Qatar 2022: A land less about winter and more about worry
February 24, 2015
Hosting the 2022 World Cup in the two winter months of November and December sounds ludicrous, but in true FIFA style is in fact the only possible option in the current scenario. As outlined in the full FIFA task force statement released on Tuesday morning, the year 2022 is a busy one in the sport calendar. With the Winter Olympics taking place in February, Ramadan in April and the unbearable heat beginning in May and ending in September, the window of opportunity is smaller than ever.
So while we may be up in arms about the fact we will have to swap our coveted summer sunshine for cold winds and winter jackets when the games are on, the issue is why we are in this position in the first place. Not for the first time do we, the football fans of the world, find ourselves cornered by the sport's governing body. The choice of Qatar as a host nation was probably made to continue FIFA President Sepp Blatter's long-standing desire to spread love for football around the world. Well, if there's one thing I've learned about love in football, it's just how readily available it is for purchase. And once again, we have had no say in the purchase.
Sadly, I don't think we ever will. With Blatter continuing to contradict himself more often than FIFA shows video montages at any of its events, it's time for a little perspective. Yes the dates will cause a scheduling nightmare which will most likely see players having to leave their club teams before the end of the season simply to play. Yes, transport chaos will ensue as millions of people descend on a country the same size as the New York metro. And yes, the votes for the 2022 - and 2018 for that matter - World Cups don't add up the way they should.
While it's desperately disappointing to see the 2022 World Cup be hosted in Qatar let alone in winter, it's what is happening now that deserves real uproar.
The treatment of migrant workers in Qatar is where FIFA's ignorance cannot and should not be laughed off in the cynically same way Blatter's speeches can be. Worse even than the chaos ahead of the tournament in Brazil, over 1,000 people are reported to have died during construction by the end of last year alone. One thousand. There are seven more years left before the start of the tournament. Whenever and wherever it's held, the price currently being paid should be beyond comprehension.