Sepp Blatter admits awarding 2022 World Cup to Qatar was ‘a mistake’
FIFA president Sepp Blatter has admitted that awarding the 2022 World Cup to Qatar was “a mistake.”
Sepp Blatter has admitted that awarding the 2022 World Cup to Qatar was "a mistake." Quoted in an interview with Swiss channel RTS, the FIFA president said:
“Of course, it was a mistake. You know, one makes a lot of mistakes in life. The technical report indicated clearly that it was too hot in summer, but despite that the executive committee decided with quite a big majority that the tournament would be in Qatar.”
The Qatar Chronicles
Qatar's extreme heat has been an issue ever since the Arab state was awarded the World Cup, with some calling for the tournament to be moved from its traditional summer months to the cooler winter ones. Not unsurprisingly, this hasn't gone down well with everyone, with domestic league organisers concerned about the disruption such an alteration would cause for them. A decision on exactly when the 2022 World Cup will be held is to be made after next month's finals in Brazil.
Since Blatter’s interview, FIFA have moved to clarify their president’s comments:
“The comment by the FIFA president concerning the organisation of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar to Swiss TV station RTS is in line with previous comments on this matter. As explained in his answer to the journalist, the president reiterated that the decision to organise the World Cup in summer was an ‘error’ based on the technical assessment report of the bid, which had highlighted the extremely hot temperatures in summer in Qatar. At no stage did he question Qatar as hosts of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.”
An error, then, but one which no one seems too keen to try to rectify.
