How did we lose to Qatar?

Immediately after Russia and Qatar were awarded the opportunity to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cup the term "corrupt" became the number one trending topic on Twitter. Surely the integrity of FIFA will be questioned by millions, perhaps billions, worldwide after these two decisions. The results should not come as a complete shock but as a major disappointment. The odds makers and media outlets were touting Qatar and Russia as the favorites despite the United States and England having the highest rated bids. The decision to award the World Cup to Qatar doesn't make much sense and, again, the specter of corruption hangs over FIFA.

Allegations of corruption in FIFA are as common as allegations of corruption on Beacon Hill. During this bid process two members of the Executive Committee, the part of FIFA that votes on who hosts tournaments, were suspended after The Sunday Times of Britain published reports showing they were willing to sell their votes for $800,000. One of the suspended members, Reynald Temarii of Oceania, is the vice-president of FIFA. He'd make a great Speaker of the House.

The BBC television program, Panorama, known for their devastating take down of the Church of Scientology, released the results of their long investigation into bribes and payments made to FIFA officials early this week. Their report focused primarily on Jack Warner, the president of CONCACAF. Warner has been dogged by allegations of corruption since the 2006 World Cup.

It's not out of the question to suggest that the investigations by the British press and the timing of their release may have irked members of the Executive Committee. In the final tally of votes, England was eliminated in the first round after receiving only two votes. They didn't even come close.

The selection of Russia, even if corrupted, is not as troubling as Qatar because Russia is a large country and has most of the infrastructure in place to handle such an event. They’re hosting the 2014 Winter Olympics and have a history of successfully hosting high profile sporting events, most recently the 2008 Champions League Final. There is concern over their airports but, hey, if a country like Qatar can host the World Cup, why can’t Russia?

Qatar, an extremely wealthy country where alcohol is restricted and homosexuality is illegal, put together a dazzling presentation that featured futuristic stadiums and transportation. They even hired Zinedine Zidane to promote their World Cup bid, guaranteeing him a wealthy payday if Qatar won. Qatar even promised that their stadiums would be dismantled after the World Cup and given to poor nations to use. For free. Why would a country of less than two million need several large soccer stadiums, anyway?
Qatar will have to build at least nine stadiums from scratch and expand several of them while addressing concerns about the climate. The average temperature in Qatar in the summer is over 100 °F so that will be a real problem. But have no fear: Qatar says they will have air conditioning systems in place at every outdoor stadium.

Then there is the matter of Israel. Qatar, like most Middle Eastern countries, doesn’t recognize Israel but that’s okay with FIFA because Qatar promised to allow them to participate if they qualify for the 2010 World Cup. Israel probably won’t be an issue in 2022 because they have to qualify out of their very difficult European group, not the Middle East for obvious reasons. (Israel haven't qualified for a World Cup since 1970.)

Alcohol is legal in Qatar but it is severely restricted to the point where it’s like getting a gun license in Massachusetts. According to a few reports there is one package store in the capital, home to nearly a million people. How is Qatar going to cater to the hundreds of thousands of drinkers from the West who will want a pint while watching the footy?

I am not even going to address their airport and hotel issues or their outlawing of homosexuality. Qatar is like many of the employees at the Probation Department, woefully unqualified but it’s nothing money can’t fix.

We’re more like that highly qualified applicant with dual masters degrees with ethics and no connections. We have everything ready to go at the drop of a hat. We have the stadiums, infrastructure, sponsors, and potential growth. We're a large and free country where soccer's popularity is growing steadily. One of FIFA's stated goal is to grow the game of soccer around the world. What better place to do it than the largest economy in the world?

Did any of that matter to FIFA? No.

FIFA and their Executive Committee members bought what the magical kingdom of Qatar was selling and decided to put themselves ahead of the interests of the game. In the end a kleptocracy and an Islamic monarchy beat western style democracies. FIFA is making a major mistake.

Perhaps a Ware Report is needed to shake things up in Zürich.