A rendering of the under-construction stadium in Lusail, Qatar, that is intended to play host to the opening and closing games of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
There are numerous reasons why Qatar was a questionable choice to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, from the conditions for the workers building the venues to allegations of corruption in the bidding process to basic issues of human rights. But for one exec at the international soccer association, it’s just too darn hot in Qatar.
“I personally think that in the end the 2022 World Cup will not take place in Qatar,” FIFA Executive Committee member Theo Zwanziger told the German media earlier today, according to Reuters. “Medics say that they cannot accept responsibility with a World Cup taking place under these conditions.”
Qatar has maintained that it is developing technology that will actually harness the sun’s rays to cool the stadia, but not only have these promises not been sufficient to quell criticism, Zwanziger pointed out that, “They may be able to cool the stadiums but a World Cup does not take place only there.”
“Fans from around the world will be coming and travelling in this heat and the first life-threatening case will trigger an investigation by a state prosecutor,” he explained. “That is not something that FIFA Exco members want to answer for.”
FIFA is trying to minimize the importance of Zwanziger’s statement by saying that it’s just the personal opinion of one official.
There has been discussion of rescheduling the 2022 World Cup to the winter months, instead of the traditional June and July dates, in the hopes that the cooler temperatures will make the event more manageable for all involved. Problem is, doing so would screw with the schedules of many of the leagues in which these players are involved in when they’re not sporting the colors of their home nation (or in the case of the U.S. team, the home nation of one of their parents that maybe they visited when they were a child).
Just for fun, let’s now watch John Oliver discuss his love/hate relationship with the World Cup, or rather, his love for the World Cup and his hatred for FIFA:
by Chris Morran via Consumerist
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