World football’s governing body Fifa has decided to delay any decision on the future of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar until after the 2014 World Cup in Brazil during its executive committee meeting on 4 October.
Fifa also discussed labour rights in Qatar, and plans to meet with Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani to discuss working conditions in the country following reports of widespread abuse of foreign nationals working in Qatar.
Fifa’s statement on the Qatar World Cup:
“Regarding the question of the dates of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar, the Executive Committee decided to launch a consultation process among the main stakeholders concerned, including both the international football community (FIFA, confederations, member associations, leagues, clubs, players) as well as FIFA’s business partners (Media Rights Licensees and Commercial Affiliates).
This consultation process will be undertaken by a working group chaired by AFC President Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa. Furthermore, the executive outlined that the tournament would be played in nine years’ time and that therefore the consultation process would not be rushed but would be given the necessary time to consider all of the elements relevant for a decision. Consequently, no decision will be taken before the upcoming 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil.
The executive also gave the FIFA President the mandate to meet the new Emir of Qatar, HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, and to report personally about the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar, including holding talks on labour rights and conditions in the country.”
Qatar plans to spend $70bn on infrastructure projects ahead of the tournament. Major schemes include the Doha Metro, a new network of expressways, and new stadiums. These projects will require hundreds of thousands of construction workers. Most will come from South Asia.
Speculation on the future of the 2022 tournament had reached fever pitch ahead of the 3-4 October meeting with various reports on the future of the tournament.
The main reports were:
- MEED has secured a copy of the agenda for the crucial FIFA executive committee meeting which opens in Zurich today at 2pm. It shows that the discussion about the status of the Qatar World Cup finals is item 12 and that there appears to be no formal proposal for the 25-member committee to vote on. This suggests that a final decision about changing the dates of the 2022 World Cup finals from summer which FIFA President Sepp Blatter said in August would probably be approved may not emerge from the two-day meeting. The meeting is due to close at lunch time on Friday 4 October. This will be followed by a press conference.
- The Independent reports that FIFA vice-president Jim Boyce saying Fifa should delay any detailed decision on moving the 2022 World Cup until there has been full consultation with other key stakeholders.
- The Peninsula reports that Doha has hired UK-based law firm DLA Piper to review recent allegations of labour abuse in Qatar.
- Bloomberg reports that Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, the head of a group representing Europe’s top soccer clubs, said the sport’s governing body must include teams and players in any decision on rescheduling the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
- Associated Press quotes International Ski Federation President Gian Franco Kasper saying that moving the World Cup from its traditional June-July dates to the winter could negatively impact other sporting events held in the winter.
- UK broadcast Sky reports that moving the World Cup to November is the most likely outcome.
- BBC reports that three members of Fifa’s executive committee oppose moving the event to winter, adding that European football’s president Michel Platini says a vote of the matter would be impossible when discussed on 4 October.
