FIFA : Qatar WC to be held in the winter

ronjo

Omackeral wrote: »

I wouldn't say giving it to the US would be 'too soon'. It will have been nearly 30 years by the time 2022 rolls around. That's mad! Australia would be a good option I think.

And would be far better for European market in terms of kick off times

Paully D

Hardly surprising, but:

Hope everything gets released quickly.

Dempsey

Paully D wrote: »

Hardly surprising, but:

That story applies to every world cup for the past 40 years.

Cantona's Collars

Dempsey wrote: »

That story applies to every world cup for the past 40 years.

Bundles of cash were handed over to FIFA officials along with junkets costing hundreds of thousands each,seems like that's only the tip of the iceberg.

mikeym

We all know there was some form of bribery that took place.

Its just a matter of proving it.

Fr Tod Umptious

mikeym wrote: »

We all know there was some form of bribery that took place.

Its just a matter of proving it.

And implicating Blatter.

Its all we'll and good proving that this Quatri guy (can't remember how name) bribed people, but he has already been kicked out for corruption.

All Blatter has to say it tut tut and tell us how awful it is.

titan18

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

And implicating Blatter.

Its all we'll and good proving that this Quatri guy (can't remember how name) bribed people, but he has already been kicked out for corruption.

All Blatter has to say it tut tut and tell us how awful it is.

Tbf, Blatter wanted the WC to go to the US, and voted for them.

marbless

I wonder if "France Football" feels a little bit embarrassed about selling its famous Ballon d'Or trophy to FIFA a few years ago:rolleyes:

Dempsey

Getting rid of Blatter wont end or dent the systematic corruption that exists in that organisation.

Also, the way its done won't implicate Blatter

Nesta99

Conveniently perfec nowt to overturn the Qatari decision and offer it up again - FIFA ridding themselves of the dissenting powerhouses over a winter World Cup

Richard Hillman

Dempsey wrote: »

Getting rid of Blatter wont end or dent the systematic corruption that exists in that organisation.

Also, the way its done won't implicate Blatter

When Blatter and his cronies all clear off, the next generation of FIFA execs will take over the running. People like John Delaney and other shifty individuals that run their respective National Branch of FIFA.

The whole organisation needs to be scrapped. The top leagues should move away from their own FA's and FIFA. You will be hard pressed to find an national organisation that isnt riddled with dodgy characters.

Skylinehead

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

And implicating Blatter.

Its all we'll and good proving that this Quatri guy (can't remember how name) bribed people, but he has already been kicked out for corruption.

All Blatter has to say it tut tut and tell us how awful it is.

Dempsey wrote: »

Also, the way its done won't implicate Blatter

Well he was against Qatar from the start, so I'm very skeptical as to whether he was involved. Platini drove it, so blame him if anyone.

patmac

Most likely outcome of any enquiry:

mike65

The big money is beginning to talk, that's when FIFA starts to listen.

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/jun/08/fifa-sponsors-play-hard-ball-over-world-cup-corruption-allegations

Two more of Fifa's headline World Cup sponsors have warned that corruption allegations engulfing the award of the 2022 tournament to Qatar are damaging the global reputation of the game.

Visa and Adidas on Sunday joined Sony in demanding that the bribery claims be taken seriously by world football's governing body, on the day that England's footballers arrived in Brazil.

Adidas, which recently renewed its sponsorship until 2030 and is Fifa's longest serving partner, said: "The negative tenor of the public debate around Fifa at the moment is neither good for football nor for Fifa and its partners."

Visa, which insists that only its cards can be used at World Cup venues as part of its sponsorship deal, said it expected Fifa would "take the appropriate actions" to respond to the current investigation and its recommendations.

On Saturday, Sony had said it expected Fifa to ensure the disclosures are "investigated appropriately".

