FIFA Exec Committee member Theo Zwanziger said on Monday that the 2022 World Cup "will not be held in Qatar because of the scorching temperatures in the Middle East country," according to Karolos Grohmann of REUTERS. The German said, "I personally think that in the end the 2022 World Cup will not take place in Qatar." The former German Football Federation (DFB) president, who is now a member of FIFA, which awarded the tournament to Qatar in '10, said, "Medics say that they cannot accept responsibility with a World Cup taking place under these conditions." Although Qatar "has insisted that a summer World Cup is viable thanks to cooling technologies it is developing for stadiums, training areas and fan zones, there is still widespread concern over the health of the players and visiting supporters." Zwanziger: "They may be able to cool the stadiums but a World Cup does not take place only there" (REUTERS, 9/22). In Doha, Shabina S. Khatri wrote the comments "are the latest remarks made in a long drawn-out debate about whether Qatar could realistically host the football tournament in June."
Qatar’s bid team said that "it is ready to host the games in the winter or the summer." For its part, FIFA said on Monday that Zwanziger "was simply expressing his personal opinion, and FIFA does not comment on such matters." Meanwhile, other senior FIFA officials "have expressed support for the idea of a winter World Cup" (DOHA NEWS, 9/22). BLOOMBERG's Alex Webb wrote a FIFA task force "is considering two alternative dates" -- either January and February '22 or November and December '22 (BLOOMBERG, 9/22).
'VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS': In London, Martin Lipton opined Zwanziger's comments "appear to represent little more than a voice in the wilderness." The German "will step down from his role" on the exec committee in May. It means that "by the time FIFA even begin to consider the findings of the bribery and corruption investigation led by ethics chief Michael Garcia, let alone the question of human rights abuses and the rights of migrant workers involved in stadium-building projects in the country, Zwanziger will have no involvement." In response to Zwanziger's comments, Qatar 2022 Organizing Committee Secretary General Hassan Al Thawadi said, ''There is no basis to lose it. I am sure that the World Cup will take place in Qatar" (DAILY MIRROR, 9/22).
