FIFA may strip Qatar of hosting the 2022 World Cup

Qatar could be stripped of hosting the 2022 World Cup, with England in contention to host it, according to a Saudi sports chief.

The USA will also be considered as another venue, report German news Online Focus who cite sports minister Turki Al-Sheikh.

FIFA has been facing calls to take the prestigious tournament away from Qatar after the explosive report into vote-buying by the Gulf state was made public.

The world’s football governing body published its report of the bidding battles for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments in full after German newspaper Bild announced it was going to print leaks from it.

It revealed a secret payment of $2.6 million was made to the ten-year-old daughter of Brazilian FIFA bigwig Ricardo Teixeira, while three senior figures were flown to a meeting in Rio in a Qatari-owned jet.

Political conflict in the country is also causing concern for football chiefs.

Dubai-based TV channel Al Arabiya claims a confidential BBC report has warned companies against building facilities for the World Cup in Qatar.

FIFA will reportedly wait until next summer to make a final call on the 2022 World Cup venue.

President Gianni Infantino wants all 211 member countries to vote to decide on the hosts.
MP Damian Collins, chairman of the Commons Culture, Media and Sport select committee, said:“It’s absolutely the case that the decision to award the World Cup to Qatar has to be reviewed.

“It is clear that the decision not to publish the full report was an attempt to cover up the full extent of corruption at FIFA.

“FIFA was aware of serious allegations and deliberately attempted to stop them emerging.

“It looks like inappropriate payments to get votes. If that is the case, Qatar should lose the right to host the World Cup.”

England famously lost out in their bids for both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, despite sending envoys including David Beckham and Prince William to argue their case.

Russia was controversially handed the 2018 World Cup, which is due to take place this summer.

But football fans were left gobsmacked when Qatar was then announced as the host of the competition in 2022.

The country has been under fire for its treatment of builders working on half-completed stadiums, with unsafe conditions and low wages leading to numerous deaths and claims of modern-day slavery from human rights groups.

There is also an issue of the weather, with Qatar experiencing scorching summers at the time the World Cup is usually hosted.

A fierce debate rages on about whether it should be moved to the winter, but that would disrupt all the major European domestic leagues.

Source: news.com.au