ArnoldJRimmer

I know its been long established that this man has no shame, but playing the race card? What an absolute cretin

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/27762435

daRobot

ArnoldJRimmer wrote: »

I know its been long established that this man has no shame, but playing the race card? What an absolute cretin

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/27762435

Yeah, just saw that myself. He disgusts me on every level.

Muahahaha

It really is all beginning to unravel for FIFA. A surprise casualty of this could be Franz Beckanbauer, who refused to be interviewed by the American lawyer investigating the cash for votes scandal. I think he has questions to answer too so it'll be interesting to see how it pans out.

The call by sponsors to sort this mess out is really interesting. The likes of Coca Cola, Nike, etc will have spent hundreds of millions sponsoring the WC and at the moment the name of the WC is getting dragged through the mud. If the Guardian and Telegraph have a lot more to this story and drib drab it out throughout the World Cup in Brazil the sponsors are going to be furious at the bad publicity they'll receive for being connected to such a corrupt organisation. Money is FIFAs Achilles heel and if major sponsors threaten a walk out and damage to their brand FIFA could end up having to pay out millions.

All that aside I remember at the time of the bidding how England put everything they had into their bid, with endorsements from David Beckham, the Royal Family. They really did put across an impressive bid and it was all during the backdrop of their Olympic preparations. France had had it in 98, Germany in 2006 so it only seemed right that England were due another roll of the dice. Becks and Prince William even showed up to the bidding ceremony only to be left with the embarrassment of securing only two votes. I remember watching it at the time and noticed how Vladimir Putin didn't show up to the ceremony yet Russia won the bid. It was classic behaviour from a man who used to be head of the KGB, Putin didn't need to show up to gloat, that's not how masters of the dark arts carry on. He had it in the bag long before the day and long before Becks and Wills ended up with egg all over their faces.

Many members of the House of Commons and Lords were outraged that a member of the Royal Family could be publically humiliated as bad as Prince William was that day. David Cameron came out of it looking silly on the international stage too. For the British establishment the bidding process went completely against the British sense of fair play, they felt cheated and robbed by Sepp Blatter and FIFA. The British media are now out to extract revenge on FIFA and so far they're doing a pretty good job of it. Its worth pointing out that the Telegraph is a Tory paper who always staunchly defend the Royals. The Telegraph normally wouldn't give two hoots about corruption but when their prime minister and Prince are made look like fools by Vladmir Putin then they're going to go all out to expose FIFA. How much more will they dig up between now and the World Cup final in July ?

LuckyLloyd

Muahahaha wrote: »

It really is all beginning to unravel for FIFA. A surprise casualty of this could be Franz Beckanbauer, who refused to be interviewed by the American lawyer investigating the cash for votes scandal. I think he has questions to answer too so it'll be interesting to see how it pans out.

The call by sponsors to sort this mess out is really interesting. The likes of Coca Cola, Nike, etc will have spent hundreds of millions sponsoring the WC and at the moment the name of the WC is getting dragged through the mud. If the Guardian and Telegraph have a lot more to this story and drib drab it out throughout the World Cup in Brazil the sponsors are going to be furious at the bad publicity they'll receive for being connected to such a corrupt organisation. Money is FIFAs Achilles heel and if major sponsors threaten a walk out and damage to their brand FIFA could end up having to pay out millions.

All that aside I remember at the time of the bidding how England put everything they had into their bid, with endorsements from David Beckham, the Royal Family. They really did put across an impressive bid and it was all during the backdrop of their Olympic preparations. France had had it in 98, Germany in 2006 so it only seemed right that England were due another roll of the dice. Becks and Prince William even showed up to the bidding ceremony only to be left with the embarrassment of securing only two votes. I remember watching it at the time and noticed how Vladimir Putin didn't show up to the ceremony yet Russia won the bid. It was classic behaviour from a man who used to be head of the KGB, Putin didn't need to show up to gloat, that's not how masters of the dark arts carry on. He had it in the bag long before the day and long before Becks and Wills ended up with egg all over their faces.

