Former FIFA President, Sepp Blatter has said that Qatar was really a bad choice to host the 2022 World Cup. He said it was a mistake made 12 years ago.
Blatter blamed a meeting between former French President Nicolas Sarkozy and ex-UEFA boss Michel Platini for swaying key votes.
The 86-year-old Blatter spoke with the Swiss newspaper group Tamedia in his first major interview since being acquitted of financial misconduct at FIFA after a trial at federal criminal court.
“It’s a country that’s too small,” Blatter said of Qatar, the smallest host by size since the 1954 tournament in Switzerland. “Football and the World Cup are too big for that.”
“It was a bad choice. And I was responsible for that as president at the time,” said Blatter, who has long said he voted for the United States. Qatar beat its bid in the final round of a five-candidate contest to be the 2022 host.
The 32 teams will play 64 games in eight stadiums in and around the city of Doha which has been transformed since 2010 by massive construction projects to prepare for the World Cup.
Qatar 2022 kicks off on November 20 with about 1.2 million international visitors expected to arrive the country during the World Cup. With limited places to stay in the host nation, some will commute from neighbouring states.