The 2022 World Cup will not be held in Qatar because of the searing temperatures in the Middle East country, the FIFA Executive Committee member Theo Zwanziger has predicted.
“I personally think that in the end the 2022 World Cup will not take place in Qatar,” the German told Sport Bild.
“Medics say that they cannot accept responsibility with a World Cup taking place under these conditions.”
Although Qatar has spoken of developing cooling technologies for the stadiums, there is still widespread concern over the health of the players and supporters.
“They may be able to cool the stadiums but a World Cup does not take place only there,” Zwanziger said.
“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. That is not something that FIFA Exco members want to answer for.”
A FIFA spokesman was quick to point out that Zwanziger was not speaking in an official capacity
“As Mr Zwanziger himself says, it’s his personal opinion,” the spokesman told SID when asked about the German’s statement.
FIFA is investigating the possibility of switching the tournament to a European winter date to avoid the scorching summer where temperatures regularly rise over 40C (104F).
However, talk of such a shift talk has resulted in plenty of opposition from domestic leagues, worried the schedule switch would severely disrupt them.
Both FIFA and Qatar World Cup organisers have also been fielding questions concerning allegations of corruption ever since they were awarded the tournament back in 2010.
The Sunday Times newspaper has alleged that former Qatari football boss Mohamed Bin Hammam paid more than $5 million (3.7m euros) to gain support for the emirate ahead of the vote.
Qatar has strongly denied the allegations.
The middle east country has come under further scrutiny over the conditions provided for migrant workers working on the infrastructure for the 2022 finals. .
