Qatar is under a sort of international media siege for an alleged deal it made with the FIFA executive committee members to obtain the right to Organize FIFA World Cup 2022.
The press demands no less than FIFA to take the right back and implement a new, clean bidding process. Well, I am not sure that will happen as it would result in way too much embarrassment for both parties. A solution that would mitigate a big part of the problem is to actually share the right with the rest of the GCC countries.
I have written about this back in 2012 and I think this proposal is still one worth consideration. I thought at the time "Doha plus another Qatari location could host the opening, two groups, one quarter final, one semi finals and the final, while Dubai/AD, Kuwait City, Manama, Muscat and perhaps Riyadh could take one group each and some quarter finals and one of the semis.
This would result in a more balanced event, culturally more interesting experience and above all totally sustainable legacy and impact for the whole region. A region where the most popular sport is by far the football."
Sport diplomats, think again.
The press demands no less than FIFA to take the right back and implement a new, clean bidding process. Well, I am not sure that will happen as it would result in way too much embarrassment for both parties. A solution that would mitigate a big part of the problem is to actually share the right with the rest of the GCC countries.
This would result in a more balanced event, culturally more interesting experience and above all totally sustainable legacy and impact for the whole region. A region where the most popular sport is by far the football."
Sport diplomats, think again.
