FIFA executive committee member: 2022 World Cup will not be in Qatar

One FIFA executive committee member does not believe Qatar will host the 2022 World Cup. Germany’s Theo Swanziger said on Monday that he believes extreme heat will force FIFA to move to the tournament to another country.

“I personally think that, in the end, the 2022 World Cup will not take place in Qatar,” he said to Bild. “Medics say that they cannot accept responsibility with a World Cup taking place under these conditions.”

FIFA has been under fire ever since awarding Qatar the right to host the 2022 World Cup in 2010. The temperature in Qatar is regularly over 100 degrees in the summer, and sometimes touches 120 degrees. Qatar claimed that they had technology that would allow them to cool the stadiums, and those were trumpeted when they were awarded the tournament, but many have been skeptical of how effective that could be.

“They may be able to cool the stadiums,” Zwanziger countered, “but a World Cup does not take place only there. Fans from around the world will be coming and traveling in this heat and the first life-threatening case will trigger an investigation by a state prosecutor.

“That is not something that FIFA ex-co members want to answer for.”

FIFA has begun considering moving the tournament to the winter, when it is cooler. The idea of a summer World Cup is Qatar appears to be off the table, but there is strong opposition to a winter tournament. Some sponsors, TV partners and, especially, the club leagues have no interest in the tournament leaving its normal summer place.

Zwanziger was the president of the Germany FA and joined the executive committee after 2010, when they awarded Qatar the World Cup. He has been outspoken about some of FIFA’s issues, including awarding Qatar the 2022 tournament ever since joining FIFA.

When asked about Zwanziger’s comments, a FIFA spokesperson said:

“He is expressing a personal opinion and he explicitly says so. We will not comment on a personal opinion.”

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has already said that awarding Qatar the World Cup was “a mistake.” He did not vote for Qatar originally either.

In addition to the hear concerns, there have been questions of corruption in the 2022 bid process. FIFA hired former U.S. attorney to lead in independent investigation into the issue and he has submitted a report to a committee, led by a former German judge, who will hand down sanctions against those found to have committed wrongdoing. However, the committee can only sanction individuals. The right to strip Qatar of their hosting duties rests with the FIFA executive committee.