There is exactly a year until a tournament designed to promote the tiny, super-rich Gulf state but that is laced with controversy
When Sepp Blatter, with that pained fixed grin, gingerly pulled the name Qatar out of the fateful envelope to anoint the host of the 2022 World Cup, widespread global bafflement accompanied the shockwaves propelled by the decision. The outcry that led ultimately to an earthquake at Fifa, followed by the fall of Blatter’s presidency and many other long-term chiefs, was prompted by astonishment and suspicion at the vote to send football’s greatest tournament to a tiny country so seemingly obscure.
Now, with one year on Sunday to go before the tournament kicks off, football and the world are much more familiar with the name Qatar, which in itself can be seen as fulfilling a key aim of the bid. The 11 years since the November 2010 vote have been filled with rolling investigations into Fifa, leading to a governance overhaul and the 2016 election of Gianni Infantino as president, and a piercing focus on conditions for the migrant workers building Qatar’s stadiums in the heat of the Gulf.
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