Many members of the House of Commons and Lords were outraged that a member of the Royal Family could be publically humiliated as bad as Prince William was that day. David Cameron came out of it looking silly on the international stage too. For the British establishment the bidding process went completely against the British sense of fair play, they felt cheated and robbed by Sepp Blatter and FIFA. The British media are now out to extract revenge on FIFA and so far they're doing a pretty good job of it. Its worth pointing out that the Telegraph is a Tory paper who always staunchly defend the Royals. The Telegraph normally wouldn't give two hoots about corruption but when their prime minister and Prince are made look like fools by Vladmir Putin then they're going to go all out to expose FIFA. How much more will they dig up between now and the World Cup final in July ?

I think you are absolutely spot on here with your analysis overall. Elements of the British media are going to stop at nothing chasing this one down in a similar vein to the way European Cycling journalists chased down Lance Armstrong. In both cases there is an ultimate deception and corruption at play, but the motivations in exposing them are nationalistic and vengeful in nature.

For what it's worth, as far as the bolded is concerned I don't buy that England deserved a shot neccesarily. I think their bid was favourably reviewed by a media and fan element that would happily see the WC rotate between England and Germany every four years. It is important that the WC be spread around the various continents. FIFA have a myriad of faults and a number of long term big wigs in the organisation may meet their reckoning this time, but it has been extraordinarily successful at growing and spreading the game across the world. Part of this has to involve knowing that Germany / England / USA will always be capable of putting on the best possible bid every four years if invited to do so but giving it to the likes of Brazil or South Africa anyway.

This time they went too far though and nobody is going to go to bat for the idea of World Cups that present major logistical and legislative challenges being held in nations criticised for human rights abuses.

Grimly fascinating. I want the people responsible for this nonsense to be got, but I don't want the World Cup damaged as a result.

mike65

Muahahaha wrote: »

Many members of the House of Commons and Lords were outraged that a member of the Royal Family could be publically humiliated as bad as Prince William was that day. David Cameron came out of it looking silly on the international stage too. For the British establishment the bidding process went completely against the British sense of fair play, they felt cheated and robbed by Sepp Blatter and FIFA. The British media are now out to extract revenge on FIFA and so far they're doing a pretty good job of it. Its worth pointing out that the Telegraph is a Tory paper who always staunchly defend the Royals. The Telegraph normally wouldn't give two hoots about corruption but when their prime minister and Prince are made look like fools by Vladmir Putin then they're going to go all out to expose FIFA. How much more will they dig up between now and the World Cup final in July ?

That would be a compelling narrative if it were true! The first journalist to seriously look into the corruption of FIFA under Blatter was way before the bids for 2018/2022. Andrew Jennings has been on the case for nearly 10 years. Also while the Telegraph are running the story the lefty Guardian also is and both of them are just following after the Times who have dug the dirt most recently.

It really is all beginning to unravel for FIFA. A surprise casualty of this could be Franz Beckanbauer, who refused to be interviewed by the American lawyer investigating the cash for votes scandal. I think he has questions to answer too so it'll be interesting to see how it pans out.

Maybe this is why the German media is keeping schtum

ArmaniJeanss

Muahahaha wrote: »

All that aside I remember at the time of the bidding how England put everything they had into their bid, with endorsements from David Beckham, the Royal Family. They really did put across an impressive bid and it was all during the backdrop of their Olympic preparations. France had had it in 98, Germany in 2006 so it only seemed right that England were due another roll of the dice. Becks and Prince William even showed up to the bidding ceremony only to be left with the embarrassment of securing only two votes. I remember watching it at the time and noticed how Vladimir Putin didn't show up to the ceremony yet Russia won the bid. It was classic behaviour from a man who used to be head of the KGB, Putin didn't need to show up to gloat, that's not how masters of the dark arts carry on. He had it in the bag long before the day and long before Becks and Wills ended up with egg all over their faces.

