Today in comments made to German sporting tabloid Bild, FIFA Executive Committee member Theo Zwanziger has stated he does not believe the 2022 FIFA World Cup will be held in Qatar.
He said to Sport Bild: "I personally believe that in the end the 2022 World Cup will not take place in Qatar. Medical experts say that they cannot accept responsibility for a World Cup taking place under these conditions.”
He added, "They may be able to cool the stadiums but a World Cup does not take place only there (in the stadiums). Fans from all around the world will be coming and travelling in that heat and the first life-threatening case will trigger an investigation by a state prosecutor. That is not something that FIFA executive committee members will want to be responsible for."
Nasser Al Khater, executive director of communications for Qatar 2022's supreme committee for delivery and legacy responded to the latest allegations with a statement. The statement seems to suggest that Qatar is prepared to do anything to host this tournament, even creating weather machines.
"Qatar will host the FIFA World Cup in 2022, despite comments of FIFA executive committee member Dr. Zwanziger, which reflect his personal opinion and not that of FIFA. The only question now is when, not if. Summer or winter, we will be ready. We have proven that a FIFA World Cup in Qatar in the summer is possible with state-of-the-art cooling technology.”
He added, "We have demonstrated that our cooling works in outdoor areas beyond stadiums. This summer we welcomed fans in Doha to an open-air Brazil 2014 Fan Zone with temperatures cooled to a comfortable 22 degrees Celsius [approximately 72 degrees Fahrenheit]. The evolution of environmentally-friendly cooling technologies is an important legacy for our nation, region and for countries with similar climates - promising to expand the reach of hosting major sporting events to countries where it was never thought possible before."
Just how they will be able to climate control an entire country is beyond your humble correspondent, given that summer temperatures in Qatar average well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, sometimes reaching into the 110's and 120's.
This is only the latest in a long line of criticisms for the Qatar 2022 bid. From the very moment the tournament was awarded to them, there have been accusations of bribery, claims of using migrant workers as slave labor, worries expressed over what time of year to host the tournament, and concerns about the levels of terrorism in the country.
Earlier this year, FIFA launched an investigation into the bribery accusations surrounding the Qatari bid and the Russian bid which won the right to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Special Investigator Michael Garcia has returned his findings to FIFA, but they have refused to make the report public.
For all of their deflectionary tactics, it appears Qatar and FIFA will have to answer some difficult questions about this soon. Keep checking back with us at VAVEL USA for the latest developments to this story.