Former FIFA President, Sepp Blatter admitted it was a ‘mistake’ to award the 2022 World Cup hosting right to Qatar.
The former FIFA boss claimed the country is ‘too small to host the tournament’ and admits USA should have been the 2022 host.
Qatar was awarded the 2022 host of the World Cup in 2010 under Sepp Blatter, a decision that sparked controversy as many allegations surfaced that the country bribed FIFA to secure the hosting right.
Qatar has also come under criticism due to the country’s human rights record and its anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) laws, with many nations planning to make a stance against discrimination when they arrive in Qatar this November.
Blatter, who was FIFA President from 1998 till 2015 when he was banned from football for six years over corruption scandals gave his first interview since being cleared of the charges in July, claiming it was a mistake to give Qatar the honour of hosting the tournament due to its size and further claimed that USA were FIFA’s most preferred to stage the 2022 edition of the World Cup before they were given the 2026 berth.
According Swiss outlet Tages-Anzeiger, Sepp Blatter said: “At the time, we actually agreed in the executive committee that Russia should get the 2018 World Cup and the USA that of 2022. It would have been a gesture of peace if the two long-standing political opponents had hosted the World Cup one after the other.”
The World Cup however, will still continue this November and end in December with massive preparation already in place to make the tournament worthwhile with countries already announcing their final 26 man squad for the showpiece in the Middle East.
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