FIFA chief confesses to cocking up the votes.FIFA president Sepp Blatter has admitted that handing the 2022 World Cup to Qatar may have been a mistake, talkSPORT reports.
In 2010 Qatar were awarded the hosting of the tournament in a most controversial fashion, with the Arab nation beating the United States, Australia, South Korea and Japan to the honour.
There have been major concerns over the health of players and fans at the tournament as temperatures in the country may reach dangerous levels. Speculation has been ongoing for months over the possibility of moving the tournament to the winter, and Blatter has finally conceded that awarding the country the World Cup was an error in judgement.
However, the 77-year-old Swiss also added that it’s about time the Middle East were represented on football’s biggest stage.
“It may well be that we made a mistake at the time.
“On the other hand, you must also consider political and geo-political realities.
“The World Cup is FIFA’s biggest, if not only, global event.
“Who are we, the Europeans, to demand that this event has to cater to the needs of 800 million Europeans above all?
“I think it is high time that Europe starts to understand that we do not rule the world any more, and that some former European imperial powers can no longer impress their will on to others in faraway places.
“We must accept that football has moved away from being a European and South American sport – it has become the world sport that billions of fans are excitedly following every week, everywhere in the world.”
Blatter then went on to say that he is hopeful FIFA’s executive committee will endorse the proposed switch of the World Cup to the winter period.
He added: “The next steps will include a close look at the international calendar and to establish what consequences the change would have.
“We would naturally need to speak to and consult with all interested parties and stakeholders.”