FIFA said on Monday that it was in "regular contact" with the organizing committee of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, though it "did not comment directly on the diplomatic situation involving the Gulf State," according to Homewood, Robinson & Grohmann of REUTERS. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and others "severed ties with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of supporting terrorism and opening up the worst rift in years among some of the most powerful states in the Arab world." FIFA said in an emailed statement that it was "in regular contact" with the Qatar 2022 Local Organizing Committee and the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy "handling matters relating to the 2022 FIFA World Cup." It added, "We have no further comments for the time being." Qatar's local World Cup organizing committee and the Asian Football Confederation, which organizes int'l matches in the region, both declined to comment. The German FA (DFB) said that it would "discuss the matter with the German government." DFB President Reinhard Grindel said, "We will discuss the new, complex political situation in the region and specifically in Qatar with the federal government. ... There are still five years to go before the World Cup starts. During this time priority should be given to political solutions rather than threats of boycott. But one thing is clear. The football community worldwide should agree that ... major tournaments should not be played in countries that actively support terror" (REUTERS, 6/5).
DIPLOMATIC CRISIS: The AFP reported the "diplomatic crisis sweeping the Gulf could invigorate a campaign by critics of Qatar to strip Doha of the 2022 World Cup." Rice University's Baker Institute Gulf analyst Kristian Ulrichsen said, "This is a massive escalation in pressure on Qatar. I think it will really have an impact if it lasts any time." Since being "controversially chosen" by FIFA in '10 as the host, Qatar has "maintained that it is a politically secure nation despite its location in a volatile region." Ulrichsen said that current events "may challenge those notions." He added that with the fact that there are other countries which could host the event at little notice, organizers "may be getting anxious." Ulrichsen: "Qatar will know that there are alternatives, so they will be looking over their shoulder." Simon Chadwick, professor of sports enterprise at the University of Salford, said that the diplomatic crisis "raises an important issue of risk assessment and contingency planning" for the World Cup. He said, "The closer we get to 2022, the more Qatar becomes exposed. In terms of reputation and embarrassment, this is a big issue for Qatar" (AFP, 6/5). THE QUINT's Ritwik Sarkar reported though the Qatar World Cup is "still five years away, the nation is building its footballing infrastructure from nearly the ground up." In order to "fast-track the preparations," Qatar "had to employ labour en masse from other nations, including India." This resulted in the inauguration of the Khalifa Int'l Stadium in Doha on May 19. The new blockade can, however, "pose a challenge to the fast pace of construction, which is especially troubling given the fact that the construction of two stadiums are yet to begin" (THE QUINT, 6/5).
EXPLANATION: The FINANCIAL TIMES' Simeon Kerr explains "What is behind the extraordinary Gulf dispute with Qatar?"
