More good news for FIFA: Qatar prime minister says he knows nothing about soccer
Feb 23, 2011, 5:46 PM EDT
Just when the outrage over Qatar’s selection to host the 2022 World Cup begins to subside, another fun fact arises to start it all over again. Today we have that country’s prime minister, Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al Thani, admitting that he doesn’t know the first thing about soccer. My guess is that, as a kid, they couldn’t fit his name on the back of a jersey.
“I have to admit that I am very weak in the sport, I don’t know the rules,” Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al Thani said at a press conference with David Cameron in Doha.
Oops.
“I like sport, of course, but I am not involved in sport,” he said. “I suspect Fifa chose Qatar for 2022 to take it to different grounds, different culture, different geography. This shows that football is international.”
Valiant attempt at a save! But in vain.
England, the U.S., Australia and other nations are still quite miffed at finding out that, where FIFA is concerned, we don’t live in a meritocracy. It wouldn’t be so bad, except that they didn’t find out until the day that the 2018 and 2022 bids were handed out. In its effort to expand the sport’s horizons, FIFA may have disenfranchised its base; a classic tactical blunder. In the case of the ’22 Cup, there have already been complaints about a lack of organizing skills; an ill-fated proposal to switch the competition to the winter; and Sepp Blatter’s blanket insult to gays and lesbians.
Then there was all the money that Qatar was throwing around in order to get the bid, which may or may not have included outright bribery. Oh, and did we mention that Qatar’s head stadium designer is the son of Adolph Hitler’s architectural chief? Only Sepp Blatter could figure a way to work Nazis into the mix.
And that’s just all come out in the three months since the bid was awarded. The next 11 years are gonna be fun!
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Qatar prime minister says he knows nothing about football [Guardian.uk]
Qatar’s Prime Minister Celebrates 2022 World Cup Bid By Admitting He Knows Nothing About Soccer [SportsGrid]
