By Andrew Warshaw
September 23 – A senior FIFA executive committee member has broken ranks to predict that the 2022 World Cup will be switched from Qatar, incurring a strong and immediate reaction from the organisers who insist there is no chance of the Gulf state being stripped of host status.
In a newspaper interview in his native Germany, Theo Zwanziger claims the tournament will ultimately be moved, not because of anything to with human rights or corruption but because of the extreme heat.
“I personally think that in the end the 2022 World Cup will not take place in Qatar,” said the German, a former president of his country’s football federation and a long-standing critic of the December 2010 decision to award the competition to Qatar.
“The doctors say that they cannot accept responsibility with a World Cup taking place under these conditions. They may be able to cool the stadiums but it’s not only the World Cup tournament. There are fans coming from all four corners of the world. The first incident putting a life in danger will be subject to an investigation. That is not something FIFA Exco members would want to answer for.”
Ironically, Zwanziger is the exco member mandated by FIFA as their main representative to liaise with the Qatari authorities and monitor efforts to improve the country’s human rights record. It has never been suggested that his brief was also intended to include looking into climactic conditions, an issue being dealt with instead by the FIFA Task Force specifically set up to consider a possible switch from summer to winter – but not to move the tournament elsewhere.
The Task Force, which held its first session earlier this month involving a variety of stakeholders including clubs and leagues, is due to meet again in November and Zwanziger’s comments inevitably sparked fresh debate just as the FIFA executive committee are about to hold their latest session this week.
While the Qataris have long insisted they could stage in summer or winter thanks to the development of cooling technologies covering stadiums, training areas and fan zones, there is still widespread concern for the health of players, officials and supporters. But until Zwanziger’s salvo, no-one in authority at FIFA had suggested moving the entire event and the Qataris were quick to reject Zwanziger’s prediction.
“The only question now is when, not if,” Qatar 2022 communications director Nasser Al Khater said in a statement. “Summer or winter, we will be ready. We have proven that a FIFA World Cup in Qatar in the summer is possible with state-of-the-art cooling technology.”
“We have demonstrated that our cooling works in outdoor areas beyond stadiums. This summer we welcomed fans in Doha to an open-air Brazil 2014 Fan Zone with temperatures cooled to a comfortable 22 degrees Celsius.
“The evolution of environmentally-friendly cooling technologies is an important legacy for our nation, region and for countries with similar climates – promising to expand the reach of hosting major sporting events to countries where it was never thought possible before.”
Coincidentally, just before Zwanziger’s comments were circulated, Hassan al-Thawadi, who led Qatar’s 2022 campaign and now runs the organising committee, told another German publication, Die Welt, that he had “no fear” of losing the World Cup.
“First of all there is no basis to lose it,” al-Thawadi said. “And secondly it is the first ever World Cup in the Middle East. The World Cup is a platform to bring people together. It will leave behind a positive legacy. So yes, I am sure that the World Cup will take place in Qatar.”
He also insisted the Qatari organizers had “fully cooperated” with FIFA ethics investigator Michael Garcia’s report into possible bid rule breaching and had been “completely transparent. I am convinced that the report will show that we won deservedly.”
“The truth is that we had the best bid. We offer for the first time a World Cup where fans can see more than one game a day. Where fans can see more than one game live in the stadium. Our World Cup will be green, leave behind a legacy, and take place in the centre of the globe. It can serve as an example for outdoor events in other hot parts of the world. Our region simply deserves to finally host a World Cup. It is time to show who we are and what we do.”
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