Soccer: Fans react to World Cup announcements

With the announcement of the hosts for the 2018 and 2022, elated and devastated fans took to social networking sites to share their reactions.

Russian Prime Minister Demitri Medvedev was one of many to turn to the social media site Twitter to post his reaction.

"Hurrah! Victory! We take the 2018 Championship! Now you need to properly prepare for the World Cup. And, of course, speak with dignity." he wrote.

His compatriots have also taken to the site to voice their approval.

"Congratulations on the victory of Russians. In 2018 [I] will not have to go anywhere," wrote Ladyar4er.

"Feast of football in Russia, I congratulate all the Russians!" tweeted znoreenoc6.

Qatari fans are equally excited.

"#Qatar is my country, and I'm a proud Qatari .. no matter how small it is, our big hearts are enough," wrote Noor_Miller.

But for every comment of elation there are several more of despair.
On twitter, upset England bid supporters showed their disappointment at losing the bid to Russia, with many questioning whether corruption played a part, although most display a sense of humour.

"So what if Russia stole the World Cup from under our nose. Wait until they get home and they realise we've stolen their weather," BenXFD wrote.

"At least they were careful enough to not mistake the 'Russian bribe' envelop with 'winning country' envelop," tweeted Reidbynature.

"Vladimir Putin now flying to Zurich to thank Sepp Blatter in person and return his daughter to him safe and unharmed," Pipe_D wrote.

Jerry_edge felt the bid loss reflected another source of English disappointment.

"We get more votes in the Eurovision song contest than we did today. And we are piss poor at that too."

Meanwhile Quatar and Katar are trending topics on twitter in the United States, but Qatar is not.

On Facebook, pages have sprung up calling for fans to boycott the Qatar World Cup, with members appearing to be mainly disgruntled Australians and Americans. English fans have started similar groups, including one calling for England to leave Fifa.

- Herald online