Sepp Blatter, former president of the Fédération internationale de Football Association (FIFA), has said, awarding Qatar the right to host the FIFA World Cup 2022 was a “bad choice”.
 |
| Sepp Blatter was FIFA President in 2010 when Qatar was awarded hosting right for the World Cup. Photo: SkySports |
Blatter has gone ahead to blame himself for allowing the tournament to go to the Asian country, saying “I was responsible for that as president at the time”.
The 86-year old former president of FIFA was the head of the World’s football governing body when Qatar was awarded the tournament in 2010.
According to BBC:
The Gulf state has been criticised for its stance on same-sex relationships, human rights record and treatment of migrant workers.
The Qatar World Cup, the first to be hosted in the Middle East in the tournament’s 92-year-history and the first during the Northern Hemisphere winter, takes place from 20 November to 18 December.
Fifa’s executive committee voted 14-8 for Qatar to host the tournament ahead of the United States 12 years ago, at the same time Russia was awarded the 2018 event.
In an interview with Tages Anzeiger, a Swiss newspaper, Blatter described Qatar as “too small” to host the FIFA World Cup which is “too big” of a torunament for the country.
He said; Qatar is “too small of a country” to host the tournament and that “football and the World Cup are too big for it”.
Blatter says his vote went for the United States. He blames Michel Platini, who was Uefa President then, for rotating the votes to favour Qatar.
He said: “It was a bad choice and I was responsible for that as president at the time.
“Thanks to the four votes of Platini and his [Uefa] team, the World Cup went to Qatar rather than the United States. It’s the truth.”
