FIFA decided to award the hosting rights of the 2022 World Cups early. The 2022 bid was unexpectedly won by the small gulf state of Qatar. Many have criticized this decision and have alleged corruption and rigging. FIFA has set up an independent enquiry into the matter which is headed by Michael Garcia. Michael Garcia will release its report in the coming weeks. Media reports have suggested that executives of the Qatar bid are guilty of corruption, bribery and rigging the voting process. But, the Qatar 2022 committee has denied it.
FIFA gets all the bids scrutinised by an independent company. The company issues a technical report. Qatar was ranked last in the technical report for 2022. Fans have criticized FIFA over the issue. One of the points at the forefront of all criticism has been the fact that the World Cup will be played in the traditional months of June and July. Temperatures in the gulf state reach up to 41 degree Celsius at times in June-July. Qatar organizing committee said that they are willing to fully air condition all the stadiums. Critics point out that one can't air condition the whole country. FIFA President acknowledged that the World Cup cannot happen in June-July and instead it would be held in January-February. A winter World Cup is unacceptable to most European football clubs due to commercial and scheduling reasons. Moreover, a World Cup in January-February will clash with the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. Football is not a winter sport but both the events are huge. Neither the IOC nor FIFA would want the two events to clash. Qatar has no experience of hosting FIFA events. They have hosted the Asian Cup in 1988 and 2011. However, the Asian Cup is a much smaller tournament. Even though football is picking up rapidly, there isn't much following compared to other countries that were bidding.
Recently, FIFA President Joseph Blatter accepted that awarding the 2022 World Cup to Qatar was ‘a mistake.’ Many top executives of FIFA such as Vice-president Jim Boyce are in favour of a revote. Many stakeholders are in favour of a revote in case Garcia's report finds Qatar 2022 bid committee guilty of corruption, bribery or vote rigging. British Prime Minister said, "There is an inquiry under way, quite rightly, into what happened in terms of the World Cup bid for 2022. We should let that inquiry take place rather than prejudge it." UEFA President Michel Platini too supports the idea of a revote if corruption is uncovered. “I think it was the right choice (to award Qatar the World Cup) for FIFA and football worldwide. But if corruption is proved, there will need to be a new vote and sanctions.”, he said.
FIFA would then have to start a new bidding process. If FIFA starts the new process in the coming months, they can announce the result by 2015. The new host would still get the usual 7 years to prepare. USA, Australia, Japan and South Korea had bid for 2022 alongside Qatar. Mexico had shown early interest. USA and Japan have confirmed they would bid again if necessary. Australia has kept its options open. South Korea has not taken a stand yet. David Cameron has hinted that England is willing to host the 2022 edition. However, this might not be possible as 2022 WC is designated for a non-European country.
In next few weeks, the 2014 World Cup and release of the investigation report are two events to watch out for. There is a chance that the World Cup might slip out of Qatar's hands.