Many members of the House of Commons and Lords were outraged that a member of the Royal Family could be publically humiliated as bad as Prince William was that day. David Cameron came out of it looking silly on the international stage too. For the British establishment the bidding process went completely against the British sense of fair play, they felt cheated and robbed by Sepp Blatter and FIFA. The British media are now out to extract revenge on FIFA and so far they're doing a pretty good job of it. Its worth pointing out that the Telegraph is a Tory paper who always staunchly defend the Royals. The Telegraph normally wouldn't give two hoots about corruption but when their prime minister and Prince are made look like fools by Vladmir Putin then they're going to go all out to expose FIFA. How much more will they dig up between now and the World Cup final in July ?

The idea that it was Englands 'turn' is frankly ludicrous. Western Europe has had every second competition from 1966 to 2008 (England, WGermany, Spain, Italy, France, Germany) and its not a situation that should go on for ever. Fk the English if that's their reason for getting annoyed.

********
Can anyone give me a link to the actual statements by the sponsors (not just a link to the newspapers reporting of the statements, I got plenty of those).

whatawaster

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

The idea that it was Englands 'turn' is frankly ludicrous. Western Europe has had every second competition from 1966 to 2008 (England, WGermany, Spain, Italy, France, Germany) and its not a situation that should go on for ever. Fk the English if that's their reason for getting annoyed.

********
Can anyone give me a link to the actual statements by the sponsors (not just a link to the newspapers reporting of the statements, I got plenty of those).

Those countries have probably had the best stadiums and the best infrastructure to host those tournaments.

Even today, I think the need to spread and grow the game needs to be balanced with putting on great tournaments.

There's no doubt in my mind that England would put on a World Class tournament. It is the birthplace of the game and they haven't hosted a world cup in 50 years. I think they are due it, to be honest. I'd love to see the likes of Australia get a shot also.

mike65

The reason FIFA want to spread the game to places like Qatar rather than stage the games in a "mature market" is largely so massive kick backs can be claimed during the competition for infrastructure contracts. South Africa, Brazil, Russia, Qatar - its a roll call of dodginess.

Fratton Fred

mike65 wrote: »

That would be a compelling narrative if it were true! The first journalist to seriously look into the corruption of FIFA under Blatter was way before the bids for 2018/2022. Andrew Jennings has been on the case for nearly 10 years. Also while the Telegraph are running the story the lefty Guardian also is and both of them are just following after the Times who have dug the dirt most recently.

That's right. Jack Warner has been the subject of several investigations by Jennings, including the allocation of Trinidad and Tobago's ticket allocation for the 2006 world cup.

Jack Warner makes Sepp Blatter look like a saint.

astrofool

Muahahaha wrote: »

It really is all beginning to unravel for FIFA. A surprise casualty of this could be Franz Beckanbauer, who refused to be interviewed by the American lawyer investigating the cash for votes scandal. I think he has questions to answer too so it'll be interesting to see how it pans out.

The call by sponsors to sort this mess out is really interesting. The likes of Coca Cola, Nike, etc will have spent hundreds of millions sponsoring the WC and at the moment the name of the WC is getting dragged through the mud. If the Guardian and Telegraph have a lot more to this story and drib drab it out throughout the World Cup in Brazil the sponsors are going to be furious at the bad publicity they'll receive for being connected to such a corrupt organisation. Money is FIFAs Achilles heel and if major sponsors threaten a walk out and damage to their brand FIFA could end up having to pay out millions.

All that aside I remember at the time of the bidding how England put everything they had into their bid, with endorsements from David Beckham, the Royal Family. They really did put across an impressive bid and it was all during the backdrop of their Olympic preparations. France had had it in 98, Germany in 2006 so it only seemed right that England were due another roll of the dice. Becks and Prince William even showed up to the bidding ceremony only to be left with the embarrassment of securing only two votes. I remember watching it at the time and noticed how Vladimir Putin didn't show up to the ceremony yet Russia won the bid. It was classic behaviour from a man who used to be head of the KGB, Putin didn't need to show up to gloat, that's not how masters of the dark arts carry on. He had it in the bag long before the day and long before Becks and Wills ended up with egg all over their faces.

