Sepp Blatter, the former president of FIFA when Qatar was awarded the 2022 World Cup hosting rights in 2010, told Swiss newspaper Tages Anzeiger “Qatar is a mistake,” adding that “the choice was bad.”
The Qatar decision has been marred by controversy, including allegations of
corruption and human rights violations, since it was first announced. “It is too small of a country. Football and the World Cup are too big
for it,” Blatter said of Qatar, the first country in the Middle East to
host the tournament.
Qatar's population stands at roughly 2.9 million, including an influx of around 370,000 new residents who moved to the Gulf nation in past year in the lead-up to the World Cup. Qatar did not have the infrastructure in place to run the event and recruited migrant workers from foreign countries to build the necessary stadiums, hotels and roadways.
The
employment of migrant workers is at the center of human rights concerns
around the World Cup. Qatar has faced criticism for the working and living conditions provided to migrant workers, which Amnesty International has likened to forced labor. The conditions have been blamed for workers' injuries and deaths, with the death toll a subject of dispute.
Blatter said that FIFA amended the criteria it used to select host countries in light of concerns over the working conditions at tournament-related construction sites in Qatar. “Since then, social considerations and human rights are taken into account,” he said. Blatter said he will be watching the tournament, which kicks off in less than two weeks, from his home in Zurich.
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