Joseph Blatter suggests that the United States could host the 2022 World Cup

Joseph Blatter, former president of the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA), believes that the United States is a good choice to host the next World Cup in 2022, given the controversy that has arisen in Qatar, the current host country, over allegations of bribery to obtain the organization of the top football competition for teams and over the poor working conditions of workers in the construction of sports infrastructure. Especially in view of the current coronavirus pandemic that has so far left more than 133,000 dead and more than two million diagnosed cases worldwide, and has already caused the first five officially confirmed cases of COVID-19 in workers at three World Cup stadiums. 

The former head of world football is relying on the know-how of the USA to host the World Cup in two years due to its great organisational capacity and extensive experience in the field of sporting events and conclaves (including a very successful World Cup in 1994).

"The United States could do it in 2022 instead of 2026," said Joseph Blatter in an interview with the German newspaper Bild. "They're capable, it's not science fiction! Japan could do it too. They also offered to host the World Cup in 2022," added the former leader, who was suspended for six years in 2015 for failing to comply with FIFA's code of ethics.

In this scenario, the former FIFA president rejected the option of a European country being the possible substitute for Qatar, since the last World Cup was played in Russia, as the rule is not to repeat continents in two consecutive editions. "Germany could also do it. But this would mean that the World Cup would be organized again in Europe after 2018," recalled the former Swiss executive, who practically ruled out Europe if it were not finally organized in Qatar. "Europe, therefore, wouldn't be the first option," he said.

"Fortunately, the 2022 World Cup will only have 32 teams and not 48 as planned (referring to the intentions of the current FIFA governing bodies). The organisational effort would be no bigger than in 2018," said Blatter, who is banking on the US to be the possible new home. 
 

The Swiss leader's alarming statement could be a clue as to what will happen in the not too distant future with the Qatari country in the run-up to the global football showpiece. The Gulf nation has been through some very intense controversy over its bid to host the World Cup, and that could take its toll. 

The first had to do with the suitability of playing in the Middle Eastern nation due to the high temperatures there in summer, something that was resolved in a controversial manner by passing the tournament from summer to winter (the World Cup in Qatar 2022 was scheduled for November and December).

Later, there was a second, much more serious, controversy linked to accusations of bribery to make their candidacy the one chosen for 2022. In this scenario, a final accusation by the US Department of Justice shook the foundations of world football. According to the American justice system, as revealed by Reuters, Qatari authorities bribed officials from the FIFA Executive Committee to cast votes in favour of the Arab country's candidacy (as was also denounced in Russia's bid for the 2018 World Cup). The judicial investigation into the Qatari case indicated that FIFA executives Ricardo Teixeira (Brazil), Nicolas Leoz (Paraguay) and an unidentified third party received money in exchange for supporting Qatar, something that was denied from the highest levels of world football's governing body. In 2014, FIFA, under Joseph Blatter, conducted an investigation that decreed the innocence of the Russian and Qatari organisers. Subsequently, in 2015, Blatter was expelled from the entity following the arrest of seven officials under his leadership for corruption decreed by the US justice system.

Already last year the former president of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Michel Platini was arrested in Nanterre, a French municipality bordering Paris, as part of an investigation into alleged corruption in the award of Qatar's candidacy. The arrest came as part of an investigation ordered by the office of the national prosecutor of finance (PNF) into the conditions for the award of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, "for alleged acts of active and passive bribery," according to French media outlets such as Mediapart, which reported the news, and Le Monde, which confirmed it.

Platini was president of UEFA between 2007, when he replaced the deceased Lennart Johansson, and 2016, when he was disqualified for six years from any football-related activity; a sanction that the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the highest body of sports justice, reduced to four years. The case was an "unfair payment" in 2011 to then FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter, which led to his disqualification. 

In 2013, the magazine France Football denounced the purchase of the World Cup in Qatar 2022. Michel Platini, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani are reported to have rigged the vote at the Elysée Palace. 

The news came weeks after it became known that Qatar had paid $880 million to FIFA for its World Cup, according to The Sunday Times. FIFA is under increasing pressure to review its decision to award Qatar the right to host the World Cup in 2022 after revelations that financial rules were broken in the bidding process.

An in-depth investigation by the British newspaper The Sunday Times revealed that Qatar's state-owned television station Al-Jazeera offered FIFA $900 million during various stages of the bidding process.

According to leaked documents, just three weeks before Qatar was due to host the 2022 World Cup, Al-Jazeera had offered the football governing body a lucrative secret television deal, including a $100 million fee if Qatar managed to win the rights to host the World Cup. In this respect, the contract appeared to be a clear violation of FIFA's rules and regulations.

Blatter has been claiming that "the investigations are part of a major plot" against him. In the meantime, the Swiss believes that FIFA would have its "best reaction" if he were finally appointed honorary president. 
 

As for the other major controversy raised by the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, that of the deplorable working conditions in stadium construction work, especially during the current coronavirus pandemic that is sweeping the world, it should be noted that the Qatari authorities have now recognized the first diagnosed cases of COVID-19 in workers working on stadium development for the 2022 World Cup. 

The organizers of the Supreme Committee for the Legacy confirmed to the AFP agency that two members working at the Al-Thumama stadium tested positive for coronavirus, along with three other operators involved, one at the construction site of Al-Rayyam stadium and two at the Al-Bayt field. 
 

The work to complete infrastructure buildings for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar continues and many workers from South Asia are on the front lines of the devastating coronavirus health crisis. 

Qatar has so far lost seven lives and more than 3,700 people have been affected in a scenario like the current one where there are more than 2 million foreign workers on Qatari territory, a significant figure given that the total population of the country is only 2.6 million. 
 

The situation is aggravated by the overcrowded camps in which migrants are living in conditions that can clearly be improved, as reported by Foreign Policy, and by the pressures on development in the run-up to the World Cup due to the heavy monetary investment made by the Gulf nation; factors that have placed foreign workers in Qatar at particularly high risk of contracting COVID-19.