Qatar won’t be 2022 hosts
WORLD Cup 2022 will not be staged in Qatar, a leading figure at world governing body Fifa said yesterday.
Since the Middle Eastern state was awarded the showpiece in 2010, Fifa have been forced to consider shifting the tournament from it’s regular summer slot to the winter months due to extreme temperatures that leave doubts over the welfare of players and supporters.
There were allegations too this year, that former Fifa vice-president Mohamed bin Hammam had paid £3m to influential figures around the world in order to gain support for the Qatari bid – claims that are strenuously denied.
Yet Fifa executive committee member Theo Zwanziger said: “I think that in the end the 2022 World Cup will not take place in Qatar.
“Fans from around the world will be travelling in this heat and the first life-threatening case will trigger an investigation by a state prosecutor. That is not something that Fifa Exco members want to answer for.”