Many members of the House of Commons and Lords were outraged that a member of the Royal Family could be publically humiliated as bad as Prince William was that day. David Cameron came out of it looking silly on the international stage too. For the British establishment the bidding process went completely against the British sense of fair play, they felt cheated and robbed by Sepp Blatter and FIFA. The British media are now out to extract revenge on FIFA and so far they're doing a pretty good job of it. Its worth pointing out that the Telegraph is a Tory paper who always staunchly defend the Royals. The Telegraph normally wouldn't give two hoots about corruption but when their prime minister and Prince are made look like fools by Vladmir Putin then they're going to go all out to expose FIFA. How much more will they dig up between now and the World Cup final in July ?

England went for the 2018 WC, 2022 was always going outside of Europe, and England weren't involved, if 2022 gets a re-run, England would unlikely be involved.

brevity

mike65 wrote: »

The reason FIFA want to spread the game to places like Qatar rather than stage the games in a "mature market" is largely so massive kick backs can be claimed during the competition for infrastructure contracts. South Africa, Brazil, Russia, Qatar - its a roll call of dodginess.

And the slave labour..

Benimar

astrofool wrote: »

England went for the 2018 WC, 2022 was always going outside of Europe, and England weren't involved, if 2022 gets a re-run, England would unlikely be involved.

Agreed. I saw a couple of Journos saying it should be given to England, but Europe got the 2018 WC so were never getting the 2022 one.

If there is a re-run (as there surely must be) I'd imagine it would involve Australia, USA, Korea and Japan as the 4 'beaten' bids the last time.

mike65

It'll be interesting to see which countries FIFA courts the most enthusiastically for 2026 - the only rule geographic which applies is that a member cannot bid if a the event has been staged by that for Federation in the last two tournaments - so with Russia that's UEFA out of the running again and no Asia due to Qatar.

I reckon Mexico will be the country Blatter favours - loads of potential for corruption, same time zone as all the Americas, not bad for Europe.

slingerz

i could see Australia getting a world cup very soon

Benimar

mike65 wrote: »

It'll be interesting to see which countries FIFA courts the most enthusiastically for 2026 - the only rule geographic which applies is that a member cannot bid if a the event has been staged by that for Federation in the last two tournaments - so with Russia that's UEFA out of the running again and no Asia due to Qatar.

I reckon Mexico will be the country Blatter favours - loads of potential for corruption, same time zone as all the Americas, not bad for Europe.

Ignoring the obvious potential for corruption (I could be the new Sepp!!) I'd love to see another Mexico World Cup.

Then again, I think it should be rotated between Germany and Mexico every 4 years anyway!

On a serious note, they could be a 'compromise' candidate for 2022 if FIFA are forced to do the right thing and take it from Qatar.

mike65

Dutch FA president sez Blatter should go (Reuters)

SAO PAULO, June 10 (Reuters) - FIFA president Sepp Blatter should not stand for re-election and the Swiss must take much of the blame for the crumbling reputation of soccer's world governing body, the president of the Dutch Football Association (KNVB) said on Tuesday.

The 78-year-old Blatter has been responsible for a growing regression of the image of world football and should not stand for a fifth term, as he is expected to soon announce, according to Michael van Praag.

"The image of FIFA has been tarnished by everything that has happened over the last years," Van Praag said in an interview in the Dutch newspaper Volkskrant, from Sao Paulo where he is attending this week's FIFA Congress.

"There are very few people who still take FIFA seriously and what ever way you want to cut and dice it, Blatter is responsible in the end," he said of the Swiss. FIFA has been rocked by continuing scandal, not least the latest allegations of bribery in the World Cup bidding process.

