The FIFA 2022 World Cup will be played in Qatar. There you have it.
Sepp Blatter, FIFA president, during yesterday’s press briefing about the Executive Committee meeting in which FIFA discussed the 2022 World Cup, among other things.
In addition to making clear that FIFA had no plans to take the games away from Qatar, Blatter said the committee has postponed deciding on whether to reschedule the Qatar cup to the cooler winter months until at least 2014.
In the meantime, a newly formed task force will consult with players, clubs, leagues, federations and other stakeholders to come up with the best schedule for 2022. A “roadmap” will be presented in December, but no definitive timeframe will be until after the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Blatter said.
In response to international criticism about the dismal treatment of low-income construction workers here, the official said:
“We can’t turn a blind eye here, and it does affect us. But it’s not a direct intervention from FIFA that will change things. This intervention can only be carried out by Qatar itself, and Qatar has confirmed that they will do.”
He added that he will visit Qatar and meet with the new Emir to discuss these matters.
View Blatter’s full remarks, which are not embeddable, here.
Thoughts?
Credit: Video still of Blatter via FIFATV