10 Things Sepp Blatter Wants You To Forget

It was a bit of a shock when it was revealed Qatar had won the rights to host the 2022 World Cup. Aside from the logistical nightmare of their hosting the World Cup, or the outright lie in promising the temperatures involved wouldn’t necessitate moving the tournament from summer to winter, Qatar doesn’t even have a footballing tradition. That’s not to say the sport belongs only to the historical footballing nations, or that it isn’t admirable for FIFA to award hosting rights to countries who previously would’ve been incapable of doing so. Yet it’s hard to argue there weren’t more deserving applicants available.

However all these concerns seem irrelevant with the revelations of the abuse of migrant workers by the Gulf State. To date, more than 1200 people have died in the construction of the stadiums and infrastructure required to host the tournament, with an estimated 29,400 workers are employed by Qatar in slave conditions. For comparisons sake, a grand total of two people died during construction for South Africa 2010.

If Sepp says FIFA aren't to blame, they do possess enough power to deprive Qatar of the hosting rights if they don’t improve their working conditions. It would be in keeping with FIFA’s aegis of using football to improve the lives of those less fortunate. But for whatever reason, Sepp’s altruism doesn’t stretch that far.