Van Praag said Blatter would have to listen to the continuing criticism and draw the appropriate conclusion. In recent days, FIFA sponsors have joined in with those striking a note of concern over the latest allegations.

Van Praag said he expected UEFA members would take a united stand in their approach to next year's election when they meet in Sao Paulo on Tuesday, a day before the FIFA Congress in the Brazilian city that hosts the opening game of the World Cup on Thursday.

"The election for the FIFA presidency is only next year but it will be good if Europe is well prepared and ready to make its choice," said the KNVB president.

"If you are in a post for 16 years there comes a time when you have to ask whether you are still contributing."

and Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa gains more power as head of the Asian federation and FIFA vice presidents roles are "merged" - all the better to see the opposition off with. Sheikh Salman is from Bahrain, who purged the local FA after they stood up for greater democracy in that Gulf state.

http://www.theguardian.com/football/feedarticle/11386304

Benimar

We can take Holland off the list of potential World Cup hosts so!!

ronjo

Benimar wrote: »

We can take Holland off the list of potential World Cup hosts so!!

If Delaney gives Sepp a call and takes nicely then ONeill and the boys could be playing Spain on Saturday :pac:

Fratton Fred

Blatter doesn't give two ****s about his reputation. He will run again and he will get elected again, because he has enough people on his payroll to get the votes.

Muahahaha

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

The idea that it was Englands 'turn' is frankly ludicrous. Western Europe has had every second competition from 1966 to 2008 (England, WGermany, Spain, Italy, France, Germany) and its not a situation that should go on for ever. Fk the English if that's their reason for getting annoyed.

********
Can anyone give me a link to the actual statements by the sponsors (not just a link to the newspapers reporting of the statements, I got plenty of those).

I agree with you, it should never be anyone's 'turn'. However I was just making the point that Germany had it in 2006, Framce 1998 so there was nothing precluding England from getting it and they did have a very strong bid with absolutely no question marks over infrastructure or ability to host it. England last held the WC in 1966 so 2018 would have been a 54 year gap on hosting it. Germany on the other hand hosted it in 1974 so only had to wait 32 years to host it again.

Personally I think the Austealia bid should have been looked at in a more favourable light if the FIFA mantra of expanding the game is actually true. But then again as someone else mentioned there probably wouldn't have been enough bribes for FIFA from an Australian bid, Russia on the other hand was far more lucrative for them, Putin is a man you can do business with.

Skid X

David Conn ‏@david_conn 1m
Fifa has banned Franz Beckenbauer from football activity for 90 days for not co-operating with Garcia's 2018 & 2022 World Cup investigation.

http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/organisation/news/newsid=2369679/index.html

I hope it's a statement of intent and not just a token action.

DubDani

Skid X wrote: »

David Conn ‏@david_conn 1m
Fifa has banned Franz Beckenbauer from football activity for 90 days for not co-operating with Garcia's 2018 & 2022 World Cup investigation.

http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/organisation/news/newsid=2369679/index.html

I hope it's a statement of intent and not just a token action.

He doesn't give a ****. Just read an Interview from him. He said he was willing to fully cooperate on the subject but instead got around 130 (in his opinion) irrelevant questions, asked in very legal terms. Not willing to answer them in English he asked for them to be provided in German. As they refused that request he told them to F*** off.

Benimar

I was reading yesterday that Lusail, the City which will host the 2022 World Cup Final doesn't exist yet...not just the stadium, the ENTIRE CITY!!!

At least when Ireland were bringing officials to see an empty field it was to show where the stadium would go, not the city!!

Chancer3001

Jesus yeah. Just reading that as well.

Oh well just build a city for 250.000 people. Hope everything runs smoothly!!

