More top football officials have weighed in on Qatar’s 2022 World Cup hosting rights this week. For once, the country heard a note of support, from Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, head of the Asian Football Confederation. According to AFP, he said: 

“The AFC is confident that Qatar will host a magnificent World Cup, under the guidance of FIFA, and with it only being the second time that Asia plays host to a FIFA World Cup. We are sure that Qatar will make Asia proud.”

Meanwhile, the head of the Premier League, who staunchly opposed reshuffling team schedules to move the games to the cooler winter months, urged FIFA to reconsider holding the games in Qatar.

Speaking to Sky News, Richard Scudamore said if a summer cup in Qatar is infeasible, then FIFA must “move the location. We can’t just, on a whim, decide to move to the winter.”

Despite his view, FIFA chief Sepp Blatter has said he still plans to ask the executive committee in October to consider shifting the 2022 games to the winter due to the heat.

As the debate over the weather carries on, concerns about Qatar’s treatment of migrant workers – and even some of its football players – have also resurfaced.

In this Huffington Post Live segment, which aired early this morning, Omar Chatriwala of Doha News joins a panel of journalists to discuss the problems plaguing Qatar’s World Cup and how the country is working to address them.

Thoughts?

Credit: Photo by wasapninworld