amazing technological developments Qatar have planned for these next eleven years. And/or the growth of the soon-to-be-world-famous 'forests of Qatar'
Then:
@Misteral
The carbon neutral issue is not an issue at all. My mate is involved in the construction of a huge building in HK and it creates it's own energy via solar and wind power and will be totally 'green'. I'm pretty sure that will be the case in Qatar.
While they obviously have a lot of sun in Qatar (I must confess ignorance about their prevailing winds, but as a sub-tropical ((right?)) desert region, they probably get a decent breeze most of the time) we're still talking about ACing an enormous space, much less contained and easily-controlled than even your biggest of Eastern superstructures, which have conveniently placed walls and ceilings to allow vents to operate in close proximity to the people they're designed to keep comfortable.
I really hope you're right, and if so the tech involved will at least provide Qatar with a very healthy dollop of green energy once the stadia inevitably fall into disuse, which is a much better 'legacy' than anything South Africa ended up with. But I'd still be amazed, because we're talking seriously power-thirsty technology here.
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