One of the main attractions they're building there is an all-giraffe zoo


Those guys are bonkers

Dempsey

Benimar wrote: »

I was reading yesterday that Lusail, the City which will host the 2022 World Cup Final doesn't exist yet...not just the stadium, the ENTIRE CITY!!!

At least when Ireland were bringing officials to see an empty field it was to show where the stadium would go, not the city!!

China are building empty cities by the dozen and nobody really cares.

Rich countries can afford to plan cities before they break ground. Its better than having a bad case of urban sprawl like Dublin does

CSF

Dempsey wrote: »

China are building empty cities by the dozen and nobody really cares.

Rich countries can afford to plan cities before they break ground. Its better than having a bad case of urban sprawl like Dublin does

I think the argument is more so that they got a World Cup based on these plans.

Obviously them getting it had nothing to do with their plans, but the more you read about the situation, the worse the taste left in the mouth gets.

Underground

Can't find a thread specifically dedicated to the investigation into corruption allegations so I'll post here.

The results of Michael Garcias investigation into the dodgy bidding process for the next two world cups has been delayed until September.

Ffs as if this whole episode wasn't ridiculous enough beforehand,is there any competence in the world?what possible reason does Garcia have to delay issuing the results this long for? He's like a kid in secondary school who forgot to do his homework and is frantically trying to come up with an excuse to get out of detention.

The only way that he might redeem himself here is if he has some stone cold bulletproof evidence that could shed some light on this mess. I'm not holding my breath on that though.

Muahahaha

Well a four or five week delay isn't that bad, I'm sure it's a big report with lots of people to talk to.

What I'd be more worried about is FIFA paying a lawyer to investigate FIFA.

Whilst there might be some criticisms of how the bidding process was run my guess is the report overall will give it a clean bill of health and FIFA will say 'that's the end of that'.

If people are hoping that this report will reveal a silver bullet all the way up to Blatter then they're going to be disappointed. For sure some FIFA officials will be suspended or sacked but this will not be going all the way to the top. The investigation is designed to find a few fall guys for Sepp, once that's achieved it'll be business as usual and onwards to Russia 2018

Harry Palmr

Another straw in the wind?

http://www.theguardian.com/football/feedarticle/11552318

BERLIN, Sept 22 (Reuters) - The 2022 World Cup will not be held in Qatar because of the scorching temperatures in the Middle East country, FIFA Executive Committee member Theo Zwanziger said on Monday.

"I personally think that in the end the 2022 World Cup will not take place in Qatar," the German told Sport Bild on Monday.

"Medics say that they cannot accept responsibility with a World Cup taking place under these conditions," the former German football (DFB) chief, who is now a member of the world soccer's governing body FIFA that awarded the tournament to Qatar in 2010.

Michael D Not Higgins

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Another straw in the wind?

http://www.theguardian.com/football/feedarticle/11552318

Would they ever hurry up and make a decision already? This has gone on long enough and Fifa need to come up with a proper solution.

Hazys

If the World Cup doesn't go ahead, will the Qatari's be able to get a refund on their bribes?

Donnielighto

It'd be some kick in the teeth, I wonder what would happen to the workers (slaves?) out there.

Dickerty

Donnielighto wrote: »

It'd be some kick in the teeth, I wonder what would happen to the workers (slaves?) out there.

Maybe they repurpose the stadiums and win the 2024 Olympics? :eek:

citytillidie

Well FIFA have release their schedule of matches for 2018-2024.

http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/affederation/administration/02/70/96/62/final_v2_imc2018-2024fifa_15-02163_101_en_en_neutral.pdf

Year 2022 looks like this

January No FIFA matches

February No FIFA matches

21-29 March 2 FIFA matches

April Final Draw for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar™

30 May – 14 June 4 FIFA matches

July No FIFA matches

August No FIFA matches

19-27 September 2 FIFA matches

October No FIFA matches

November/December
Release of players for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar™:
14 November

2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar™21 November – 18 December

J. Marston

What a crock of shít that's going to be.